Source: Allen County Court / Screenshot of Allen County court hearing
CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — The defense team for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen are taking another shot at removing the judge from the case.
In a motion filed Sunday, attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi claim Special Judge Fran Gull already tainted the court process and displayed her bias and prejudice by removing Allen’s legal counsel back on October 19th of last year.
From Baldwin and Rozzi’s court motion: “The court must grant the request if the facts recited in the affidavit support a rational inference of bias or prejudice [emphasis added]. Put another way, the facts Filed: 1/28/2024 10:00 PM Carroll Circuit Court Carroll County, Indiana contained in the affidavit must show there is a reasonable basis to question the judge’s impartiality toward Richard Allen and his defense team.”
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled January 18th to reinstate attorneys Baldwin and Rozzi, citing issues with the actions of Judge Gull leading up to their original disqualification.
Allen’s legal team was originally disqualified based on what Judge Gull claimed was “gross negligence and incompetence.”
Baldwin and Rozzi’s main argument boils down to the idea that every step in the court process, from now through the jury trial, would be tainted by Gull’s previous actions, “at every stage, from now until the conclusion of this case, the actions and rulings of the court will be scrutinized through the lens of Judge Gull’s error in severing Richard Allen’s attorney-client relationship with his chosen lawyers.”
Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland also filed a motion this past weekend, requesting the defense to turn over Discovery and a list of witnesses they intend to call.
McLeland makes mention in Saturday’s court filing that the defense has not cooperated with that request yet, even though Baldwin and Rozzi were only recently reinstated.
The trial is supposed to begin October 15th, however that would most likely change if Allen’s legal team gets their way.
