Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen accuses judge of bias; asks Gull to recuse herself

DELPHI, Ind. — The contentious relationship between Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's attorney and Special Judge Frances Gull again took center stage in filings Monday for Gull to step away from the high-profile case.

"The Court's conduct demonstrates the Court's inability to remain impartial to Defendant Allen and further demonstrates that this Court has engaged in judicial conduct which undermines all public confidence in the independence., integrity, and impartiality of the Court … ," Allen stated in an affidavit he signed Saturday and was filed Monday with the motion to disqualify Gull.

Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017, after the girls were abducted from the hiking trails near the Monon High Bridge east of Delphi, according to prosecutors. He is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of murder while kidnapping and two counts of kidnapping.

Allen's attorneys, Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, motion for Gull's removal cited an affidavit from Allen touching on how Gull appears biased against the defense based on her public rulings. The filings come just 11 days after the Indiana Supreme Court reversed Gull's Oct. 31 order forcing the removal Rozzi and Baldwin as Allen's attorneys —over Allen's objections.

"If the Indiana Supreme Court concluded that Judge Gull wrongfully denied Richard Allen of the attorneys of his choosing, would then, an objective person have a reasonable belief that she, Judge Frances C. Gull, is biased and prejudiced toward Defendant Allen?" the motion rhetorically asked.

Gull removed Rozzi and Baldwin on her own initiative claiming they were grossly negligent and incompetent.

She called an Oct. 19 hearing at the Allen County Courthouse, but she met with the attorneys in her chambers without providing Rozzi and Baldwin advance notice of the issues at hand so they could prepare for the hearing, Allen's affidavit states.

Inside Gull's chambers, she forced Baldwin and Rozzi to say they would resign rather than Gull making a public declaration about them.

The affidavit filed Monday accused Gull of then making statements to the public and on the record that misrepresented the in-chambers hearing, calling her statements "untruths as to the withdrawals of Baldwin and Rozzi... ."

The affidavit also cited that when Gull removed Rozzi and Baldwin two outstanding defense motions were pending — a motion for a Franks hearing to publicly vet the credibility of law enforcement officers' statements to get a search warrant at Allen's house and a motion to suppress evidence found in the search. The motions have been pending for months without the court's action when Rozzi and Baldwin were forced from the case.

More: Judge allows evidence found at Richard Allen's home into Delphi murder trial

In November, Gull twice noted that if the attorneys who replaced Rozzi and Baldwin wanted a hearing on these two matters, she would set a date, according to the motion.

However, within days of Rozzi and Baldwin being reinstated, Gull denied the motion for a Franks hearing and denied the motion to suppress without a hearing, Monday's affidavit states, along with other allegations against Gull, including ex-parte communication with Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland and favoring the state.

"The test ... is whether an objective person, knowledgeable of all the circumstances, would have a reasonable basis for doubting the judge's impartiality," the motion states about Gull's decisions, noting that a reasonable person might question Gull's decisions.

"At every stage, from now until the conclusion of this case, the actions and rulings of the court will be scrutinized through the lens of Judge Gull's error in severing Richard Allen's attorney-client relationship with his chosen lawyers," the motion states.

The attorneys also argued that Gull remaining on the case could lead to a successful appeal if Allen is found guilty.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen asks judge to recuse herself