Richard Allen’s attorney accuses judge of forcing withdrawal
The trial for the suspect in the Delphi murders case was expected to start Jan. 8, 2024.
DELPHI, Ind. — One of the two attorneys who represented Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen is claiming the judge forced their withdrawal prior to a hearing in Allen County.
An order by the judge was entered into record Oct. 19 – after the hearing – in which she ordered Rozzi and Baldwin withdrawn from the case. She then ordered the clerk to remove them as attorneys of record in the case.
Allen is accused of killing Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in February 2017.
NOTE: The above video is from an Oct. 19 report on the hearing in which Allen’s attorneys were said to have withdrawn from the case.
Notice to continue representing Richard Allen
According to a new court filing Thursday, attorney Bradley Rozzi claims Judge Frances Gull ordered Rozzi and attorney Andrew Baldwin to “cease work on Mr. Allen’s case” on Oct. 12 until they were set to appear in court on Oct. 19.
The long-anticipated hearing lasted 3 minutes as Gull announced Baldwin had withdrawn his representation as Allen’s attorney, and Rozzi was expected to give an oral withdrawal.
NOTE: A court administrator confirmed to 13News on Oct. 26 that Rozzi has not filed a motion to withdraw from the case.
The filing says the judge ordered the defense and Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLleland to appear in chambers at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 — which is 90 minutes before the hearing was scheduled to start.
According to the filing, the defense and prosecutor met prior to the Oct. 19 hearing when the judge read a prepared statement to Rozzi and Baldwin, identifying various issues throughout the case of the defense exercising “gross negligence” in carrying out their responsibilities for Allen.
RELATED: Attorneys: Resignation of Richard Allen’s defense team could result in yearlong delay in Delphi murders trial
The filing says the judge then gave Rozzi and Baldwin two options:
- Voluntarily withdraw their appearances and exit the courthouse in advance of the hearing
- Participate in the 2 p.m. hearing, and the judge would read a prepared statement into the record and then disqualify both Rozzi and Baldwin in the presence of Allen, his family and the public.
According to the filing, the defense then spoke with Allen, who allegedly reaffirmed he wanted to continue being represented by Rozzi and Baldwin — and Allen allegedly still objects to the judge’s attempt to strip him of his current counsel.
After speaking with Allen, the court filing says Rozzi and Baldwin returned to chambers, at which time Rozzi said the judge “had engaged in an ambush of defense counsel, entirely void of due process,” and Rozzi would withdraw his appearance — noting it wasn’t voluntarily.
Rozzi cites the jury trial in Allen County scheduled to begin Jan. 8, 2024. If Rozzi were to continue representing Allen, the court filing says there will be no need to appoint two new attorneys to dedicate “hundreds and thousands of hours toward a mere review of the discovery.”
The filing states, “any successor lawyer would have the convenience of working with attorney Rozzi to become familiar with the subject matter in a much more efficient and fiscally responsible way.”
According to the filing, there are no circumstances under Rule 1.16 of the Indiana rules of Professional Conduct which warrant Rozzi’s withdrawal in representing Allen.
Request to remove judge
Rozzi is also requesting Gull remove herself from the case.
The attorney is asking for her recusal, claiming she has shown her “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Rozzi goes on to claim Gull violated the Indiana Supreme Court’s Administrative Rules by removing or concealing some of the defense’s pleadings from the case summary.
In the motion to disqualify, Rozzi also points to his claims the judge ordered counsel to “cease work on Mr. Allen’s case” leading up to the Oct. 19 hearing, which Rozzi claims violates Allen’s Sixth Amendment rights to representation.
Rozzi also accuses Gull of a lack of concern to protect the physical and mental health of Allen and has shown bias against Allen.
RELATED: Richard Allen case | Full timeline and events so far
13News reached out to Gull’s office and was told the court cannot comment on the matter.
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