The state Court of Appeals has halted the release of two defendants in the DeKalb County school corruption case whose convictions were reversed Monday by a trial court judge.

The order is the latest development in a complicated and heated dispute involving the DeKalb district attorney’s office, Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker, the Court of Appeals and attorneys for former DeKalb school superintendent Crawford Lewis over Lewis’ plea deal in last year’s corruption case.