A Maryland appeals court again froze the case of a former Navy doctor accused of killing his wife as prosecutors further challenged the disqualification of Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

The decision follows the Maryland Office of the Attorney General declaring Wednesday that it would appeal the state Appellate Court of Maryland’s order declining to reinstate Leitess to the state Supreme Court.

In an order Thursday, the appellate court said the murder case would remain frozen until the higher court either declines to take up the appeal or resolves the legal question the attorney general described as unprecedented: whether the state can appeal an elected prosecutor’s removal from a case.

James Strachan Houston, 58, remains jailed at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.

Prosecutors say Houston lured his estranged wife, Nancianne, to his waterfront Edgewater apartment Aug. 9 under the guise of completing tax documents as their polyamorous relationship devolved into a contentious divorce.

Houston fatally stabbed 47-year-old Nancianne that day with a kitchen knife. But he also sustained serious injuries.

Defense attorneys argue he was defending himself, while prosecutors contend he used his medical knowledge to injure himself without risking death.

The case had been poised for trial starting May 23.

During routine trial preparation, Leitess, who led the prosecution, spoke to one of the witnesses in the case, Houston’s friend and neighbor Steven Valladares. During that phone call, Valladares reported to Leitess that Houston once told him Nancianne pulled a knife on him.

The revelation came to light at an April 29 hearing, where Leitess admitted that she was required to divulge that information to the defense but did not.

Finding that the information Leitess failed to disclose could be used to support Houston’s self-defense claims, Crooks kicked Leitess off the case May 6. Crooks also noted that Leitess’ sworn account of police efforts to formally interview Valladares after she spoke to him differed from detectives who testified.

The state appealed Crooks’ ruling, arguing he had overstepped by removing an elected prosecutor from a case and ordering her not to engage other attorneys assigned to it.

While its opinion at times seemed supportive of the state’s position about Leitess’ removal, a three-judge panel of the intermediate appeals court ruled it did not have the authority to hear the prosecution’s appeal.

In court Wednesday and in a appellate court brief Thursday, Houston’s attorneys described the state’s appeal as a delay tactic.

They declined to comment on the court’s order Thursday afternoon, as did a spokesperson for Leitess’ office.