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SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Curtis Allgier, a man charged with capital murder, are asking that the judge presiding over their client's case be disqualified.
In an affidavit filed Monday, attorneys Richard Gale and Dusty Kawai asked that 3rd District Judge Paul G. Maughan be removed as the judge presiding over motions filed in Allgier's case and his upcoming trial.
"I believe that Judge Maughan has shown bias against my client in this difficult case," Gale wrote. "Judge Maughan's statements have shown that he believes Mr. Allgier is guilty and he is more concerned with a speedy trial than a fair trial."
A jury trial has been set for June 2012 in Allgier's case — five years after corrections officer Stephen Anderson was killed with his own gun while transporting Allgier to the hospital.
Monday's affidavit follows a dramatic court hearing Oct. 27, in which Allgier was removed from the courtroom after swearing at Maughan and threatening to have him disqualified.
"You're the problem," the heavily tattooed Allgier told the judge. "My next motion is to disqualify you so you can't (expletive deleted) me around anymore. You're done being my judge."
When Maughan told Allgier that he was "out of order," Allgier apparently said that the judge, in fact, was the one who was out of order. Allgier was then removed from the courtroom.
Gale specifically referred to that hearing in the affidavit and noted that it was widely reported by the media.
"I believe this outburst and personal attack on Judge Maughan by Mr. Allgier will prejudice Judge Maughan's impartiality in this case," Gale wrote.
Gale wrote Allgier's concerns about Maughan have persisted since Gale and Kawai were appointed as Allgier's attorneys in May and Allgier told his attorneys that he believes the judge is prejudiced and biased against him.
This may have been prompted by a number of motions Allgier filed when he was unrepresented.
"Prior to my appointment, Mr. Allgier made personal statements and attacks on Judge Maughan which may have jeopardized Judge Maughan's ability to remain unprejudiced and unbiased against Mr. Allgier," Gale wrote.
Three separate sets of attorneys have asked to withdraw as Allgier's counsel because Allgier believed the attorneys had a conflict of interest. From March 29 to May 25 of this year, Allgier was unrepresented by an attorney and, during that time, filed a number of motions.
"In these motions, defendant uses foul and abusive language, he also uses symbols which are associated with Aryan or white supremist attitudes," the affidavit states. "Moreover, in these motions Mr. Allgier also accused Judge Maughan of violating his rights and being senile and abusing drugs."
The October incident wasn't Allgier's first courtroom outburst. During a hearing in September, the man threatened to fire his attorneys.
"If you guys want to keep jerking me around, I'll fire these attorneys and represent myself," he said, "If you want to play games with me, then fine. They're fired. I'll represent myself."
Allgier is facing a number of felonies in addition to the aggravated murder charge. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
