Melissa L. Jampol, Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences and Litigation practices, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in Law360, in “Disparate Motives Seen in Cuomo’s Call for DA Probe,” by Jody Godoy. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call for the state attorney general to review the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into a sexual assault complaint against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein was hailed by victims’ rights activists but left open questions about how the review will play out. …
But Cuomo’s announcement surprised ex-prosecutors from the office, who saw potential problems with the Albany-ordered review.
Melissa Jampol, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who worked in the sex crimes unit, said a key part of the job is interviewing sexual assault claimants multiple times and asking hard questions to elicit all of the facts in a case. One of the reasons for doing this is that victims are often the only witness to an assault and face the brunt of a defense that seeks to undermine their credibility at trial, Jampol said.
“In that context, to then second-guess the decisions made by the experienced chief of the sex-crimes unit is completely shocking,” Jampol said. …
The review itself could affect the ongoing investigation into Weinstein in unforeseen ways, said Jampol.
