NORTHAMPTON — Steven Malloy, the man charged with Hampshire County’s only homicide of 2021, will again get a new lawyer after his public defender asked to withdraw, and in a Friday hearing on the matter, he received a stern warning from the judge in the case.
Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey told Malloy, 32, that he has one more chance to get along with his defense attorney before he gives up his right to representation.
Malloy is accused of shooting Joseph Filio, 39, of Pittsfield in the head last December. He has denied the charges. Filio was found dead in an apartment on Randolph Place in Northampton and Malloy, whom police described as homeless, was arrested hours later.
Prosecutors have said the two had an existing relationship, but they have not publicly revealed the alleged motive for the murder.
Malloy remains in custody and appeared in court in shackles. He spoke under oath on his own behalf, engaging in a back-and-forth with Carey about the state of his defense preparations.
Carey granted attorney Maura Tansley’s motion to withdraw from the case because Malloy has filed a complaint against her with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. Tansley, who also cited a general breakdown in the attorney-client relationship, was Malloy’s second public defender after the first withdrew in March for similar reasons.
Tansley said the bar complaint left her with a conflict of interest, and even though Carey appointed a replacement, he told Malloy not to alienate his incoming lawyer or seek new counsel again. If he does, and the court does not find good cause, Malloy will have “abandoned” his right to an attorney and will be required to defend himself at trial.
“I’m not persuaded at all that there’s a good faith basis for your request,” Carey said, but the bar complaint put Tansley in an “untenable position” and he would not force her to continue under the circumstances.
“I wouldn’t have sat here and wasted the court’s time if I hadn’t done adequate research,” Malloy said in support of Tansley’s motion and his own arguments in legal filings. “We haven’t even come up with a strategy for my defense.”
Tansley said she does not “take it lightly, filing a motion to withdraw,” and that the bar overseers process is the proper venue for responding to Malloy’s concerns. She said the move would not unduly delay the trial.
At one point in the hearing, Carey accused Malloy of using “gobbledygook” instead of making legal arguments. Malloy said his rationale could be found in written records and that he felt the judge was “prejudiced” against him, which Carey dismissed as untrue.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.