LANSING, Mich. — The embezzlement trial of former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield might be delayed for months after his defense lawyer announced plans to challenge an expert witness's credentials at the state Court of Appeals.

Jury selection for Chatfield's case had been scheduled to begin Sept. 22. Chatfield, a Levering Republican who held the top position in the House in 2019 and 2020, is accused of misusing nonprofit dollars he raised to pay off his personal credit card and fund purchases at wineries and luxury retail stores.

But the Sept. 22 start date was called off because of the developments inside an Ingham County courtroom on Sept. 21 that could mean the trial doesn't take place until after Attorney General Dana Nessel leaves office at the end of the year.

Circuit court Judge Morgan Cole initially ruled on the morning of Sept. 21 that a forensic accountant named Michelle Gallagher, who's been working with Nessel's office, should be able to testify at Chatfield's trial.

But Chatfield's attorney, Mary Chartier, contended that Gallagher didn't have enough experience with nonprofit organizations and had used improper methods to analyze Chatfield's financial records.

Chartier sought a temporary delay on the trial to allow for an appeal.

"This is not a delaying tactic," she argued at one point.

Cole eventually granted the postponement of the trial, saying she didn't believe Chartier's motion was frivolous and the delay was essentially mandatory under the law.

"It's quite clear Ms. Chartier is doing what she's discharged to do under Michigan rules of professional conduct," Cole said.

Cole said the Chatfield trial will be a top priority for her once the Court of Appeals rules on Gallagher's qualifications.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Cole added.

In a statement, Nessel, a Democrat who faces term limits at the end of the year, said she had never seen a trial delayed like Chatfield's and the move was "outrageous and beyond unusual."

"And now it's possible the case may never be tried at all if the next attorney general simply dismisses the charges for political purposes," Nessel said. "I am left without faith that the court intends to hear the case this year, and it's fair to question whether the court ever wants to hear this case at all."

Chartier fired back in her own statement, saying Nessel was "obsessed" with going after Chatfield.

"She’s right that the people of Michigan deserve better, and that’s what they’ll get when a new Attorney General takes over in January," Chartier said.

During Chatfield's preliminary examination, Gallagher, a certified public accountant who studied Chatfield's financial records for the Attorney General, testified that Chatfield's nonprofit fundraising account, the Peninsula Fund, made $152,270 in direct payments on Chatfield's personal credit card between Jan. 16, 2020, and April 15, 2021.

Facing 13 felony charges, Chatfield has pleaded not guilty.

Nessel's prosecution team opposed the delay in court.

The appeal push was "no more than an attempt to further delay Mr. Chatfield's day of reckoning," said Daniel Gunderson, a lawyer with Nessel's office.

Nessel announced the charges against him in April 2024. Michigan police began probing Lee Chatfield around January 2022 after a complaint was filed by his sister-in-law Rebekah Chatfield, who said she'd been sexually abused by Lee Chatfield beginning when she was 15. The sexual assault investigation was later closed by prosecutors without charges.

Over the summer, Lee Chatfield's wife, Stephanie Chatfield, pleaded guilty to a single felony count of embezzling less than $1,000 from a nonprofit organization as part of a deal with Nessel's office. Stephanie Chatfield was sentenced to six months of probation, 25 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine.

The most serious charge Lee Chatfield is facing, conducting a criminal enterprise, can carry a penalty of up to 20 years behind bars.

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