After a federal judge in Syracuse, N.Y. ruled that Cal Harris’ lawsuit against Tioga County could go forward, Harris is pleased with the progress, although he expects the process to take years. Harris, who was tried four separate times for the murder of his wife, was found not guilty after his fourth trial in Schoharie, N.Y. on May 24, 2016. The body of Michele Harris has never been found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe attorneys for the state police and (Tioga District Attorney) tried to have (the lawsuit) thrown out, but the judge ruled my lawsuit to be credible enough to go forward and that\u2019s where we are now,\u201d Harris said in a phone interview last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among other things, Harris\u2019 lawsuit alleges that Tioga County District Attorneys misrepresented evidence and engaged in malicious prosecution. In responding to the lawsuit Tioga County has rejected those accusations. Now that it has been ruled the case can move forward, Harris said that depositions and exchanges of documents would begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that is the next step, but there is no timetable,\u201d Harris said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more than two-dozen witnesses to depose and thousands of pages of documents to go over, Harris said he knows there is no way his lawsuit will be a quick process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew this was going to be a long process, years even before there is a trial or settlement or whatever happens,\u201d said Harris, adding, \u201cBut we\u2019ve gotten a good response in the courts in terms of timing, moving through, but documents and depositions are going to take time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that there have been no major delays in his case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge case, we\u2019re talking 100,000 pages of documents between my four trials and all the evidence and witnesses that go with it,\u201d Harris said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing Harris said he is unhappy about with his lawsuit is that the entire process and a potential settlement will come from the taxpayers’ pocket and not from the people he alleges are directly responsible for the damage done to his life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven if there is a settlement (those directly responsible) won\u2019t pay a dime, the money isn\u2019t going to come from the people responsible, it\u2019ll all be paid for by the taxpayers. Which I\u2019m not happy about but that\u2019s just the way that it is,\u201d Harris added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite his inherent unhappiness with the burden his lawsuit is causing for taxpayers, Harris said he felt he had no other recourse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPersonally, it\u2019s been a very damaging situation as far as all the publicity for me and my kids. Our lives will never be the same. We\u2019ve lost a considerable amount the whole way around and the civil suit is the only way we could go about trying to be made whole,\u201d Harris said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After a federal judge in Syracuse, N.Y. ruled that Cal Harris’ lawsuit against Tioga County could go forward, Harris is pleased with the progress, although…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":76977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n