A recently published book about Kermit Gosnell, the infamous abortion doctor convicted of murder in 2013, is now the object of a court action by the judge who presided over the case, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Minehart, who is suing over what he views as a none-too-flattering portrayal.

In mid-June, Minehart sued the authors and the companies that published “Gosnell: The Untold Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer,” which, he alleges, defamed him as a corrupt stooge in a system that worked to cover up Gosnell's crimes. Among other things, Minehart's suit, filed June 22 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, says the authors incorrectly state he was a “drinking buddy” of Gosnell's defense lawyer, that he is thought of as a “pro-defense judge,” and that prosecutors were dismayed that he had been assigned the case.

Minehart's complaint challenges those comments as easily disproven—for instance, he said it's a “well-known fact that” Gosnell's attorney has not had a drink in 20 years and that he was not randomly assigned the case, but instead prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to have him handle the trial.