A special prosecutor for the Navajo Tribe says he still expects suspended Chairman Peter MacDonald's three trials will be finished by mid-September, despite a delay in the start of the first one.
The first trial - in which MacDonald and suspended Vice Chairman Johnny R. Thompson face election-fraud charges - was to have started Wednesday, but it was postponed until June 7 by Window Rock District Judge Robert Yazzie.MacDonald complained of emotional and financial stress but didn't insist that the trial proceed as scheduled.
Yazzie ordered the delay at the request of MacDonald's attorneys, who cited personal and family health problems and a lawyer's resignation in asking for the continuance.