A hearing on the contempt charge, to be held before Plough, is scheduled for Friday. Jones' attorneys have asked Plough to remove himself from the case, saying he cannot be impartial.

Plough did not return calls for comment Monday.

Plough's ruling prompted an outcry from defense lawyers, both in Ohio and across the country. Carmen Hernandez, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said in a statement that defense lawyers have an ethical obligation not to start trial if they are not prepared.

"Asking a lawyer to go to trial without preparation is like asking a doctor to perform surgery before diagnosing the patient," she said.

The Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has also intervened.

"The defense bar has been outraged," said Friedman. "Anyone who's heard of this matter has been outraged."

This is not the first time that Plough has come under fire. Earlier this year he reportedly had another public defender arrested for refusing to go forward with a trial, though in a May interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer Plough denied that he had the first lawyer arrested.

In May, Portage County Judge Laurie Pittman complained about Plough to the Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel, saying he intimidated defendants who acted as their own lawyers, according to the Plain Dealer. She said Plough was "making a mockery of justice," according to a letter cited by the Plain Dealer.

Pittman and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel declined to comment. The office has not opened an official investigation into Plough.

In 2003, Catalona became director of the Clinical Prostate Cancer Program at Northwestern University in Chicago, asking participants in former research efforts that he oversaw at Washington University if they would consent to transferring their tissue to Northwestern.

Donors of 4,000 tissue samples agreed to the transfer, but Washington University sued to keep the samples there, and won rulings from a U.S. District Court judge and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In papers filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, Catalona says he and the research participants could suffer irreparable harm if the appeals court decision is allowed to go into effect.

Washington University could use the tissue in studies the patients would find objectionable, or publish research results in a way that could identify the patients, Catalona's lawyers argued, raising the possibility that participants or their family members might be denied health, life or disability insurance.

In June, Dr. Larry Shapiro, dean of Washington University's School of Medicine, called the appeals court decision a precedent that assures the right of research institutions to use repositories without fear they will be taken or disrupted.

A dozen major research universities, as well as the American Cancer Society and associations of medical colleges and universities, had filed briefs supporting Washington University.

Catalona's lawyers asked Justice Samuel Alito to delay the appeals court decision until the full Supreme Court decides whether it will review the case.

Last week, top administrators ordered them to stop wearing union symbols in public to avoid an appearance of bias.

"While we understand the right to participate in negotiations and union activities, we also require conduct that does not compromise the appearance of neutrality and impartiality to the public and other court users," Court Administrator Denise Gordon said.

On Tuesday, union representatives sent a complaint to the state Public Employment Relations Board, which will evaluate it, said SEIU field representative Kris Organ.

Leveraging Entrust Entelligence Messaging Server, Charles Russell is now able to provide its customers full encryption for e-mails containing sensitive data. Further, those clients can benefit from e-mail encryption regardless of their own capabilities. To streamline protocol, the firm will place e-mail encryption policy management in the hands of the organization's IT department, freeing lawyers from the burden of encrypting confidential information during electronic communication.

"In an industry that is constantly viewing, storing and managing extremely sensitive client information, the ability to seamlessly encrypt e-mails will increase efficiency and help guarantee compliance with regulatory mandates," said Charles Russell IT Director Jon Gould. "Not only did Entrust's e-mail encryption solution solve our security requirements, but their reputation and expertise in this field only confirmed our decision."

A testament to Entrust's heritage, Charles Russell was attracted to the standards-based credential management technology within Entrust Entelligence Messaging Server. The solution automates harvesting of certificate credentials, and boundary deployment eliminates lawyer intervention, one of the initial requirements of the firm. As a standards-based credential management solution, Entrust Entelligence Messaging Server delivers a technology that can evolve as the practice's security goals change over time.

"For an organization whose business revolves entirely around sensitive or private information, seamless e-mail encryption is a much-needed asset," said Entrust Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner. "A key component of a strategic layered security approach, Entrust Entelligence Messaging Server will afford Charles Russell clients, and its workforce, an invaluable peace of mind. And, as security goals evolve, more solutions can be introduced to help realize the objective of a comprehensive layered security model."

Entrust Entelligence Messaging Server is an e-mail security solution that makes it easier to communicate securely with external business partners, customers and clients. Part of Entrust's Information Protection Platform, the solution is shipped as a hardware appliance and delivers standards-based e-mail encryption capabilities in a comprehensive solution. In addition, it's easy to deploy and maintain for organizations that communicate sensitive or regulated information -- both inside and outside their organization -- via e-mail.

U.K.-based Charles Russell is a top-50, full-service legal practice with offices in London, Guildford, Cheltenham, Cambridge, Oxford and Geneva. The firm boasts the expertise and size to advise on complex, cross-border transactions and to manage the input of international networks of major law firms. The organization's clients range from international, FTSE and AIM- listed businesses to governments, not-for-profit bodies, private individuals, trustees and intermediaries.

About Entrust

Entrust secures digital identities and information for consumers, enterprises and governments in 1,650 organizations spanning 60 countries. Leveraging a layered security approach to address growing risks, Entrust solutions help secure the most common digital identity and information protection pain points in an organization. These include SSL, authentication, fraud detection, shared data protection and e-mail security. For information, call 888-690-2424, e-mail entrust@entrust.com or visit http://www.entrust.com.

Entrust is a registered trademark of Entrust, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. In Canada, Entrust is a registered trademark of Entrust Limited. All Entrust product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Entrust, Inc. or Entrust Limited. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

In the petition, the firm said it's representing three people severely injured in the Aug. 1 collapse and the families of two people who died in the disaster. It did not identify the victims, and attorney James Schwebel declined to reveal them.

A hearing on the petition was scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in St. Paul.

"We are in the very preliminary stage on this," Schwebel said. "We've been retained by several families. We've been contacted by many others. They're obviously wanting to make sure there is some accountability for whoever is culpable for this disaster, and we need to have experts to answer many of these questions for us."

Copies of the petition were served on the offices of the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, the Minneapolis city attorney and the state attorney general because federal, city and state and city agencies are involved in the collapse investigation. Spokespeople for those offices did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday.

The petition said the firm had hired two experts to help it pursue wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits on behalf of its clients, and that they had special training and experience that would "assist a jury in determining negligence and causation issues."

Time is of the essence because the impending dismantling of the wreckage "will forever make it impossible to perform an inspection on the site," the petition said.

Nine people were confirmed dead and four were still missing as of Tuesday, while about 100 people were injured in the collapse.

Wrongful death lawsuits must be filed in three years, but the deadline for negligence suits is longer, Schwebel said.

The state's liability is limited to $1 million, but any lawsuits could also target private contractors and their insurers.