The man accused of killing two Delphi, Indiana, teenagers back in 2017 has lost his latest bid to remove the trial judge from his case.
Attorneys for Richard Allen, 51, had attempted for a second time to get Special Judge Fran Gull removed from Allen’s upcoming trial, citing bias against the defense. Their latest attempt argued that Gull had violated court policies by failing to rule on two defense motions within the 30-day time frame, the Journal & Courier reported.
The attorneys argued that due to Gull’s lack of a ruling, the case must be withdrawn from her, and a new special judge must be appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court. Justin Forkner, chief administrative officer of the Indiana Supreme Court, disagreed.
“However, Mr. Allen is mistaken, and the matter should not be removed from the trial court,” Forkner ruled on Friday.
Forkner argued that Allen’s attorneys should have filed to remove Gull shortly after the 30-day deadline passed, not several months later, though nothing in the cited Indiana Trial Rule 53.1 suggests such a deadline.
In March and April, Allen’s attorneys filed motions seeking hearings to allow the defense to present evidence that law enforcement made false statements in its affidavit that resulted in Allen’s arrest in October 2022.
Read full story at The Daily Wire.
