The Indiana Supreme Court in January will hear oral arguments regarding whether to reinstate the original defense attorneys representing the man accused of killing two Delphi teenagers in 2017.
The court will also hear arguments on whether to remove special Judge Fran Gull from the case, WTHR reported. Concerned attorneys unaffiliated with the case had previously petitioned the court to replace her, citing alleged bias against the defense.
The case involves Richard Allen, 51, who is accused of murdering 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German on a hiking trail back in 2017. Allen’s original court-assigned attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, were removed from the case in late October – the circumstances of which will now be reviewed by the state Supreme Court, which may reinstate the two attorneys.
Baldwin and Rozzi allege that during a closed-door meeting with Gull, the judge threatened to harm the attorney’s reputation by accusing them of “gross negligence” in open court unless they withdrew from the case. The attorneys withdrew, but filed a petition to represent Allen pro bono. Judge Gull then barred them from representing Allen in any capacity.
The transcript, first obtained by WTHR, shows the judge planned to remove the two attorneys prior to her public announcement they had withdrawn.
At the meeting, which included Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland, the group discussed a leak of documents from Baldwin’s office, but Judge Gull stated that was not the only reason she wanted the attorneys removed from representing Allen. Gull said the attorneys “potentially” violated the Rules of Professional Responsibility. She told Baldwin he was “grossly negligent” for sending a sensitive email to a “Brad” who was not Rozzi, and questioned whether the two attorneys had fully cooperated with a gag order she had filed. She also said she had evidence the attorneys “left materials all over a conference-room table, accessible to anyone.”
“It pains me to say this, but the totality of these circumstances demonstrate gross negligence and incompetence on the part of the defense team,” Gull said. “I am unsatisfied with your representation of Mr. Allen. I am gravely concerned about his rights to have competent, non-negligent representation. He currently doesn’t have that right now.”
Gull then said she told them this information privately but would say it in open court if they didn’t withdraw. From the transcript:
Rozzi: “So basically, what you’re saying is ‘You guys either quit on your own accord or you make me fire you?’ That’s what-“
Gull: “No. I’m saying to you that this is my this is what [I] plan to say in court on the record when we convene at two o’clock.”
Rozzi: “Well, so are – is the culmination of that that you’re removing us from the case?”
Gull: “I will, based on what I’ve just shared with you.”
A little later in the conversation, Rozzi told Gull she had “ambushed” him and Baldwin into a “forced resignation” without giving them a real opportunity to prepare for the meeting.
“The options I’ve been given without any notice [from] the Court really are either I withdraw or I’m gonna be publicly shamed,” Rozzi said, “And that’s the way I see this. And I think that public shaming is not only – there’s not only a professional element to that, I think there’s a personal element too.”
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