Jessica Cuevas, 09/05/2023
Unlike a typical Tuesday afternoon, the LEAP Ambassadors had the opportunity to attend a virtual event hosted by Sam Houston’s Student Legal Mediation Service (SLMS) Director, Dr. Gene Roberts, featuring Bradley (Brad) Ertl who would be discussing a recent multi-billion dollar ‘revenge porn’ case in Harris County. Brad Ertl is a Sam Houston Alum who, during his tenure at SHSU, received the student Sammy Award. He received his JD from South Texas College of Law and is currently an attorney at Gilde Law Firm, PLLC.
Ertl and his firm took the case of Mark West Jamall Jackson v Jane Doe not for the money but to send a message to the world that the sharing of invasive visual recordings or ‘revenge porn,’ as we colloquially know it as, is not okay. This is what they intended to do from the start, and they were successful in it despite the defendant never appearing in court or having had responded to being served.
In 2012, Mark West Jamall Jackson and Jane Doe met at the wedding of their best friends: he was his best friend’s best man and Jane was her best friend’s maid of honor. They became good friends and kept in contact after the wedding, but it was not until Jane’s father became terminally ill that she began to confide more in Mark and grew closer to him. This led to the start of their relationship in 2016. Soon after Mark was offered a job in Chicago and he asked Jane if she would move with him, which she happily agreed to since their relationship was going well.
The first couple of years were great until Mark lost his job in 2019 and became verbally abusive towards Jane who was currently excelling in her career as an educator. There was testimony to prove that he was a womanizer and could not have any woman be smarter or better than him. Even when things got pretty bad between the two, Jane went to see her mom and believed that she and Mark were going through a rough patch, just like everyone else in their life, she believed this was a ‘forever relationship.’ However, things only went downhill from here when Mark began to share and threaten Jane with nonconsensual sharing of a nonconsensual recording of intimate behavior between the two through all social media, internet websites, emails to her co-workers, etc. Ultimately, after telling their story the jury delivered their verdict within 30 minutes of delivering and favored Jane Doe by $1.2 billion. Although it may seem like a lot, this case was not about the money and no amount of money will ever repair the hardships and emotional toll that she had to endure during the past years.
After providing us with a couple of details of the case but was careful not to share too much, as this case is ongoing and the final judgment is still pending, Ertl broke down the case and explained the legal aspects of the case for the pre-law students: how to choose a jury, how to prepare for a case or determine causes of action, how to continue a case when the defendant evades being served, what the expectations were as he and his colleagues eagerly waited for the final judgment to be delivered by the judge, and how to deal with a case that is emotionally heavy.
To end the evening, Ertl was asked to give pre-law students some advice and he highlighted three things: (1) be present, (2) have and maintain good grades, and (3) go with your gut and tell your story. The latter of which really stood out to me because it was different from what we normally hear but it was a great piece of advice, nonetheless. Intuition is crucial in the legal field as you want to trust gut feelings when having to decide who you want to represent and the best way to defend them to create your reputation. However, at Gilde Law Firm, PLLC. they do focus groups to help guide them in what evidence present to a jury and how to present it as they prepare for a trial.
Thank you, Dr. Gene Roberts…
…for hosting Brad Ertl, and thank you Mr. Ertl for taking the time to discuss this case with Sam Houston State University students and faculty! If you are interested in reading more about the case search Ertl’s name and news articles will come up about this multi-billion-dollar case.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 