William McCormick's lawsuit against the University and two alums was transferred to its sixth judge yesterday. The case was transferred back to Rhode Island from New Hampshire and will be heard by Rhode Island District Federal Court Judge John McConnell '80.
McCormick motioned to have the case returned to McConnell Sept. 16, citing the cost of conducting the litigation in New Hampshire. The University and the alums both filed motions opposing transfer of the case to McConnell.
McConnell's confirmation as a federal judge this year was held up by Republicans in the U.S. Senate for over a year. Republicans based their opposition in part on the claim that McConnell's history as a plaintiffs' lawyer would make him partial toward plaintiffs in cases against powerful defendants, a charge which he denied.
McCormick, a former member of the class of 2010, claims he was falsely accused of rape in 2006 and unjustly forced out of the University in part because of the influence of his accuser's father, a prominent donor and fundraiser for the University. McCormick is suing the University, his accuser and her father for unspecified damages.
The defendants have all denied wrongdoing.
The case was first brought to Providence Superior Court in 2009. It was then transferred to federal court.
The first federal judge to hear the case recused himself in January after his daughter applied to Brown. A second federal judge recused himself after it came to light that one of the alums' lawyers had represented him when he was accused of judicial misconduct in the 1980s. Rhode Island District Chief Judge Mary Lisi then recused herself, presumably because she is married to one of the defendants' other lawyers.
At the time, because McConnell had not yet been confirmed, there were no federal judges in Rhode Island able to hear the case, so it was sent to a judge in New Hampshire.
McCormick and his accuser are both scheduled to be deposed later this month.
— Herald staff
Staff from The Brown Daily Herald
