Syracuse, N.Y. — A 21-year-old Cornell University student who admitted making threats of violence against Jewish students at the university is appealing a judge’s order keeping him in jail.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks ordered Patrick Dai held in jail last month after a hearing lasting more than an hour. She ruled there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Dai was a risk, and there weren’t conditions under which he could be released that would assure her of the community’s safety.
Public defender Lisa Peebles, who is representing Dai, has filed an appeal of that ruling. Brenda Sannes, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, was randomly selected to rule on the appeal.