ROCKY MOUNT, Va., June 6 (UPI) -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli can defend Virginia Tech against two wrongful-death lawsuits connected to a 2007 massacre at the school, a judge says.
Bob Hall, who is representing the families of slain students Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde in $10 million lawsuits, sought to disqualify Cuccinelli and 200 assistants after the attorney general called his claims "baseless" and "outrageous."
Special Justice William Alexander, sitting in Rocky Mount, said Friday there is "no rule or case law that would allow me to do this," The Roanoke Times reported.
Alexander did question Cuccinelli's posting of just one of hundreds of discovery documents favoring the defense to his Web site in April.
He also told Assistant Attorney General Mike Melis that Cuccinelli "did insinuate a conspiracy" when he assailed a federal Education Department fine against the university while denouncing the plaintiffs in the same news conference.
"I see troubling signs of bad faith on the part of Virginia Tech's detractors," Cuccinelli had said.
Melis said his boss was not accusing the plaintiffs of collusion.
A civil jury trial is set to start Sept. 29 for Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and former Executive Vice President James Hyatt, accused of mishandling the April 16, 2007, rampage by Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and wounded others before committing suicide.
