LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A judge who sentenced disgraced former sports doctor Larry Nassar to prison for molesting girls will hold a hearing on a request that she disqualify herself from his appeal of the sentence.
FILE – In this Nov. 22, 2017, file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. A judge who sentenced Nassar to prison for molesting girls will hold a hearing on a request that she disqualify herself from his appeal of the sentence. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina will hear arguments in her Lansing courtroom Friday, Aug. 3. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina will hear arguments in her Lansing, Michigan, courtroom on Friday.
Nassar’s court-appointed appellate lawyers say the judge was biased. They cite her inappropriate comments, such as saying she would allow someone “to do to him what he did to others” if the constitution allowed.
The Michigan attorney general’s office defends Aquilina’s conduct and says she was channeling “the community’s frustration and moral outrage.”
Nassar, who is serving a 60-year federal term for child pornography possession, is contesting a 40- to 175-year state sentence ordered by Aquilina. He wants to be resentenced by another judge.
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