Attorneys ask Indiana Supreme Court to review decisions in Delphi suspect's case
INDIANAPOLIS — Suspected Delphi killer Richard Allen's defense has asked the Indiana Supreme Court to review Special Judge Frances Gull's decisions to seal documents and dismiss his court-appointed attorneys.
Attorneys on Allen's behalf filed two motions with the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday, noting, "This case involves one of the most high-profile matters in Indiana history."
One motion seeks to force Gull to open court filings for public inspection and reinstate Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi as Allen's attorneys. The motion also seeks to block the judge from interfering with Allen's case while the appeal is underway.
Allen is charged with murder in the deaths of 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017. The girls were walking along trails on the north bank of Deer Creek shortly before being killed.
"If there was ever a time when the openness mandated by the Trial Rules and Access to Court Records Rules was critical, it is the present case — one of the most high-profile cases this state has ever seen," Monday's filing states. "For many Hoosiers this is the first time they have followed the workings of a court in this state.
Allen's attorneys assert that the rules have been repeatedly violated, particularly around what should be public in the case and at court hearings.
The motions allege that someone has sealed public filings in Allen's case, starting with the April 5 filing for an emergency motion to modify Allen's safekeeping.
"Thereafter, someone within the court system ... changed all of Allen’s filings to 'confidential' and excluded all of them from public access without any notice to or from Allen," the motion states. "From that point through the end of June 2023, more than 125 separate court records were excluded from public access."
As another example, the motion cites the Sept. 18 filing for a hearing to determine if police misled the court to get a search warrant of Allen's home. The motion, the accompanying 136-page memorandum and exhibits all were filed open to the public. But someone sealed the memorandum and exhibits.
None of the 125 excluded court records includes the mandatory explanation as to why it should be excluded, according to Monday's filing.
The motion also addresses the Oct. 19 hearing in Fort Wayne, during which Gull announced in open court that Allen's defense attorneys, Baldwin and Rozzi, resigned. Baldwin orally resigned, Gull said, and Rozzi indicated he would resign in writing. Baldwin and Rozzi are court-appointed attorneys.
Subsequent filings by Baldwin and Rozzi indicate they want to continue as Allen's attorneys.
Monday's filing reiterates Baldwin's assertion last week that the resignation was coerced after an in-chamber hearing.
The "trial court read a prepared statement to Attorneys Rozzi and Baldwin accusing them of 'gross negligence' in their capacity as Allen’s counsel," Monday's filing states.
The judge's accusations came after the attorneys filed motions proposing alternate suspects in the case and alleging the girls' killings were linked to Odinism as well as a third-party leak of crime scene evidence.
Allen has instructed his defense to seek the judge's recusal and he is seeking a continuance of the previously scheduled Oct. 31 hearing, the motion indicated.
As of Monday afternoon, online court documents indicate the hearing set for 9 a.m. Tuesday remains on the docket.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murders: Indiana Supreme Court is asked to review decisions
