Explained: 4 Cornell lawsuit defendants join effort to oust Letitia James from criminal investigation

Four men named in a former Cornell University student's lawsuit are joining a co-defendant's effort to block New York Attorney General Letitia James from leading a reopened criminal investigation

special prosecutor

A prosecutor appointed to handle a specific case, often when there's a conflict of interest with the regular prosecutor

outside counsel

An external lawyer hired to handle a case rather than in-house staff

court petition

A formal written request filed with a court seeking a specific legal action