An attempt on the part of Brian Cooper to delay his upcoming murder trial in Door County Circuit Court was short-circuited by Judge D. Todd Ehlers Wednesday afternoon. The 37-year old Illinois man is charged with two counts of first degree intentional homicide in connection with the deaths of 21-year old Alisha Bromfield of Plainfield, Illinois & her unborn child at a southern Door County resort in August of 2012. His last trial ended in a hung jury in June of last year. A second trial on the murder charges has been set for May 5th, but Cooper said he no longer wanted to be represented by public defenders Greg Gerbers & Jeff Cano because he hadn’t seen them since November & felt they were not working in his best interests. He said a delay would allow new legal counsel to get up to speed on the case. Judge Ehlers noted that Cooper could have contacted him at any time since November to express his desire for change, rather than waiting until a month before his trial was to begin. The judge also pointed out several delays that were granted in Cooper’s last trial & an attempt to fire his attorney Shane Brabazon on the morning of his last court proceeding. The judge ruled that Cooper would have to work with his current representation or a new counsel will have to use the time available to prepare for the trial in May.
