蒙蒂塞洛，纽约州 —— 社交媒体帖子是否应该让纽约州总检察长失去领导康奈尔大学轮奸指控刑事调查的资格？这是周四一位州法官面临的问题，因为其中一名被指控男子寻求撤换总检察长莱蒂蒂娅·詹姆斯作为监督重启刑事调查的特别检察官。
MONTICELLO, N.Y. — Should social media posts disqualify New York’s attorney general from leading a criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University? That's the question before a state judge on Thursday as one of the accused men seeks to remove Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor overseeing the renewed criminal probe.
针对詹姆斯的至少两起诉讼之一主张，她存在偏见，因为她在被任命处理此案前几天，曾发布帖子表达对指控者的支持。
One of at least two cases against James contends she is biased because she posted messages expressing support for the accuser just days before she was appointed to the case.
这名前康奈尔大学学生在法庭文件中被称为“简·多伊”，她于上月提起诉讼，指控几名男子于2024年10月在一个兄弟会聚会上强奸了她。这名前学生称，其中一些男子施压让她使用氯胺酮和大麻，并且她饮酒过量，导致她醉得无法表示同意。
The former Cornell student identified in court papers as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that several men raped her at a fraternity party in October 2024. The former student said some of the men pressured her into using ketamine and marijuana and that she drank alcohol that left her too intoxicated to consent.“What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” James posted to X and Facebook on Sept. 28, linking to a news article about the lawsuit.
“这位年轻女性被迫遭受的经历令人发指，不可接受，”詹姆斯于9月28日在X和Facebook上发帖，并附上了一篇关于该诉讼的新闻文章链接。“她在我心中，也在我的祈祷中。对她，以及对所有幸存者：你们并不孤单。我们与你们站在一起。”
“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.”
10月1日，州长凯西·霍楚尔签署行政命令，将案件从当地检察官、汤普金斯县地区检察官马修·范豪滕手中接管过来——后者在2024年拒绝提起指控——并任命詹姆斯为特别检察官。
On Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order taking the case away from the local prosecutor, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who declined to bring charges in 2024, and naming James as special prosecutor.
几天内，简·多伊诉讼中被列为被告的两名男子的律师分别对詹姆斯的任命提出了质疑——一起由詹姆斯·R·法雷尔法官于周四在蒙蒂塞洛审理，另一起则在康奈尔大学所在的汤普金斯县。
Within days, lawyers for two of the men named as defendants in Jane Doe‘s lawsuit filed challenges to James' appointment — one that Judge James R. Farrell is hearing on Thursday, and the other in Tompkins County, where Cornell is located.
作为民主党人的詹姆斯没有出席在蒙蒂塞洛举行的听证会，该地位于曼哈顿西北约72英里处。
James, a Democrat, did not attend the hearing in Monticello, about 72 miles northwest of Manhattan.
法官似乎对这项质疑持怀疑态度，询问为什么其他六名被告没有加入，并质疑他是否有权将詹姆斯从他们的案件中也撤换掉。“也许他们不知道这回事。“这可能吗？”法雷尔问道。
The judge appeared skeptical of the challenge, asking why the other six defendants hadn’t joined, and questioned whether he had the authority to kick James off their cases as well.“Maybe they don’t know about it. Is that possible?”
“恭敬地说，法官大人，任何事情皆有可能，”斯图尔特·伯恩斯坦（Stuart Bernstein）说，他是正在抗争詹姆斯任命的那名男子的律师。
Farrell asked.“Respectfully, your honor, anything is possible,” said Stuart Bernstein, a lawyer for the man fighting James’ appointment.
在听证会前，该男子的另一名律师表示，詹姆斯的社交媒体帖子显示，她对简·多伊（Jane Doe）关于发生了什么的陈述“予以确认并接受”，这意味着她在接手此案前就已经对被告的罪行下了定论。
Before the hearing, the man's other lawyer said James’ social media posts showed she “affirmed and accepted” Jane Doe’s account of what happened, meaning she had already made up her mind about the defendants’ guilt before taking the case.
这名律师安德鲁·米尔滕伯格（Andrew Miltenberg）希望法官下令州长另选一名特别检察官。他在法庭外对记者表示，该州有“成千上万的人——退休法官、调解员、退休执法人员、其他地区检察官办公室——都能处理这项调查。”
The lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, wants the judge to order the governor to pick a different special prosecutor. He told reporters outside court that there are “thousands of people in this state — retired judges, mediators, retired law enforcement, other district attorneys’ offices — that could handle this investigation.”
詹姆斯办公室称该质疑毫无根据，并指出法院先前曾裁定，州长有自由按其选择行使行政权力，例如任命特别检察官。
James’ office says the challenge is without merit, noting that courts have previously ruled that the governor is free to exercise her executive power as she chooses, such as in appointing a special prosecutor.
代表詹姆斯和霍楚尔的助理检察长凯特琳·维加斯（Kaitlin Vigars）周四表示，该男子不能声称因该任命而受到损害，因为目前没有刑事指控——将来也可能永远不会有。双方均可对法官的裁决提出上诉。
Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars, representing James and Hochul, said Thursday that the man can’t claim he’s been harmed by the appointment because there are no criminal charges — and might never be. Both sides can appeal the judge's ruling.
在宣布任命的新闻发布会上，当被问及社交媒体帖子时，詹姆斯拒绝置评。但霍楚尔表示，她对提名詹姆斯为特别检察官毫无顾虑。
At a news conference to announce her appointment, James declined to comment when asked about the social media posts. But Hochul said she had no qualms about naming her as special prosecutor.“I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she has always done: Look at the facts, examine the record, draw the proper conclusions,” Hochul said.
“我完全信任我们的总检察长会做她一直所做的事：审视事实、审查记录、得出恰当结论，”霍楚尔说。“这桩案件将会正是如此。”
“That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.”
詹姆斯曾参与多起高调案件，最著名的是针对全国步枪协会和唐纳德·特朗普总统的案件。她称该总统为“骗子”和“马戏团招徕客”，并誓言要将“强光照进他房地产交易的每一个黑暗角落”。她还主导了一项民事调查，导致州长……安德鲁·库莫因性骚扰指控辞职，尽管他否认了她报告中的调查结果。
James has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, most notably against the National Rifle Association and President Donald Trump. She labeled the president a “con man” and “carnival barker” and pledged to shine a “bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.”She also led a civil investigation that resulted in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment allegations, although he denied the findings in her report.