Brian Nichols' lawyers argued Thursday that the new judge in his case should be removed because he once called the 2005 courthouse shooting of a colleague a "brutal murder."

But Superior Court Judge Jim Bodiford testified that while he regarded slain jurist Rowland Barnes a friend, their relationship was "professional" rather than personal and that he can still be fair to Nichols.

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A DeKalb County judge hearing the issue of whether Bodiford should continue to oversee Nichols' much-delayed trial said he'll rule next week.

Josh Moore, one of Nichols' attorneys, argued in the hearing that Bodiford's comment about Barnes' death in a Marietta newspaper article was key because there's no doubt Nichols killed, but the issue is whether it was murder.

"This is not a case where the question is, 'Who did it?' " Moore said in the hearing. "This is a case where the question is, Was it murder?"

Moore told DeKalb Superior Court Judge Dan Coursey that Bodiford's comments go "right at the heart of the defense in this case."

The defense plans an insanity defense in the Nichols case, Moore said. If Nichols is still found guilty, testimony by the victims' families could well decide whether a jury gives Nichols the death penalty.

"The judge who presides over this matter acts as a gatekeeper for that information," Moore said.

Nichols' attorneys are asking that Bodiford, who normally presides in Cobb County, be removed from the case only a few months after taking over because of his comments in the Marietta Daily Journal shortly after the March 11, 2005 shootings at the Fulton County courthouse.

In the article, Bodiford spoke fondly of his Barnes, whom he described as a friend, and said his death hit him emotionally.

He also spoke of the brutal nature of the killings.

Bodiford testified Thursday that his relationship with Barnes was "professional" and not personal.

"I never did anything with Judge Barnes," Bodiford said. "I don't believe I've ever had a meal with him."

Bodiford, however, reiterated that he still considered Barnes "a friend."

Bodiford was appointed to hear the case in February after the first judge, Hilton Fuller, recused himself after being quoted in New Yorker magazine as saying everyone knows Nichols committed the killings.

"The comments made by Judge Bodiford are much more prejudicial that the remarks made by Judge Fuller," said Moore, who noted that the defense didn't ask Fuller to step aside.

Fulton County prosecutor Christopher Quinn made no arguments and only said the law didn't require Bodiford's removal. Moore noted that issue wasn't whether Bodiford is biased but whether it's reasonable for a defendant to believe the judge isn't impartial.

Quinn noted the trial, now scheduled for July 10, has been delayed five times.

Fuller had delayed the trial last year because the state -- after spending more than $1.2 million on the defense so far -- was refusing more funding requests from Nichols' attorneys

Fulton County prosecutors asked the Georgia Supreme Court to remove Fuller because they contended he was favoring the defense. The high court had not ruled before Fuller stepped aside.

Besides Barnes, who was presiding over Nichols' rape trial, Nichols is accused of killing court reporter Julie Brandau. He is also accused of killing Deputy Sheriff Hoyt Teasley when he escaped from the courthouse and David Wilhelm, an off-duty federal agent working at his house during a robbery, later in the day.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard is seeking the death penalty.