The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will take up the DeLay case in an expedited fashion. It has given Travis County prosecutor prostitutor Ronnie Earle a week to file briefs supporting a continued denial of the constitutional right to a speedy trial in the prosecution persecution of Congressman Tom DeLay.

The state's highest criminal court has agreed to hear Tom DeLay's latest request for a quick resolution to money laundering charges that forced him to give up his leadership post in the U.S. House, his spokesman said Tuesday.

The all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that both sides have a week to submit arguments, DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said in an e-mail. DeLay's attorneys asked the court either to dismiss money laundering charges or to order a lower court to try him immediately.

DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin took the case to the criminal appeals court Friday, one day after the 3rd Court of Appeals denied his request that the case be sent back to the trial court or expedited through the appeals process.

DeGuerin and a spokesman for Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle did not return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday night.

DeLay, a Republican from Sugar Land, was forced to step aside as House majority leader after he was indicted on money laundering and conspiracy charges in September.

He denies wrongdoing and has been pressing for a quick resolution to his case so he can regain his post before his colleagues call for new leadership elections. His case was put on hold, however, when prosecutors appealed a judge's partial dismissal of the criminal charges.

Even if the case is handled in an expedited fashion by the Court of Criminal Appeals, that does not guarantee a quick trial. Judge pat Priest has refused to rule on other pending motions until this appeal is complete, meaning that there will be at least one more round of appeals before a trial can start. Among the pending motions is a DeLay request for dismissal of all remaining counts based upon Ronnie Earle's prosecutorial misconduct in disclosing confidential grand jury information, tampering with the deliberations of a grand jury and grand jury shopping.

If the proceedings are allowed to drag on in this manner, it is likely that Earle will accomplish his goal of permanently removing DeLay from his leadership position, even if he is unable to get a conviction.

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