One of the Cornell University students accused of sexually assaulting a classmate at a fraternity party is hoping to convince a judge that New York Attorney General Letitia James is biased and should not oversee a criminal investigation into the allegations.
At issue are statements James made last month in response to Jane Doe’s lawsuit alleging she was gang raped at the Chi Phi House in 2024.
Following national attention to these allegations, on September 28, James posted on his official X account: “What this young woman was forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I hold her in my heart and in my prayers. To her and all survivors: you are not alone. We stand with you.”
Three days later, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order appointing James as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations in a case that reignited the conversation about sexual assault on the Ivy League campus and beyond.
Andrew Miltenberg, attorney for Cornell student Gillio Lopes, filed a motion Oct. 7, saying the comments should disqualify James from pursuing a criminal investigation. He is asking a judge to overturn Hochul’s decree.
“The appointment of Attorney General James is improper because Attorney General James has unequivocally demonstrated bias and a presumption of guilt against the named defendants in the civil case, including Petitioner,” he wrote in a court filing.
New York State Judge James Farrell, a Republican elected to the bench in 2019 and a former Sullivan County prosecutor, will hear arguments Thursday on whether James should remain in office. He gave both sides 30 minutes to make their arguments. James, who is running for re-election, is not expected to attend.
It’s one of two legal challenges aimed at removing James from the case. A separate motion, filed by another student accused of assaulting Doe that night, is pending in Tompkins County.
The hearing comes as Cornell’s Faculty Senate considers a vote of no confidence in Cornell’s handling of the university’s “ongoing sexual assault crisis.” The nonbinding vote would not force Cornell’s president to resign, but it could add pressure on the administration as it tries to build confidence in campus security. The school’s board of trustees hired Sally Yates, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, to lead an external investigation into Cornell’s handling of Doe’s allegations and other reported cases of sexual assault.
Hochul issued the executive order on Oct. 1, after saying he had “lost confidence” in the Tompkins County prosecutor, who previously looked into the allegations and concluded he could not support criminal charges.
Miltenberg said he didn’t dispute that Hochul had the authority to appoint someone to investigate the allegations, but he believed James had already chosen sides.
“It has nothing to do with it being Letitia James,” Miltenberg told CNN. “No one person who made this statement, which we believe goes beyond compassion and goes as far as accepting the narrative of the allegations, is the right person to restore confidence in an investigation.”
Lawyers for the attorney general said courts have limited authority to review the governor’s use of his powers to appoint the attorney general to replace or take over an investigation.
They also said Lopes’ concerns were “extremely speculative” and that James’ statement was a “simple empathetic remark” that does not mean it prejudged the investigation. His concerns are premature and could be renewed when and if a criminal case ever arises, they added.
Doe accused Lopes of having sex with her and another student to which she did not consent.
Miltenberg has denied the allegations. He previously told CNN that Lopes was not involved in facilitating or encouraging others to participate in the alleged assault, and emphasized that Lopes’ own encounter with Doe was consensual and occurred before messages were sent inviting other fraternity members to his room. The alleged assault took place in Lopes’ bedroom.
“I’ve seen all the evidence in the Title IX case; no crime was committed that I’m aware of, and to the extent that an investigator decides there was the possibility of a crime, it certainly wasn’t Gillio,” Miltenberg told CNN.
Lopes was suspended for an academic year and had to take a course and submit a “reflection paper” on what happened, following the Title IX process. He is currently attending Cornell with two semesters remaining to graduate, his attorney said.
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