Michael Avenatti’s lawyer in his California criminal case is asking to delay the trial because of the covid-19 Delta variant, arguing in a motion filed Monday that “the health risks to the Court, its staff, the jurors, witnesses, attorneys and the Defendant are simply too great and not worth the difference between trying this case now versus mere months from now.”

“Simply put, it makes little sense to proceed with impaneling a jury for a month-long trial, in the middle of a health crisis that is widely expected, by all reasonable experts, to grow exponentially worse in the days and weeks ahead,” solo practitioner H. Dean Steward wrote.