Larry Nassar's attempt to disqualify sentencing judge denied

By Amy Biolchini
MLive
August 14, 2018

https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/larry_nassars_attempt_to_disqu.html

A judge has struck down ex-Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar's attempt to disqualify the judge that sentenced him to decades in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of girls and women under the guise of medical treatment.

Nassar's lawyers alleged Ingham County Circuit Judge Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was biased against him by allowing 169 people to give victim impact statements during his sentencing and cheering them along. Nassar is asking to be re-sentenced, and was attempting to seek a different judge to do so.

Tuesday, Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Richard J. Garcia denied Nassar's motion to disqualify Aquilina.

"Judge Aquilina clearly understood the importance of righteous indignation. She also understood the role of the court to have this emotion controlled by the judge rather than allow it to run wild in the community," Garcia wrote in his ruling. "She explained that as she expressed her indignation, there was a palpable decrease in the tension in the gallery. This was a controlled burn."

Nassar's attorneys alleged that Aquilina used the sentencing -- which was broadcast on national TV  -- to advance her own agenda. Nassar was attacked in federal prison hours after being booked, his lawyers claimed. The sentencing lasted nearly two weeks - and, as part of Nassar's plea deal, allowed any victim beyond those he faced charges against to speak

Garcia defended Aquilina's candor in the courtroom extensively in his ruling.

"Had Judge Aquilina discharged her duty of office 'without rhetoric' and dispassionately and blandly admonished the Defendant in polite terms, the survivors who poured their pain onto the record would have left feeling that their voices were again being ignored by the state," Garcia said.

Garcia said the only judge that could consider re-sentencing Nassar is the judge that heard the survivors speak. A date for Aqualina to hear Nassar's motion for a new sentence has not yet been set.

Nassar's attorneys with the State Appellate Defender Office could not be reached for comment. 

Nassar also is seeking a new sentence in his Eaton County case, where he was charged with sexually assaulting girls and women at Twistars gymnastics facility in Dimondale.

Nassar, a former doctor for Michigan State and the U.S.A. Gymnastics team, is serving 40-175 years in prison for sexual assault. He is also serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison on child pornography charges.