One of the Cornell fraternity brothers accused of gang raping a student in a civil lawsuit is attempting to have New York Attorney General Letitia James removed as special prosecutor in his case.
Gillio Lopes, one of seven Alpha Chi fraternity brothers accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a party in October 2024, has accused James of bias in her approach to the high-profile case.
Before James was appointed as special prosecutor earlier this month, the attorney general issued a statement of support for Lopes's alleged victim, who filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe.
James affirmed Jane Doe's allegations as fact as she described her as a 'survivor,' and declared that her office 'stands with' the alleged victim.
Lopes's attorney Andrew Miltenberg wrote in a court filing that this statement showed James was not approaching the case with impartiality, and requested she be removed as special prosecutor.
Miltenberg requested that James be removed immediately, because waiting for her to potentially bring criminal charges could impact a future trial through her controlling witness interviews and evidence.
The judge did not make a ruling on James being removed from the case in court on Thursday, and gave both sides until November 5 to provide additional information before a decision is reached.
James has previously denied that her statement of support for Jane Doe was evidence of bias, as she argued it was merely a show of 'empathy' for the student.
One of the Cornell fraternity brothers accused of gang raping a student in a civil lawsuit is attempting to have New York Attorney General Letitia James removed as special prosecutor in his case
Before James was appointed as special prosecutor earlier this month, the Attorney General was accused of bias when she issued a statement of support for the alleged victim
At Thursday's court hearing, Lopes's attorney Stuart Bernstein told the court that James had 'failed the obligation' to carry out her investigation impartially.
'The only one that has brought a political issue into this is the state,' Bernstein said.
'We're not asking the court to supervise an investigation... We're asking to restore confidence into an objective investigation. AG James is not that person.'
Bringing up James's social media statement supporting Jane Doe, Bernstein described the issues as a 'perfect storm' for throwing the attorney general off the case.
'We're not looking for a wide sweeping referendum your honor,' the attorney said. 'We're asking that you send this back to the governor.
'We're not asking you to step in and pick someone... we're asking you to say the person she picked doesn't work.'
James has previously denied that her statement of support for Jane Doe was evidence of bias, as she argued it was merely a show of 'empathy' for the student
Protests erupted in the wake of a civil lawsuit that thrust the alleged 2024 rape into the national spotlight
James's office previously responded to the filing to kick her off the case with a statement dismissing the effort as 'procedurally defective and substantively meritless.'
'While Petitioner relies on the AG’s remarks in a single social media post as proof that the various ills he fears will come to pass, such speculative and conclusory claims of harm — premised entirely on his own mischaracterization of the AG’s statements — are insufficient for hardship,' the statement said.
When Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor at a press conference earlier this month, the Attorney General declined to comment when asked if her social media post was evidence of bias.
But Hochul stepped up to defend her choice, saying she had 'every confidence' in James to investigate the case.
'(James will) do what she has always done: Look at the facts, examine the record, draw the proper conclusions,' Hochul said. 'That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.'
