DELPHI, Ind. — Nearly two weeks after the Indiana Supreme Court decided Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen’s defense team could be reinstated, the Carroll County prosecutor is maintaining Allen's attorneys should be found in contempt of court.
A court order filed on Monday sees prosecutor Nick McLeland listing out 25 reasons why he believes judge Frances Gull, who defense attorneys Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin want removed from the case altogether, should hold Allen's attorneys in contempt of court.
He largely accuses Rozzi and Baldwin of violating a gag order during their time as Allen's representation, most of which came in connection to a leak of evidence, including crime scene photos and evidence that the state learned about in October 2023.
“The amount of harm and revictimization that [the leak] has caused the families of the victims is unmeasurable and incurable,” McCleland argued in the filing.
Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi in February 2017.
Rozzi and Baldwin were appointed by the court to represent Allen on Nov. 14, 2022. At a hearing to resolve preliminary matters held on Nov. 22, 2022, the state filed a motion to request a gag order for the case, which would have prevented people closest to the case, including family members and attorneys, from speaking publicly about it.
McCleland argued in the newest filing that although the court took the state’s motion to implement a gag order under advisement, Baldwin and Rozzi “refused to agree to the state’s motion that such an order was unnecessary because they had no intentions of discussing the case in public.”
The Carroll County prosecutor further argued that shortly after, on Dec. 1, 2022, Allen’s defense put out a press release to the public that McCleland commented on the case.
McCleland argued that the press release would have been in violation of the gag order Rozzi and Baldwin had previously not agreed to.
By Dec. 2, the court had issued a gag order that prevented law enforcement officials, attorneys, court personnel and family members from speaking publicly about the Delphi murders case.
“The order directed the attorneys not to comment on this case to the public or to the media, directly or indirectly, by themselves or through any intermediary, in any form,” the filing read.
In the new filing, the state asked the court to issue a "Rule to Show Cause Order" based on the information they outlined, and requested a hearing for Rozzi and Baldwin to appear and show why they should not be held in contempt of court.
For their part, Rozzi and Baldwin are again calling for the removal or recusal of the special judge in the case, Gull. They were reinstated in the case by the Indiana Supreme Court less than two weeks ago, and argue "there is no recognizable legal rationale which supports [Judge] Gull continuing to preside over this case."