Following Donald Trump’s presidential victory, special counsel Jack Smith began to take significant steps in this direction. to end his two federal criminal cases. Proceedings in hush money case in New York state postponed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will be given a week to tell the court how his office wants to proceed with the president-elect’s case (Bragg has a deadline Tuesday).

Now, in Georgia state court, the fourth case accusing Trump is being annulled. Preliminary hearing and appeal hearing will be held on December 5 defensive effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s position was revoked by the state appeals court on Monday “pending further order of the court.”

Unlike the other three criminal cases, where the delays were clearly a reaction to Trump’s election, the Georgia court did not publicly provide a rationale for its latest move. Indeed, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported this The cancellation “surprised many lawyers involved in the appeal.”

The appellate court may have determined that oral argument was not needed to make the decision and therefore a hearing before doing so was unnecessary. If this is the reason, it would be the opposite of delay for the court to make the decision earlier than usual. It is also possible that the court may want to decide how to proceed with the case because one of the parties is now the president-elect.

The Georgia case differs from most other criminal cases in that there is more than one defendant in Georgia, hence the appeals and final proceedings (if the case continues after appeal) may file suit against other defendants who have failed to gain legal gain by winning political office.

Another difference is that instead of the New York state case moving toward sentencing, the appeal was filed by Trump and the other defendants; federal election interference case in which pretrial proceedings are ongoing; and the classified documents case, in which Smith challenged his dismissal.

Whatever the reasons for the latest move in Georgia, a relatively slight timing change may not ultimately make a huge difference for Trump personally, if that’s the outcome. Even if Willis wins the appeal and stays in the case, Trump wouldn’t be prosecuted when he was in the office Anyway. Presidents cannot pardon or dismiss state cases. The Georgia appeals court’s next move, whatever it is, should signal where the case will go.

Subscribe Deadline: Legal Bulletin For expert analysis of the week’s biggest legal news, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in Donald Trump’s legal cases.

This article was first published on: MSNBC.com