Roy Brown has proven he deserves compensation for his wrongful 15-year imprisonment, a state judge has ruled. Now he will get a trial to make his case for collecting up to $5 million.

New York State Court of Claims Judge Nicholas V. Midey Jr. last month ruled that Brown had demonstrated his right to receive damages from the state as a result of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment in the 1991 murder of Cayuga County social worker Sabina Kulakowski. The judge granted Brown summary judgment on the question of whether the state has liability, meaning he does not have to take that aspect of the claim to trial.

“It was absolutely the right thing to happen,” said one of Brown's attorneys, Katy Karlovitz.

As a result, a Dec. 8 trial will focus exclusively on how much compensation Brown deserves.

“It makes for a shorter trial,” Karlovitz said.

During that proceeding, Karlovitz said, Brown will offer testimony on the impact his 15-year imprisonment had on his life. She estimated the trial would last two days, and she speculated that the judge would issue a decision at a later date.

Brown's second-degree murder conviction was vacated and the indictment against him was dismissed in 2007 when new DNA evidence pointed to another man, Barry Bench, as the prime suspect. Bench had committed suicide in 2003.

Shortly after his release from state prison, Brown filed his $5 million claim. The state denied it had liability in the case, and it did not respond to an offer Brown had made to settle the case for $3.5 million.

The state Attorney General's office, which is handling the case for the state, is reviewing the decision, spokesman John Milgrim said.

Court of Claims decisions can be appealed to the state Appellate Division.

In its papers arguing against summary judgment, the state claimed that Brown had contributed to his conviction by confessing to the murder to a jailhouse informant named Gordon Wiggins. Brown, however, has consistently denied making such a confession.

Midey, the Court of Claims judge, sided with Brown.

“Not only has the (Brown) consistently denied making this confession or admission, but the Court also notes that the District Attorney of Cayuga County placed little, if any, credence on this confession since he joined in the application to dismiss the indictment against (Brown) following the revelation of the DNA evidence,” Midey wrote in his decision.

The state had also argued that an affidavit from a woman named Donna Merithew filed in 1993 raised doubts about Brown's innocence because she said Brown was near the scene of the murder. But Midey said that affidavit had limited credibility.

“DNA evidence has not only exonerated (Brown) of the murder, it has also led to the identification of the actual murderer, Barry Bench,” Midey wrote. (The state) has also failed to establish any connection or relationship whatsoever between (Brown) and Bench.“

The lawyer handling the case for the state, Roger B. Williams, assistant attorney general, could not be reached for comment.