After a complaint to a state board and a judge denying a motion to withdraw, Cortez Sims and his attorney will ask in court again today to be allowed to part ways before his September trial.
Through attorney Brandy Spurgin-Floyd, Sims asked for permission to appeal Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman’s decision to keep them together, according to a motion filed late Friday.
At issue is Steelman’s order refusing to let Sims switch attorneys within 60 days of his Sept. 27 trial. Police say Sims, then 17, killed one and injured three in a College Hill Courts shooting in January 2015.
Sims, now 19, set the ball rolling earlier this month when he said he wanted to fire Spurgin-Floyd, citing her inexperience, and she filed a motion asking to get off the case. Steelman gave Sims two weeks to find another lawyer who would be ready by Sept. 27.
At the next hearing, Steelman asked Sims to write down specific problems he had with Spurgin-Floyd’s representation. Sims couldn’t do so, and Steelman denied his request for a new attorney. The judge has expressed concern about how many attorneys a defendant is entitled to have.