Mon Ethos to call judge as a witness, requests recusal

The lawyer for Mon Ethos Pro Support told a St. Thomas judge Friday that he intends to call her as a witness in an upcoming hearing in the government’s lawsuit against the cybersecurity company.

Attorney Alex Golubitsky said the company is asking Superior Court Judge Carol Thomas-Jacobs to recuse herself from the case, which involves a dispute over digital devices and evidence that the V.I. Police Department entrusted to Mon Ethos for analysis.

Thomas-Jacobs recently granted the government’s request to have the court order Mon Ethos to return the material, some of which is crucial to ongoing criminal prosecutions. But Mon Ethos owner David Whitaker has expressed concern that data could be lost if devices like the department’s GrayKey, which is being used to unlock and extract data from cellphones, are moved without a plan in place.