A pair of local defense attorneys have requested a gag order against Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann for making what they say were unethical and publicly damaging comments to the media about one of their cases.

Attorneys Dennis Sedor and Simon Moody have both filed motions in Cayuga County Court accusing Budelmann of violating ethics rules by telling the media that their client, Gloria Odrzywolski, had confessed to the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office that she shook a 10-month-old child, causing internal bleeding in the brain.

Odrzywolski was watching the infant as a daycare provider at the time of the alleged incident.

Budelmann made the comment to The Citizen during an April 2 interview minutes after Odrzywolski pleaded not guilty in county court to two felony counts of reckless assault and one count of acting in a manner to injurious a child, a misdemeanor.

In his motion, Sedor said Budelmann knew his comment would be disseminated to the paper's audience, that the confession would be argued as inadmissible trial evidence and that his comment would take away from Odrzywolski's right to a fair trial.

Sedor said he believes the recording is inadmissible because the alleged confession was coerced and that Odrzywolski was repeatedly denied her right to an attorney.

“(Budelmann) made some statements we felt were clearly unethical,” Sedor said.

“You're not supposed to talk about that stuff, it taints the jury pool. How do you unring the bell once it's been rung?”

According to the state Bar Association's new rules of professional conduct, an attorney is not allowed to talk to the media about evidence that may be inadmissible for trial or to make comments that could bias a potential jury pool.

The new rules took affect the day before Budelmann spoke to The Citizen.

In a separate motion, Moody requested a change of venue to an unbiased county to ensure a fair trial; that Budelmann should be sanctioned, possibly by appointing a new DA to handle the case; and that he should be ordered to “refrain from making any further comments to any

newspaper reporter regarding facts or circumstances surrounding this case.”

In his response, Budelmann said the case is not close to being ready for trial, and that it was unlikely one line in a newspaper article would taint an entire county's jury pool.

Budelmann also said that while the rules did go into effect a day prior to the conversation, he did not say anything that could be considered illegal or unethical.

“I don't think that (comment) deprived (Odrzywolski) her right to a fair trial - I would never do that,” Budelmann said. “I understand their sensitivity, but I don't think anything I said would take away from a fair trial.”

The motions are scheduled to be argued in front of Monroe County Judge Joseph Valentino on Aug. 6. Valentino took over the case after Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone recused himself because one of the victim's parents is employed with the Auburn Police Department.

Leone said that because his court often works with the APD on issues such as search warrants, it would be inappropriate for him to continue his involvement in the proceedings.

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net