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The special judge in the ongoing case of Richard Allen, the man accused of killing two teenage girls in Delphi in February 2017, has cancelled this week’s hearings after the defense team filed a motion to disqualify the judge from the case.
The filing of a motion like this prevents the court from deciding on anything until a ruling is made for the disqualification motion, therefore the hearing, set for May 21, 22 and 23, had to be cancelled.
This is the second verified motion to disqualify the defense has filed in this case. Back in January, the defense filed a motion to have Special Judge Frances Gull removed because of bias.
In the filing, Allen’s attorneys claimed Gull treats the prosecution more favorably than the defense and makes disparaging comments about the defense counsel in open court and in orders issued by the court, among other accusations.
The motion was denied.
The second motion, filed on Friday, makes similar claims as well as additional ones.
Allen’s defense team claims Gull prioritizes the prosecution’s motions over the defense’s.
They also claim Gull’s decision to comment on a social media post about a softball tournament at the Abby and Libby Memorial Park was inappropriate.
This week’s hearings were intended to discuss several filings from both the defense and prosecution, including the prosecution’s request that the defense be prevented from using words like “cult” or “Odinism” in front of the jury.
No new hearing date has been announced. Allen’s case will go to trial in October.
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to defense attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi for comment.
In response to our request for comment, Judge Gull told Indiana Lawyer she is not ethically permitted to comment on pending litigation.
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