x
Breaking News
More () »

AG's Office asks Judge Aquilina to deny Larry Nassar's motion for new sentencing

In their motion seeking a new sentencing, Nassar's court-appointed appellate attorneys argued he was entitled for a new sentence on three grounds.
Credit: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina addresses a woman after her victim impact statement Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, during the first day of the sentencing hearing for former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar.

LANSING - Days before the matter is expected to be argued in court, the Michigan Attorney General's Office made its case why Larry Nassar should not receive a new sentence on sexual assault charges in Ingham County.

"Nassar is not entitled to resentencing," the AG's Office wrote in a filing on Thursday, its response to July motion from Nassar's attorneys. "The judge considered the factors she was required to, use (sic) harsh language as she was entitled to, and imposed a sentence that he agreed to."

In their motion seeking a new sentencing, Nassar's court-appointed appellate attorneys argued he was entitled for a new sentence on three grounds: Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was biased against him, which violated his due process rights; she considered impermissible factors in reaching the sentence; and Nassar's state sentences should be served at the same time as his federal sentences.

His attorneys also filed a motion to disqualify Aquilina from hearing any appeals, a motion which she and the Ingham County chief judge have denied.

A hearing on the motion for a new Ingham County is set for Monday afternoon in Aquilina's courtroom, where he was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on seven sexual assault charges.

dditionally, Nassar's attorneys filed a motion seeking a new sentence in the Eaton County, where he also faced sexual assault charges. A hearing has been set for Sept. 6 in Judge Janice Cunningham's courtroom, where Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 125 years in prison on three sexual assault charges.

Nassar's appeal of his 60-year federal sentence on child pornography charges was denied on Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In their response to Nassar's motion seeking a new Ingham County sentence, the AG's Office reiterated much of what it said when arguing that Aquilina should be kept on the case. It defended Aquilina's actions during and after the hearing and said that it was the federal judge, not either state judge, who ordered the federal sentence to be completed before Nassar serves any time of the state sentences.

"The magnitude of the sentencing hearing, and the sometimes caustic language the judge employed, was a direct result of Nassar's admitted misdeeds," the AG's Office wrote in its response on Thursday. "This Court should deny Nassar's motion for resentencing."

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.

Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.

Before You Leave, Check This Out