WATERLOO — Defense attorneys for Christopher Coleman, accused of killing his wife and two sons in Columbia, Ill., sought and received a disqualification Thursday of two judges from the case.

Their motion specifically sought to exclude Circuit Judge Dennis Doyle, who ruled last week that there is probable cause to bring Coleman to trial, and Circuit Judge Dennis Hatch.

"The defendant has reason to believe that Judge Doyle and Judge Dennis Hatch are so prejudiced against him that he cannot receive a fair trial," said the document filed by William Margulis, one Coleman's attorneys.

Pretrial changes of judge are common in Illinois criminal cases.

Chief Judge John Baricevic will appoint a replacement from among other judges in the 20th Circuit, presumably one who is certified to hear capital cases. Multiple killings and the killing of children qualify for a death sentence under the statute, but Monroe County State's Attorney Kris Reitz has not said whether he will seek one.

If he does, Coleman could get access to the Illinois Capital Litigation Fund to pay for his defense, provided he can convince a judge he is indigent.

The fund was set up in 2000 to provide better representation, after revelations that innocent people were sometimes being sentenced to death. Last year, a Post-Dispatch investigation revealed widespread abuse of the fund. The newspaper documented cases in which out-of-state private investigators charged taxpayers hundreds of dollars an hour for their time driving or flying. One investigator's travel time alone cost the fund more than $11,000.

In one instance documented by the paper, a defense team charged the fund more than $10,000 to build a mock-up of a crime scene for trial, then never used it.

A bill to overhaul the system in response to the Post-Dispatch disclosures is awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's approval.

The capital-case certified judges of the 20th Circuit are Judges Milton Wharton, Annette Eckert and William Schuwerk, and Associate Judge Richard Aguirre. Both of the disqualified judges, Doyle and Hatch, also are certified. The circuit includes Monroe, St. Clair, Randolph, Washington and Perry counties.

If the death penalty is sought, Margulis and his father, Art Margulis, would need to be certified by the state to continue on Coleman's defense.

Coleman, 32, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the strangulation of his wife Sheri, 31, and sons Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9, whose bodies were found in their home on May 5.

William Margulis says his client "maintains his innocence."