The ongoing legal battle involving defense attorneys for the man suspected of killing two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, back in 2017 continues, with prosecutors planning to call witnesses for their allegations that the attorneys are in contempt of court.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland provided a list on Wednesday to Richard Allen’s defense attorneys that detailed the names of witnesses he will call and the exhibits he will present during a March 18 hearing regarding the defense attorney’s alleged contempt, the Journal & Courier reported. A public filing does not list the witnesses or exhibits.
McLeland also asked that Special Judge Frances Gull – whom Allen’s defense attorneys tried to get removed from the case – order the defense attorneys, Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, to turn over their witness and exhibit list before March 7. It does not appear Gull has issued the order.
Allen was charged in October 2022 with two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit the kidnapping of 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German on a hiking trail in 2017. In late January, McLeland filed a request to amend the charges to include two additional counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping, WTHR reported.
The contempt claims came in a filing from McLeland on January 29. Baldwin and Rozzi’s attorney, David Hennessy, filed a motion this week asking for clarification on the allegations, saying the allegations suffered from “insufficiencies.”
In one example, Hennessy noted 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. Hennessy said McLeland has not explained how this amounted to contempt of court.
McLeland has not specifically addressed Hennessy’s points. Hennessy also noted that McLeland has to file the contempt case separate from Allen’s criminal case. If they are found in contempt of court, Rozzi and Baldwin could face incarceration or fines, the Courier reported.
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 last month.
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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.
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.”
“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.”
While the defense attorneys attempted to get Judge Gull removed from the case, their request was denied, but they were reinstated as Allen’s attorneys.