by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
LANCASTER—The family of a man who died in a boating accident on Carter Creek in 2017 is asking the court to disqualify and remove Lancaster County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jan Smith from the case.
According to a 21-page motion filed in Lancaster County Circuit Court July 3, J. Burke McCormick and Sallie T. Graham are requesting the removal of Smith and his assistant(s) as the prosecutors in the case against John Randolph “Rand” Hooper. Hooper was indicted and charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to render aid in the death of Graham K. McCormick, 31, of Atlanta.
J. Burke McCormick and Sallie T. Graham are the parents of Graham K. McCormick.
James C. Breeden of Breeden & Breeden PC in Irvington filed a motion July 9 challenging the legal standing and purpose of the motion by the parents to disqualify Smith.
Hooper will appear in Lancaster County Circuit Court tomorrow, July 12, at 9 a.m. when Judge Herbert M. Hewitt will set a new hearing date. According to the docket, he is also expected to address the motion by McCormick and Graham.
A letter to Lancaster Clerk of the Circuit Court Diane H. Mumford from Hooper attorney Craig C. Cooley requests that if Judge Hewitt is inclined to have a hearing on the parents’ motion, it be set for a later date…
