Overview
- A Sullivan County judge heard arguments Thursday on an Article 78 petition seeking to void Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Oct. 1 order that made AG Letitia James special prosecutor and the judge did not issue an immediate ruling.
- The challenge centers on a Sept. 28 post in which James expressed support for the plaintiff and defense lawyers argue that remark shows a presumption of guilt that should disqualify her.
- State lawyers say the governor has broad discretion to appoint a special prosecutor and describe James’s post as a single empathetic comment that does not prove actual prejudice.
- None of the seven men named in the civil lawsuit has been criminally charged and the civil case and newly released records prompted the state review after Tompkins County prosecutors declined to bring charges in 2024.
- Judge James R. Farrell gave the petitioner until Nov. 5 to explain why other defendants did not join the challenge and parallel motions remain pending in Tompkins County, a dynamic that could affect grand-jury timing, witness protections, and whether litigation plays out piecemeal across courts.