Note: This article has been updated to include additional interviews. The original version ran as a web update Jan. 7
More than 15 months into William McCormick's lawsuit against the University and two alums, the presiding judge recused himself from the case in early January.
Judge William Smith of the Rhode Island District federal court did not provide an explanation in his order of recusal. While it is fairly common for judges to recuse themselves at a case's onset, recusal is rare after a case has commenced.
"It's surprising to see it happen in a case like this," Yale Law School professor Robert Gordon wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "One would think it more likely in a case with financial stakes, in which a judge realizes in the middle of a litigation that he has some financial interest connected to one of the litigants."
While recusal this far into a case is infrequent, stepping down without giving an explanation is very common, Gordon wrote. A judge's decision to do so is "final and unappealable" without an explanation required, Gordon added, a setup which has spurred criticism over the years.
Judges may recuse themselves for a number of reasons, some more valid than others, Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor Charles Geyh wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
"The general rule is that a judge must disqualify himself when his impartiality might reasonably be questioned," Geyh wrote. For example, a judge choosing to step down for personal or financial relationships with any party related to the case would be legitimate grounds for recusal, while choosing to withdraw to avoid making a difficult political decision would not be an honorable reason, he wrote.
The case has been referred to Judge Ronald Lagueux.
In September 2009, in another highly unusual move, Smith sealed the case when it was transferred from Rhode Island Superior Court to federal court. Until the case was unsealed in April, there was no public record of its existence. The reasons for sealing the case were given in chambers, and there is no publicly available record of the reason for the sealing.
The case had also been sealed when it was initially filed in Rhode Island Superior Court.
McCormick's lawyer, Scott Kilpatrick, formally accused one of the University's co-defendants of witness intimidation in November when the girlfriend of former assistant wrestling coach Michael Burch received a package inviting Burch to a free dinner. Burch is a witness for the plaintiff and has spoken to various media outlets about the case.
The lawyer traced a phone number used to call Burch about the package to Patrick Brosnan, a private investigator employed by one of the alums named as a defendant in the suit. The accusation has not yet been resolved.
McCormick, a former member of the class of 2010, is suing the University, a female alum and her father — also an alum — over what he claims is a false rape allegation made against him in 2006 by the female alum. He claims the University did not handle the allegation impartially because the female alum's father is a significant donor and fundraiser for the University.
A lawyer for the female alum maintains she was in fact raped. Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, has stated that University officials handled the matter properly.
In 2006, before any University hearing on the allegation took place, McCormick and the female alum signed an agreement stipulating that McCormick withdraw from Brown and that neither he nor the female alum take legal action against the other.
McCormick's lawyer at the time, Walter Stone, represented McCormick while his law firm, Adler Pollock & Sheehan, was representing the University in a separate matter in federal court. McCormick's current lawyer has said that Stone did not disclose this apparent conflict of interest to McCormick at the time.
The Herald is withholding the name of the female alum because she may have been the victim of a sex crime.
The suit is currently in its pre-trial discovery period. Chief Judge Mary Lisi cannot try the case because her husband, Stephen Reid, represents the two alums named as defendants in the case.
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