Defense attorneys for Deborah Nicholls, a Colorado Springs mother convicted in 2008 of killing her kids, are asking the 4th Judicial District to remove itself from the case.

A Thursday afternoon hearing at the El Paso County Courthouse was cut short by 4th Judicial District Judge Catherine Mitchell Helton, so she can deliberate on a motion filed by the defense to recuse herself and the rest of the judges’ bench within the district before the case proceeds.

The deliberation comes just weeks after Nicholls’s murder conviction was overturned due to withheld evidence that could have impacted the jury’s verdict.

In the motion, the defense raised concerns over the 4th Judicial presiding over the case since it contains three judges who prosecuted Nicholls as district attorneys during her trial.

“I think there’s a pretty clear disqualifying conflict for the entire 4th Judicial District,” defense attorney Kathleen Lord told Mitchell Helton.

The defense and prosecution left it up for the judge to decide if the recusal is necessary.

After the ruling, whoever presides over the case will have to rule on a motion requesting to change the bond for Nicholls, who Colorado court records show is being held on a no-bond hold at the El Paso County jail after she was transferred from a state Department of Corrections facility.

Mitchell Helton said she will publish a written order determining if she will recuse herself and the entire bench ahead of Nicholls’ next hearing on Sept. 4, when the bond issue will be addressed.

Nicholls, 59, had her conviction overturned without prejudice on Aug. 1 after Senior Judge Michael Mullins determined that the prosecution withheld key evidence that suggested the house fire that killed her children wasn’t an arson, as claimed by the prosecution.

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has since filed an appeal with the Colorado Court of Appeals to review that decision, meaning it’s possible, though unlikely, for Nicholls’ conviction to be reinstated.

Nicholls’ three children — 11-year-old Jay, 5-year-old Sophia and 3-year-old Sierra — died in a 2003 fire at their Village Seven home off North Carefree Circle. At trial, prosecutors said Nicholls talked her then-husband, Timothy, into setting the fire to get insurance money to pay off their drug debts.

Nicholls has contested the accusation throughout her more than 18 years of incarceration.