Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen's trial venue to be CHANGED! Here's what to expect from latest hearing
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CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND: Richard Allen, the man accused in the 2017 Delphi murders is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, January 13. The case had attained a lot of media attention in the recent past. People, who have been following the case ardently, had been waiting for the date of Allen's trial.
According to WTHR, the court is all set to begin a day-long hearing in Carroll County on Friday, January 13. Judge Frances Gull will be in charge of the proceedings. Gull had previously issued a temporary gag order where the ones involved in the case including lawyers, police, and family members can't talk about the case publicly. The judge will also have to listen to the arguments regarding changing the venue of the trial.
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What can be expected from the hearing on Friday?
There are four aspects that will be discussed during the hearing on Friday, January 13. The topics highlighted would be the gag order, change of venue for trial, expenses of investigators, and discovery requests. One of the major aspects to be discussed in the court will be the change of venue. In November 2022, attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi highlighted "the extensive media attention" of the case and stated that it "could be argued that the amount of publicity that this particular case has received in the past five years will make it difficult to find a jury that has not heard of this case."
The attorneys stated that they have obtained statistical data "that would strongly indicate that moving the case/trial just 150 miles away would significantly reduce the likelihood of obtaining a tainted jury pool." They also noted that they believe the best means is to move the case at least 150 miles from Carroll County. Baldwin also stated, "You're gonna read that probable cause affidavit, online or wherever they get it, and hopefully that's gonna ring a bell for somebody to help us out because he is innocent. He has told us that very emotionally."
Meanwhile, the defense also has a hearing Friday, January 12 on getting money to pay for investigators. Further, Allen's attorneys stated that he couldn't afford the costs of representation and associated expenses. Hence, they have also requested for money to pay for expert witnesses, transcript fees, and investigator costs. According to WDRB, Allen's lawyers have also filed a discovery request asking for all the information and evidence that will be presented in court. They have requested for names and addresses of all witnesses and extensive records of transcribed statements. They have asked for information on 29 elements such as phone records and cell phone location data to written reports and witness accounts.
