New lawyers delay Cody trial
Staff writer
Former Marion police chief Gideon Cody replaced his defense team Wednesday, prompting Judge Ryan Rosauer to postpone Cody’s Aug. 24 trial to allow Cody’s new attorneys time to prepare.
Ashley Repp of SRC Law Group in Kansas City entered her appearance on Cody’s behalf during the hearing. Attorney James Brun also will represent Cody but was traveling and unable to attend, Repp told the court.
Rosauer granted requests by Sal Intagliata and Audra Asher of Triad Legal of Wichita to withdraw from the case.
Cody recently filed a personal motion, not drafted by a lawyer, asking for Rosauer to intervene in disputes between Cody and Triad.
The motion was the “final catalyst” leading to the Triad’s request to withdraw, Intagliata told the judge.
He said that Cody had notified Triad before filing motion and that communications and the attorney-client relationship had broken down.
Before allowing Triad to withdraw, Rosauer denied Cody’s request for a private hearing regarding disagreements with his attorneys.
Rosauer said he could not intervene in disputes over defense strategy or effectively act as a “defense consultant” by deciding whether Cody or his attorneys were correct about how to present the case.
Repp asked that the trial be continued, saying she had entered the case only hours earlier and could not adequately prepare in fewer than three weeks.
She said she had been told discovery included more than 5,000 pages, while special prosecutor Marc Bennett said the file actually exceeded 30,000 pages, though much of it was duplicative.
Although Bennett objected, saying prosecutors were prepared for trial, Rosauer granted the continuance.
Rosauer said he did not think Cody had replaced his attorneys simply to delay proceedings and concluded that new attorneys could not reasonably be expected to prepare for trial by Aug. 24.
A Zoom status conference was scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 24 to establish deadlines for motions and select a new trial date.
Cody is charged with one count of interfering with a judicial proceeding by inducing a witness to withhold or delay information after the now-disavowed August, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record newsroom and two Marion homes.