Reluctance by two Amish men to get attorneys has delayed the town of Hammond's lawsuit to force compliance with building codes.

Joseph J. Swartzentruber and Henry D. Mast were to appear Friday in state Supreme Court, Canton, but the hearing was delayed for them to find representation. An interested law firm has been contacted, but the men are following the Amish practice of declining to retain attorneys.

"When I was told there was a law firm interested, I was asked if they would sign a retainer agreement. That's where things started to fall apart," said attorney Steven G. Ballan.

Mr. Ballan is the assistant St. Lawrence County public defender who has been representing the Amish in Morristown after a town justice there appointed him. He cannot represent the Amish in the town of Hammond's civil matter, and the court cannot assign counsel.

"I'm involved only in that I'm trying to help them find an attorney since they mistakenly thought I was doing it," he said.

Mr. Ballan declined to identify the firm, but has said he contacted several religious freedoms groups to solicit help. He asked Judge David R. Demarest for the delay to Oct. 10.

The men are part of the faith's strict Swartzentruber sect. They refused to apply for permits because they do not want to install smoke detectors or get engineer-approved designs.

The solution may require a third party, such as a religious freedom group, to intervene on their behalf. The group could bring in an attorney. Such moves have worked in other states to get representation for the Amish.

"That's how I think it will happen," Mr. Ballan said.

Mr. Ballan was appointed by Morristown Town Justice James T. Phillips Jr. to represent 11 Amish men charged there with building and moving homes without permits. The judge denied Mr. Ballan's request to dismiss charges on grounds of the freedom to exercise religion, but the attorney is now asking for the cases to be transferred to a court with a legally trained judge. Judge Phillips owns an Ogdensburg insurance company. He has given town attorney Andrew W. Silver until Sept. 18 to respond to Mr. Ballan's latest request.