The National Legal and Policy Center says state Attorney General Letitia James should not serve as special prosecutor in the alleged rape case at Cornell University.
The group filed a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Committee over James’ comments before she was appointed. They say she’s “violating the rules of professional conduct by making public statements about the Cornell University sexual assault case that exhibits a bias in favor of the victim’s allegations and against the alleged perpetrators.”
Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the attorney general for response.
A then-Cornell student known now as Jane Doe alleges in a lawsuit she was raped by several current and former students at a Cornell fraternity in 2024. James was appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to be a special prosecutor in this case, saying she “lost confidence” in Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten in the case. He said Jane Doe’s original statement in 2024 did not indicate violation of criminal law.
Last week, one of the defendants in the case filed a petition to block Gov. Hochul’s appointment of James as special prosecutor.