SAN DIEGO -- Attorneys representing Kristin Rossum want the prosecutor in her murder trial replaced because he was recently elected a Superior Court judge, defense attorneys argued in a motion made public Tuesday.

Deputy Public Defender Vic Eriksen's recusal motion states that Deputy District Attorney Dan Goldstein's election to the bench would give the prosecution "enhanced credibility and authority" in jury selection and prevent Rossum from receiving a fair trial.

"Mr. Goldstein was uniformly described as one of the top prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office -- most recently in the family protection unit -- who has won murder convictions in several relatively recent headline-grabbing cases, including a case in which authorities never found a body and a case which involved the conviction of a middle-aged day care provider," Eriksen wrote.

"Mr. Goldstein has also been described as the prosecutor handling the instant high-profile, much-publicized case, in which Mr. Goldstein stated to the press that he has a compelling case against Kristin Rossum, and that his evidence in the case is 'immaculate.'"

A hearing on the Goldstein issue is scheduled Thursday afternoon before Superior Court Judge John Thompson.

Thompson sealed the motion to recuse Goldstein on April 11, one day after a story on the Rossum case aired on CBS's "48 Hours" program.

But Tuesday, the 4th District Court of Appeal -- ruling on a motion from the Copley Press -- found there was no reason to keep the motion from the public.

Thompson earlier this year placed a gag order on all participants in the case.

Rossum, 25, was arrested eight months after the Nov. 6, 2000, death of her 26-year-old husband, who was found dead in bed in the couple's apartment on the Torrey Pines-area grounds of UC San Diego.

The former toxicologist with the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office is charged with murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder by poison.

Prosecutors decided against seeking the death penalty against Rossum, who faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

Trial is set for June 3, but Eriksen said he is willing to delay the proceedings if a new prosecutor takes over.

Prosecutors theorize that Rossum gave Gregory de Villers a lethal dose of fentanyl after he threatened to turn her in for methamphetamine use and an affair with her supervisor, Michael Robertson.

Fentanyl is sometimes given to cancer patients and is not normally screened in toxicology tests. It is said to be many times more powerful than morphine.

A quantity of fentanyl was missing from the county Medical Examiner's Office, according to preliminary hearing testimony.

Rossum, a summa cum laude graduate of San Diego State University with a degree in biochemistry, originally told police her husband committed suicide.

The couple had been married for about a year and had dated for around five years.

Investigators became suspicious of de Villers' death because the victim's body was covered with rose petals, something they did not believe a man would do before killing himself.

The crime scene was reminiscent of "American Beauty," which Goldstein said authorities learned was a movie Rossum loved.

Late last year, Rossum and Robertson were fired from the Medical Examiner's Office -- Rossum for drug use and Robertson for failing to report her.

He has denied any involvement in de Villers' death and has moved back to his native Australia.