A local attorney who has handled some of the country’s highest-profile sexual harassment cases has been retained by the Boulder woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct while they were Yale classmates, 9Wants to Know has learned.
John Clune, who represented the woman who accused Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston of rape, confirmed to 9Wants to Know on Monday that he would be representing Deborah Ramirez and that Stan Garnett, the former Boulder district attorney, would be “transitioning off the case.”
Clune, an attorney at the Boulder firm Hutchinson Black and Cook, declined to discuss specifics of the case.
In an article published Sunday by the New Yorker, Ramirez alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party while they were both students at Yale. The incident occurred during the 1983-84 school year, according to the article.
Ramirez’s allegation is the second charge of sexual misconduct leveled against Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to replace the retired Anthony Kennedy.
Earlier, Kristine Blasey Ford, a California college professor, alleged that Kavanaugh groped her, attempted to remove her clothes and clamped his hand over her mouth at a house party in the early 1980s when they were both high school students.
Both women alleged that alcohol was involved in the incidents.
Clune, along with one of his colleagues, Baine Kerr, represented Erica Kinsman, who accused Winston of raping her in December 2012. Although Winston was never charged criminally, Kinsman sued him – and he ultimately counter-sued. The two cases were settled out of court on undisclosed terms.
Florida State University – where Winston led the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship – settled a separate lawsuit filed by Kinsman for $950,000. That suit was filed under the federal gender-discrimination law known as Title IX.
Clune also represents a woman identified in court papers as “Kate P.” who sued Winston – now the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – last week, alleging that he groped her in March 2016 while they were in the drive-through lane at an Arizona restaurant. That woman’s allegation against Winston led the NFL to suspend him for the first three games of this season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Clune’s first high-profile case came when he represented the woman who accused Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant of rape at an Edwards hotel in 2003. Although criminal charges were ultimately dropped, the woman filed a civil suit against Bryant that was settled out of court.
Contact 9NEWS reporter Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
