Cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom during the high-profile trial beginning in Delphi, Indiana, next month.
Special Judge Fran Gull ruled this week that audio, video, and electronics will all be banned from the courtroom, Fox 59 reported. The ruling comes after multiple news agencies filed requests to stream video and/or audio during the trial, which is set to begin on May 13.
The denial comes as the case has drawn national attention for its unusual pre-trial drama, including an attempt to remove original defense attorneys Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin and a counter-attempt by those defense attorneys to replace the judge.
Richard Allen will be on trial for allegedly kidnapping and murdering 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German on a Delphi hiking trail in 2017.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland attempted to hold Rozzi and Baldwin in contempt last month. The defense attorneys hired David Hennessy to represent them in the matter, and argued that McLeland accused his clients of violating the court’s order regarding statements about the case. He cited a news release from November 2022 – which was before the court issued a gag order.
Judge Gull had previously forced the defense attorneys to withdraw from the case, and the circumstances surrounding that withdrawal were presented to the Indiana Supreme Court in January.
The attorneys alleged 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first obtained by WTHR, shows the judge planned to remove the two attorneys prior to her public announcement they had withdrawn.
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At the meeting, which included 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.”
Following their withdrawal, Rozzi and Baldwin tried to get Judge Gull removed from the case, to no avail.