HARRISBURG — A judge on Tuesday directed prosecutors and lawyers for three former Penn State administrators to make their cases in writing as he weighs claims that the defendants’ legal rights were so badly violated that charges they covered up child sex-abuse allegations should be thrown out.

Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover ruled that the defendants could not call to the stand Cynthia Baldwin, who accompanied the men to grand jury appearances in 2011 and then testified against them. Baldwin, a former state Supreme Court justice and university trustee, was Penn State’s top lawyer at the time, and the defendants believe she violated attorney-client privilege.

Hoover told the lawyers to submit proposed findings of fact and legal conclusions, after which he will schedule a hearing so they can argue the issues. The judge also indicated he would unseal records in the case, but courthouse officials said afterward no new documents were immediately available.

Former president Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley are accused of covering up child sex-abuse complaints about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. They face charges of perjury, obstruction, conspiracy, child endangerment and failure to properly report suspected child abuse.

The 20-minute proceeding had been scheduled to last four days, but there was a three-hour closed-door conference on Monday during which Hoover also quashed a subpoena issued to Frank Fina, a former state prosecutor who was involved in the grand jury proceedings.

Another subpoena, issued to former state prosecutor Jonelle Harter Eshbach, was quashed by Hoover on Tuesday.

Curley, Spanier and Schultz were among the university’s senior administrators in 1998 and 2001, when complaints were lodged about Sandusky behaving inappropriately with children.