District Court Judge John Chesterman denied a withdrawal motion in an arson case by the defense attorneys for Bryan Purdie, owner of Woodgrains Furniture.

Saturday, March 16, 2002

District Court Judge John Chesterman denied a withdrawal motion in an arson case by the defense attorneys for Bryan Purdie, owner of Woodgrains Furniture.

In court action on Friday, the judge agreed with objections raised by the prosecutor and public defender’s office that pulling out from the case 24 days before the trail is inappropriate and unfair for the defendant.

Donald W. Savelkoul and Patrick S. Collins of Peterson, Savelkoul, Schlichting and Davis Ltd. will stay on the case most likely on a pro bono basis.

The attorneys asked the court to allow the withdrawal from the case due to a financial hardship of Purdie.

&uot;I don’t want to be off the case, but I need to be paid,&uot; Savelkoul said. The defense plans to call six to seven witnesses including a fire investigation expert to the trial, and Savelkoul said there would be no way for the defendant to afford the expenses.

He proposed that the court appoint a public defender for Purdie, and insisted that the Federal and State Constitutions both give the defendant the right to ask for it.

Savelkoul added he was willing to be appointed as the public defender, otherwise would assist with the case by sharing all the information he has.

But the prosecutor in the case objected to the withdrawal.

&uot;I don’t see any legal grounds to justify leaving the client 24 days before the trial,&uot; said David J. Walker.

He contended that Purdie’s financial difficulty had been obvious since he lost his business in the fire.

&uot;There is no change in circumstances, thus no justifiable reason,&uot; Walker said.

A representative from the Public Defender’s Office also objected.

&uot;The Public Defender’s Office is not a depository for a failed business deal,&uot; said Third District Chief Public Defender Joe Bueltel. &uot;This is not a case we can be ready for in 24 days.&uot;

Purdie still demands a speedy trial and does not want to change the scheduled trial date of April 8.

Savelkoul and Collins have been engaged in the case for about six months, and invested a lot of resources in defending Purdie.

Bueltel emphasized that the extremely limited time available would hinder any newly appointed lawyer from doing a fair job for the defendant.

Chesterman concluded that without delaying the trial date it would be impossible for anybody but the current counsel to represent Purdie.

Purdie is charged with two counts of arson and insurance fraud. According to the criminal complaint, he is alleged to have set the fire in his furniture store on 310 S. Broadway around 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2000. He claimed a loss of $240,000 with his insurance, but the claim was denied.

In preliminary hearings, the defense asserted that there was a lack of physical evidence proving arson. A test by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on samples taken from the scene did not detect any ignitable liquids.