ATLANTA - The judge overseeing the murder trial of accused courthouse shooter Brian Nichols said Thursday he won't step down from the case, but will ask another judge to consider a defense request to oust him.

Brian Nichols' lawyers said in court papers earlier this week that Cobb Superior Court Judge James Bodiford was quoted in a Marietta Daily Journal article four days after the March 11, 2005, shootings saying that he was friends with the judge killed in the rampage.

The article also said Bodiford released a statement at the time that described the death of Judge Rowland Barnes as a "brutal murder."

Bodiford also said in the article that the murder of his friend hit close to his heart.

"Almost as close as it can be," he said. "He was a friend of mine. All the nice things said about him were true."

Nichols' lawyers questioned Bodiford's ability to be impartial, and they asked that he step down.

Bodiford said at a hearing Thursday that he doesn't believe he should step down. But, he said it's a good idea to let another judge review the issue.

Bodiford is serving on the Nichols case in place of a previous judge who stepped down from the case in late January after he was quoted in a magazine article saying of Nichols that "everyone in the world knows he did it."

Nichols' murder trial for the killings of four people resumes July 10.

It wasn't clear how long it will take for an administrative judge to assign another judge to hear the defense's recusal motion or to schedule a hearing and resolve the issue, which could be appealed if the eventual ruling is not what the defense wants.

Bodiford said he is determined to keep the long-delayed trial on track, but acknowledged the issue may be out of his hands. He said he would continue to work on the case.

"I'm going nowhere," Bodiford said.

Defense lawyer Henderson Hill said Bodiford may need to be questioned at a future hearing on the recusal motion.

Prosecutor Christopher Quinn told Bodiford that the state believes Bodiford has the authority to deny the motion altogether.

Bodiford seemed to agree, but suggested another judge should review the issue.

"I decline to recuse myself," Bodiford said. He added, "I want the stamp of approval on my thinking."

Other motions scheduled for Thursday were put off.

Authorities said Nichols was being escorted to a courtroom in the Fulton County Courthouse for the continuation of his rape retrial when he beat a deputy and stole her gun.

He is accused of killing Barnes, the judge presiding over the rape trial; a court reporter; a sheriff's deputy who chased him outside; and a federal agent that night. Nichols surrendered the next day after allegedly taking a woman hostage in her suburban Atlanta home.

Nichols, who could face the death penalty if convicted, has pleaded not guilty. His murder trial has been delayed several times because of problems funding his state-supported defense.

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