DELPHI, Ind. — The judge in the Delphi murders case ruled Richard Allen's attorneys are not in contempt of court for violating a gag order or for how they handled evidence in the case. Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017, and he is set to stand trial May 14.
In her ruling, special judge Frances Gull found defense attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi have been "sloppy, negligent, and incompetent in their handling of discovery materials."
However, she did not find them in contempt for the alleged mishandling of evidence, which allowed crime scene photos to be leaked, or for violating the gag order.
The prosecutor had asked Gull to hold the defense in contempt for violating a gag order by issuing a press release about the case on Dec. 1, 2022. The judge said she would not hold the defense in contempt since the gag order was not issued until Dec. 2, 2022, the day after the press release was published.
On that topic, Gull did say she believes the attorneys' statements in that release may have violated Rules of Professional Responsibility. She said she is sending a copy of her order and a copy of the news release to the Office of Judicial and Attorney Regulation to investigate and decide if the attorneys violated any rules or committed any ethical misconduct.
The press release and the concerns about it are being turned over to the state regulators nearly 18 months after the release was issued.
In the original request to hold the attorneys in contempt, Prosecutor Nick McLeland listed 25 reasons against Baldwin and Rozzi.
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.
In a motion filed Feb. 7, Baldwin and Rozzi claimed the prosecutor failed to show they "committed any of the supposed offending acts willfully."
Additionally, they said the state fails/ed to "allege any act injuring the State" that would call for a contempt motion.
Allen's attorneys said any decision by the judge that would allege contempt would be the second time the court "interfered" with his representation. The Indiana Supreme Court already weighed in with a ruling, returning Allen's original attorneys to the case.
With the contempt issue settled, Gull has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, May 7 in Allen County to discuss what evidence and information jurors will be allowed to hear.