OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska judge is deciding whether an inmate’s right to a speedy trial was violated as prosecutors scramble to keep him in prison for a 1995 slaying.

A hearing is scheduled Friday in the case of Jack Harris, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Harris was sentenced in 1999 to life in prison for the shooting death of Anthony Jones during a drug robbery.

Harris, 47, sought an appeal after a witness recanted, alleging that police intimidated him into testifying. Judge William Zastera granted Harris a new trial in September 2017. Zastera retired shortly after the decision.

The Nebraska attorney general’s office appealed, arguing that no evidentiary hearing was held. The case has been in limbo for months because no replacement judge was immediately appointed.

Judge Jodi Nelson took over the case in July. Nelson said Harris wasn’t tried within six months of Zastera’s order, in violation of his right to a speedy right. Nelson also criticized the state for failing to take steps to move the case forward.

“The state could have done several things,” Nelson wrote. “It could have asked for another district judge to be appointed, it could have begun preparing to retry Harris. … It could have done all of the above. … Instead the state apparently did nothing.”

The state argues that prosecutors filed a motion to reconsider and an appeal and that the time those motions were pending shouldn’t be counted as part of the speedy trial considerations.

“The Attorney General believes the significant and complicated issues should be reviewed by an appellate court before the defendant’s case is discharged,” Suzanne Gage, spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, said in a statement.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said the situation is alarming.

“This is a big deal; the defendant was somebody we were very concerned about,” Kleine said. “Now, 20 years later, a judge grants a motion for absolute (dismissal). It’s a very troubling turn of events.”