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Patrick D'Angelo, in the center of this picture, is also at the center of a bid by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty to remove him as the attorney for Cleveland policeman Michael Brelo. Brelo is to D'Angelo's right in this picture taken at a pretrial hearing in June.

(PD/Lonnie Timmons III)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty enlisted the help of three attorneys well-versed in legal ethics in his drive to oust the lawyer for a Cleveland policeman in a high-profile criminal case.

McGinty filed a motion late Friday with Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O'Donnell again asking the judge to remove Patrick D'Angelo as a defense attorney for Patrolman Michael Brelo. McGinty maintains D'Angelo has conflicts of interests in defending Brelo.

The almost 100-page court document included extensive statements from the trio of attorneys who agree with McGinty's position.

One of the experts put it this way: D'Angelo's continued representation "creates a serious potential conflict of interest that warrants his disqualification." That was from John Sahl, faculty director of the Miller-Becker Center for Professional Responsibility at the University of Akron law school.

Others who McGinty used to support his position were Jack Guttenberg, a law professor who helped revise the standards of professional conduct for lawyers in the state, and Jonathan Coughlan, a one-time disciplinary counsel for the Ohio Supreme Court.

Sahl and Coughlan said in their statements that they were paid $250 an hour for their work.

Brelo is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. They were shot to death in an East Cleveland middle school parking lot on Nov. 29, 2012, following a lengthy car chase that included more than 60 Cleveland police cruisers. Police took 137 shots at the car that contained Williams and Russell when the pursuit ended. Brelo fired 49 of them, including some as he stood on the hood of Williams' car, investigators determined. Brelo has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

D'Angelo has long represented the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association. McGinty said because D'Angelo was present when investigators questioned police as they were interviewed about the chase and shooting, he cannot be Brelo's lawyer in the trial. The prosecutor says he likely will call many of these officers and dispatchers as witnesses at Brelo's trial.

The lawyers who supplied statements supporting McGinty's motion said a proper defense of Brelo likely would include a bid to show Brelo did not fire the fatal bullets, and an attempt to lay that responsibility on other police -- people that D'Angelo represented during the investigation.

The legal experts and Adam Chaloupka, the assistant county prosecutor who filed the Friday motion, also said D'Angelo would undoubtedly have to cross-examine current or former clients during the trial -- creating more conflicts of interest.

D'Angelo could not be reached for this story. Previously he maintained he is without conflicts because Cleveland police would not be adverse witnesses to Brelo.

The Brelo trial has caused continued friction between the lawyers and even the judge. D'Angelo unsuccessfully tried to have O'Donnell removed from the case. Before that, the judge refused to place a gag order on McGinty that was sought by D'Angelo.

The trial date has not been set.

Cleveland has already agreed to pay the families of Russell and Williams $1.5 million each. The families sued the city for wrongful deaths. Five officers have been charged with dereliction of duty during the incident and 70 other police personnel have been disciplined.

A Justice Department civil rights investigation that resulted last week in the demand for extensive reform in the police deparment's use of force was launched five months after the deaths of Williams and Russell.