A King County judge said Friday that the murder trial of a suburban Seattle police officer will be delayed again.

Superior Court Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps said on Friday that a heavy caseload and the resolution of complex legal issues involved in the trial of Officer Jeff Nelson forced the court to abandon a trial date in late June, a reported the Seattle Times.

Phelps said a new trial date will be set next week in what will be the first test of a new state law on police use of deadly force.

The judge said she hoped the case could be postponed until September, but admits it could be pushed back to 2023, more than three and a half years after Jesse Sarey’s death.

The judge’s statement prompted a plea from Elaine Simons, Sarey’s adoptive mother, who said the family was patiently awaiting resolution and justice.

“We’ve been waiting 18 months,” Simons told the court. “It’s a real test for the family. The public was waiting for this trial.

Nelson, who joined the Auburn Police Department in 2008, fatally shot Sarey, 26, outside a convenience store in 2019 as he attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct in an interaction that lasted just 67 seconds .

Nelson pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and assault.

The case was the first filed against an officer since Washington voters passed a law in 2019, which was amended by the legislature, that makes it easier to prosecute police for use of deadly force.

Previously, prosecutors had to prove that the officer acted maliciously — a nearly impossible standard, and one that no other state has. Under the new law, prosecutors must demonstrate that another officer acting reasonably would not have found the lethal force necessary.