CANTON — St. Lawrence County Judge Jerome J. Richards will not hear one of Morristown's Amish building permit violation cases.

Judge Richards wrote Tuesday that Steven G. Ballan, attorney for the Amish, provided insufficient paperwork in his June 20 request to have the case against Joe A. Zook, Yankee Street Road, be transferred to County Court. Mr. Ballan's request was not notarized, lacked a statement from Mr. Zook and did not include a copy of Morristown's building code, Judge Richards wrote.

"I'm very disappointed in the judge," said Mr. Ballan, an assistant county public defender. "This was a motion that wasn't scheduled until July 14th. There were additional papers in the mail. A lot of the things he said he's missing are on their way."

Mr. Ballan asked that the case be heard in County Court because Judge Richards is legally trained and would be better suited to decide the religious-freedom argument that could have statewide impact. Ten Amish men charged before Mr. Zook are awaiting Morristown Town Judge James T. Phillips's decision on a request to dismiss the citations based on the right to freely exercise religion. Mr. Zook's case will remain in Town Court.

"I'm just looking to not have all my eggs in one basket," Mr. Ballan said.

The Amish do not deny the charges. Requirements for smoke alarms and engineer-approved designs violate their simple agricultural religion, they say.

Judge Richards recommended Tuesday that the issues be resolved in state Supreme Court, which would likely remove Mr. Ballan because the public defender's office does not defend such cases. Mr. Ballan intends to consult with national religious-freedom groups that have been tracking the Amish building code issue for more than a year.

"I was looking to do this with a way that I can still be involved," Mr. Ballan said. "I will try and find somebody who can pursue it."

The district attorney's office, which would have prosecuted the case had it been accepted by Judge Richards, opposed Mr. Ballan's request by arguing that it was not the proper place to argue town ordinances.