Accused Cornell student to make case for removing special prosecutor Letitia James from sex assault investigation

By Kara Scannell, CNN

(CNN) — One of the Cornell University students accused of sexually assaulting a female 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.

In the wake of nationwide attention to the allegations, on September 28 James posted on her official X account, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”

Three days later, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order naming James special prosecutor to investigate the allegations in a case that has reignited a conversation about sexual assault on the Ivy League campus and beyond.

Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for Cornell student Gillio Lopes, filed a petition October 7 arguing those comments should disqualify James from leading a criminal investigation. He is asking a judge to void Hochul’s executive order.

“The appointment of Attorney General James is improper as Attorney General James has unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt against the defendants named 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 district attorney, will hear arguments Thursday on whether James should stay in the role. He has given both sides 30 minutes to make their case. James, who is running for reelection, is not expected to attend.

It is one of two legal challenges to remove James from the case. A separate motion, which was filed by another student accused of assaulting Doe that night, is pending in Tompkins County.

The hearing comes as the Cornell Faculty Senate is weighing a no-confidence vote on Cornell’s handling of the “ongoing crisis of sexual assault” at the university. The non-binding vote would not force the resignation of Cornell’s president, but it could add pressure to the administration as it tries to shore up confidence that the campus is safe. The school’s board of trustees hired Sally Yates, a former deputy US attorney general, to lead an outside investigation into Cornell’s handling of Doe’s allegations and other reported instances of sexual assaults.

Hochul issued the executive order on October 1, after she said she “lost faith” in the Tompkins County district attorney who had previously looked into the allegations and concluded they could not support criminal charges.

Miltenberg said he doesn’t dispute that Hochul has the authority to appoint someone to investigate the allegations, but he believes James has already picked a side.

“It has nothing to do with it being Letitia James,” Miltenberg told CNN. “No one who made that statement, which we think goes beyond compassion to 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 her powers to appoint the attorney general to supersede, or take over, an investigation.

They also said Lopes’ concerns are “wildly speculative,” and James’ statement was a “single empathetic remark” that does not mean she prejudged the investigation. His concerns are premature and could be renewed when, and if, there is ever a criminal case, they added.

Doe accused Lopes of having sex with her and another student that she did not consent to.

Miltenberg denied the allegations. He previously told CNN 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 happened before any messages inviting other fraternity members to his room were sent. The alleged assault took place in Lopes’ room.

“I’ve seen all of the evidence in the Title IX file; there was no crime committed that I’m aware of, and to the extent an investigator decides there was the possibility of a crime, it certainly wasn’t Gillio,” Miltenberg previously told CNN.

Lopes was suspended for one academic year and was required to take a class and submit a “reflective paper” about what happened, following the Title IX process. He is currently attending Cornell with two semesters left to graduate, his attorney said.

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