UPDATE: On Tuesday morning, Allen filed to have his trial delayed from January. The judge granted that. A new trial date is now set for Oct. 15-31 of 2024. The new attorneys have not talked to the state yet. A return of discovery is coming by end of week.The judge also told Richard Allen, “I cannot and will not allow these attorneys to represent you.” She then disqualified Baldwin and Rozzi from representing him, even pro bono.
No cameras were allowed in the courtroom for Tuesday’s hearing.
ORIGINAL STORY: The new civil attorneys for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen want the Indiana Supreme Court to give a ruling on public access to court filings in the case. That request was filed Monday.
The brief is 22 pages. It argues that the local court and the Carroll County prosecutor have violated the state open records rules for court proceedings. These new attorneys for Allen are the third to represent him in the case.
Among the attorneys’ claims are the following:
-Hundreds of documents are improperly excluded from public access.
-Allen has asked his “chosen counsel” to make filings on his behalf, and the judge ordered the Clerk of Court to remove those filings after ruling Allen’s chosen counsel are no longer on the case.
-The trial court has failed to perform the “clear, absolute, and imperative duty imposed by” the Access to Court Records Rules and the Trial Rules.
The chief justice issued a Nov. 9 deadline for any party to file an objection or any supplemental material. The court will then review it.
One of the attorneys’ claims is that when the court made 118 documents accessible to the public on June 28, 2023, the documents were not labeled in a way for the public to understand them.
Back on October 19, Judge Frances Gull announced Allen’s attorneys had withdrawn from the case and appointed new attorneys for him. The original lawyers, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, claim the judge carried out a “pre-meditated ambush” and “coerced” the withdrawals.
Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi back in 2017. He’s facing two counts of murder.
Allen is due in court Tuesday morning for a hearing.
His trial is set to begin in January, although that is likely to be delayed.
