Supreme Court asked to reinstate Delphi killing suspect’s attorneys
INDIANAPOLIS — Attorneys for Richard Allen, the suspect in the 2017 Delphi killings of two teens, are not quietly going away after Special Judge Frances Gull ordered them off of the case during an Oct. 31 hearing and over Allen’s objections.
A motion filed Monday on behalf of Allen and his former attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi, asks the Indiana Supreme Court to reverse Gull’s order, reinstating Baldwin and Rozzi, and asks the state’s highest court to remove Gull as the presiding judge in Allen’s case.
It is the second motion filed with the Supreme Court within a week asking the justices to intervene by reviewing Gull’s orders — and possibly reversing her — as well as blocking the case from moving forward until the high court rules.
In the earlier motion for writs of mandamus and prohibition, legal counsel for Gull and Carroll Circuit Court have until Thursday to file briefs with the court arguing for or against the proposed writs.
The new motion filed with the Supreme Court Monday also asks the justices to remove Gull from the case.
“A new judge should also be appointed to avoid the appearance of bias that will otherwise permeate these proceedings,“ the motion states.
As for reinstating Baldwin and Rozzi, the motion states, “When a court believes it possesses objective evidence to support a lawyer’s removal, it should clearly articulate that evidence on the record and ‘exhaust other possible remedies before resorting to the removal of counsel,’ such as censure, disciplinary referral, or contempt proceedings.
“Removal, if ever considered by a judge, should be an absolute last resort,” the filing states. “And the removal proceedings should occur at a hearing where the defendant and his chosen counsel are provided notice and an opportunity to be heard on why the attorney/client relationship should be severed.
“Here, the judge acted to terminate the attorney-client relationship when she had an absolute duty to refrain from doing so. This Court should mandate Attorneys Rozzi and Baldwin be immediately reinstated.”
Gull found Baldwin and Rozzi’s behavior amounted to gross negligence in their representation of Allen, who is charged with two counts of murder. He is accused of killing 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017, along the north banks of the Deer Creek in Delphi about a quarter-of-a-mile east of the Monon High Bridge.
“… Attorneys Baldwin and Rozzi were removed because the trial court disagreed with their conduct,” Monday’s filing states. “The judge made a sua sponte summary finding in chambers of ‘gross negligence’ after the State raised the issue of disqualifying them.”
Monday’s filing indicates that Gull cited as several acts to supporter her allegations of gross negligence, including issuing a news release on Allen’s behalf before the gag order was issues, filing motions to protect Allen’s health and safety, “which the court believed lacked evidentiary support.”
Gull also cited an unintentional emailing a discovery log to a third party, as well as “unspecified ‘improper’ statements made in the motion to suppress,” according to Monday’s filing.
As part of her finding of gross negligence, Gull cited the defense filing notice of a tort claim preserving Allen’s right to sue the state over his ongoing incarceration in solitary confinement at a state prison, as well as Baldwin hiring an attorney to represent his interest during the Oct. 19 in-chambers meeting and during the Oct. 31 hearing.
The final gross negligence cited by Gull, according to the recent filing, was the third-party release of crime scene photos taken without the knowledge or consent of Baldwin or Rozzi.
“No Indiana court has ever tolerated a trial judge removing a lawyer from a case, over the client’s objection, based on the judge’s subjective belief the lawyer is negligent, or even “grossly negligent,” the filing states.
“(T)he judge’s subjective allegations of “gross negligence” fall into two categories: (1) a mere disagreement with zealous defense tactics, or (2) concerns about the unintended release of evidence, which objectively had no effect on the lawyers’ ongoing, effective representation of (Allen).”
The motion states that Baldwin and Rozzi planned to file this month for a speedy trial so that the Jan. 8 trial date would be locked in and unmovable, according to the motion, which adds the defense planned to use a third-party guilt strategy. But with Baldwin and Rozzi off of the case, Allen’s trial is now postponed until Oct. 15, 2024.
“This Court should grant emergency relief and reinstate Attorneys Rozzi and Baldwin,” the motion states..
“This Court is the only court in the State that can order a speedy trial date. If it does not seize this opportunity now, it will forever be lost. There is no post-judgment remedy available,” the motion states.
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