Jury selection was expected to begin Tuesday in a federal wrongful death trial in Los Angeles, a civil case brought on behalf of Gemmel Moore, the 26-year-old found dead in July 2017 inside the West Hollywood apartment of former political donor Ed Buck. Buck, convicted in 2021 on federal drug and related charges, is already serving a lengthy federal sentence while the civil proceedings move ahead.
Local reporting indicates jurors are slated to be chosen this week and notes that the lawsuit is moving forward after a proposed settlement with Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon, fell apart in 2024 when Buck did not sign the agreement. As reported by MyNewsLA, jury selection was expected to begin on Tuesday.
Criminal Conviction That Set the Stage
Federal prosecutors said evidence at Buck’s criminal trial showed he hosted so-called “party-and-play” sessions in his West Hollywood apartment and supplied drugs, at times injecting victims himself. A jury convicted him on nine federal counts on July 27, 2021.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office detailed that Buck was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison in April 2022 after the guilty verdict, describing the sessions as involving methamphetamine, GHB, and clonazepam, according to a press release from the office.
Allegations in the Civil Complaint
The civil wrongful death suit tracks much of the testimony heard in the criminal case. It alleges Buck targeted young Black men, many experiencing homelessness or addiction, and lured them to his apartment through social media, dating sites, and escort platforms, sometimes offering cash or finder’s fees.
Court filings and news coverage indicate that prosecutors introduced video evidence and drug paraphernalia seized from Buck’s residence to argue there was a pattern of exploitation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Survivor Testimony and Related Litigation
One survivor, Dane Brown, testified at Buck’s criminal trial after escaping multiple overdoses at Buck’s home, and later filed his own civil claims. Brown was found dead on a South Los Angeles sidewalk in November 2024, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Brown’s lawsuit, along with other pending civil actions, means judges and juries will be working through overlapping evidence and competing narratives while Buck remains in federal custody.
What to Watch When the Jury Is Seated
The Moore wrongful death claim is a civil case, so the plaintiffs must prove their allegations by a preponderance of the evidence, a lower burden than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal court. Civil proof standards are outlined by the Legal Information Institute, and California’s rules on who may bring a wrongful death action and what damages may be sought appear in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, as set out by California Legislative Information.
Once the jury is seated, expect lawyers to spend significant time arguing over which pieces of the criminal trial record they can put in front of jurors and which witnesses the judge will allow to return to the stand.
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