Donald Trump‘s criminal convictions have officially entered legal limbo as prosecutors try to decide how to respond to his election victory.

Over the weekend, the new president’s lawyers asked the court to halt two scheduled hearings in his New York hush money case, including an immunity hearing and a sentencing hearing, to the light of Trump’s re-election.

Prosecutors agreed to a one-week delay while they decide next steps, NBC News reported.

“The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances and that the arguments made … require careful consideration,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote in a letter to the judge.

The court must decide how to balance the competing interests of a jury’s guilty verdict in a criminal trial “that has the presumption of due process,” with the interests of the president’s office, the letter said.

Trump had to be sentenced Nov. 26 after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal involving a former adult film star. Stormy Daniels. It was the first time a former president had been convicted of a crime.

All 34 counts carry a sentence of up to four years in prison, and if Trump were a normal defendant, there would be a good chance he would turn himself in to Rikers Island, according to a report. analysis similar cases of New York Times.

But the Department of Justice has a policy not to prosecute sitting presidents, and state courts are generally expected – although not required – to follow suit.

Trump’s lawyers have already argued that the case should be dismissed outright on the basis of presidential immunity, or moved to federal court where Trump could most likely pardon se.

A hearing on the immunity request was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but that was when Trump was a former president and not a new president.

Prosecutors have now asked the court to give them until Nov. 19 to file a motion outlining what they say should happen next. Judge Juan Merchan’s clerk responded by saying the court agreed.

If prosecutors seek prison time, they will raise a host of complex constitutional questions about whether a state court can convict an elected president. At a minimum, Trump’s lawyers are likely to argue that he cannot be sentenced until after he leaves office in 2029, making it unlikely he will serve time, according to some legal experts. predict.

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