PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A defense lawyer accused of bribing a witness is asking the judge overseeing her case to step aside due to comments he made in court to her alleged co-conspirator.
Donna Uhlmann argues statements Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause made during a hearing on defense lawyer Gerard Donley's motion for a new trial indicate bias.
Donley and Uhlmann, along with one of Donley's clients, were accused of conspiring to obstruct justice by bribing a witness in a stabbing case. A jury found Donley guilty of all four counts: obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, bribery of a witness and conspiracy to commit bribery.
Krause found, in rejecting Donley's bid for a new trial, that there was overwhelming evidence that the defense lawyer is guilty. He described the plot as an "outright bribe" orchestrated by Donley in collusion with Uhlmann.
"The currently designated judge's finding creates a perception that he has prejudged her case effectively precluding her from receiving a fair trial," wrote her lawyers Gary G. Pelletier and David A. Levy in asking Krause to recuse himself.
Uhlmann has pleaded not guilty and her trial is slated for late September.
Donley faces up to 24 years in prison at his sentencing Sept. 11. He remains on home confinement at 50 Betsey Williams Drive, Cranston.