INDIANAPOLIS — The original defense attorneys in the Delphi murders case, who claim they were forced to step down as Richard Allen’s lawyers, have filed paperwork to represent Allen pro bono if they are not reinstated as his public defenders.
At an Oct. 19 hearing, Judge Fran Gull announced to a packed courtroom that Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi were “voluntarily withdrawing” from the case. The withdrawals came on the heels of an evidence leak traced back to Baldwin.
One week later, Rozzi has filed a motion claiming Judge Gull “ambushed” the defense with allegations of “gross negligence” during a conference in her Fort Wayne chambers last week.
According to new court filings, not only did Rozzi push back on the judge, calling for her disqualification by the Indiana Supreme Court, he also claimed he had no intention of stepping down.
The Logansport attorney claims the judge’s directive would deprive Allen of his right to counsel and further drag out a trial for a case that already took nearly five years to net an arrest.
Rozzi also claimed that the attorneys were not permitted to defend themselves in open court due to the public shaming that would result from the court’s admonishment of the defense team as prejudicial, damaging to its professional reputations and potentially tainting an anticipated jury pool.
Despite those claims, Judge Gull issued an order reiterating that both Rozzi and Baldwin have been dismissed, and their names are removed from the court docket. Gull then appointed attorney Robert Scremin and attorney William S. Lebrato as contract public defenders in Allen’s case.
It appears that by representing Allen pro bono, the attorneys would be able to continue representing him despite the judge’s removal.
Rozzi and Baldwin are expected to attend tomorrow’s hearing at 9 a.m., along with the two new attorneys that were appointed to the case.