A judge delayed the ruling about considering whether President-elect Donald Trump should be convicted in his hush money trial over claims by his lawyers that he needs to be able to do his job as President.

The ruling would have been on whether Trump is immune from prosecution, due to his role as president. This follows the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the president is not subject to prosecution from the effects of their official acts.

Trump is the first U.S. president (current or former) to be convicted of a crime after a jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal his affair with an adult film actress. This has made him a convicted felon. Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges, and promises to appeal the verdict.

The judge, Juan Merchan, has granted a request to put the trial on pause until the 19th of November to let him consider how the election of Trump would affect the case. And with Trump’s inauguration in January of 2025 on the horizon, the question of if they even could proceed with the trial and reach a final ruling has come to be asked.

“The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances and that the arguments raised by defense counsel in correspondence to the People on Friday require careful consideration to ensure that any further steps in this proceeding appropriately balance the competing interests of (1) a jury verdict of guilt following trial that has the presumption of regularity; and (2) the Office of the President,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in a written statement to Judge Merchan.

Facing four criminal trials, Trump wishes to return to the White House unimpeded by convictions or consequences. With many of the cases delayed, it looks to be that many will be dismissed or permanently put on hold, as the President is immune to prosecution during his term according to the previously mentioned Supreme Court case.

With questions of the integrity of “all are equal under the law,” the cases against President-elect Trump challenges our previous view of the legal system’s integrity. How can we properly prosecute and convict such a public figure, with so many political connections? This question, along with increasing dissatisfaction toward the Supreme Court and perceptions of bias toward the President-elect, have challenged the legal and judicial system of our country in the last few years.