Overview
- Letitia James named Jacqueline Kelly on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to serve as outside counsel and lead a joint team from her office and Kelly’s firm in the criminal inquiry into allegations made by a plaintiff using the pseudonym Jane Doe.
- Kelly is a Cornell graduate and a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who led the civil rights unit and worked on high-profile sex-crimes cases and will remain a partner at Boies Schiller while staffing the probe.
- The investigative team will gather evidence, review prior records and witness interviews, conduct new interviews, and report findings to Attorney General James with the option to present charges to a grand jury if the evidence supports it.
- Two defendants have filed motions seeking to disqualify James for alleged bias based on earlier public remarks and those court challenges remain pending and may shape the timing and scope of any prosecutorial action.
- The hire followed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Oct. 1 order naming James special prosecutor after the Tompkins County DA’s 2024 decision not to charge and after a September 2026 civil suit that released fuller interview material and prompted renewed review.