Justice Farrell Challenges Attorney General James’s Role in Lopes Case

The legal challenge stems from an October 9, 2026, filing where Lopes’s counsel argued that James’s impartiality is compromised. The core of the dispute lies in a September 28 social media post by the Attorney General, in which she publicly labeled the experience of a plaintiff in a related civil case as “horrific and unacceptable.” Three days after that statement, Governor Hochul signed Executive Order No. 64, tasking James with investigating the very allegations she had already publicly validated.

Stuart Bernstein, a partner at Nesenoff & Miltenberg, LLP, contends that James’s prior public support for the plaintiff disqualifies her from conducting an objective criminal inquiry. The court will now determine if the Governor must appoint a new, neutral special prosecutor to ensure the integrity of the proceedings. The petition highlights the necessity of maintaining independence from the earliest stages of a criminal case, arguing that the Attorney General’s existing stance creates an irreparable conflict of interest.