[ by Melanie Gretchen ] U.S. District Judge David Hittner denied a request by Allen Stanford's lawyers to step down from the Ponzi scheme case, noting that Ali Fazel and Robert Scardino have represented the former financier turned Ponzi schemer long enough to prepare for Stanford's criminal trial.  The case will continue as planned with jury selection beginning 1/23/12. Mr. Fazel and Mr. Scardino, who were appointed by the court after Hittner declared Stanford indigent, cited time and budgetary constraints in their request to withdraw. Stanford, 61, who has denied any wrong doing, is accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, bilking investors with fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by his offshore bank in Antigua.  Last year, he spent more than 8 months in a North Carolina prison hospital (the same facility as Bernie Madoff) to treat an addiction to anti-anxiety medication after he was ruled unable to assist in his defense.  He was declared fit to stand trial on 12/22/11. In a separate order, Judge Hittner refused to dismiss the indictment against Stanford after his attorneys argued it violated Stanford's rights under the U.S. Constitution. The case: USA v. Stanford et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 09r-00342. [Reuters, 1/13/12]