AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – A second attorney is asking to be removed from representing the man charged with poisoning the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner near the University of Auburn.
Jerry Hauser filed a motion Tuesday in Lee County Circuit Court to withdraw from the case because of a potential conflict of interest. His wife, Margaret Fitch-Hauser, is head of Auburn’s department of communication and journalism.
Harvey Updyke Jr. has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief.
The court appointed Hauser last Friday after Philip Tyler was allowed to withdraw after citing conflicts, including his former job as an assistant professor at the university. Tyler had also been appointed by the judge.
Auburn could finish replacing the poisoned soil with fresh soil on Tuesday.
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