Former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan has asked a federal judge to quash his federal corruption case because his lawyer is no longer medically able to represent him in the case.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter declined to grant the request

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On Thursday, he said he cannot make a decision without more details about the illness of Chan’s attorney Harland Braun, whose hospitalization on March 2 brought the trial to a halt.

Walter ordered Chan’s legal team to file the medical documentation sealed by Sunday and return to court

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Wednesday to discuss the matter further.

Chan, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, extortion, wire fraud and making false statements, said in a lawsuit that 80-year-old Braun will not be able to represent him for “at least several months”.

“Trying to proceed with the trial while Harland Braun is physically unable to participate in my defense would mean that I would stand trial without my only attorney, without counsel of my choice and without effective assistance from a counsel,” Chan said in a statement. .

Braun has been Chan’s lawyer for about four years. He fell ill for just over a week during the trial, prompting the judge to order a three-week extension of testimonies.

Chan said in his filing that his other attorney, Brendan Pratt, has only served on the defense team in a “limited supporting and observing teaching role.” Pratt “has no litigation experience and has never practiced unsupervised in any federal or state court,” Chan wrote.

Pratt lacks the legal expertise to protect Chan’s constitutional rights in a case that could lead to “decades of jail time,” he said.

After Braun fell ill, he was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. According to another Chan lawyer, Braun suffered an infection that affected his organs, and recovery is expected to take at least three months.

In an earlier hearing, Walter said he was against a mistrial, and at one point suggested that Pratt familiarize himself with the trial pieces. He also told lawyers that he would do everything he could to keep the case on track.

The prosecution has four more witnesses in the case, which is expected to be the final trial stemming from a federal investigation that exposed a city hall racketeering ring led by former LA councilman Jose Huizar.

In January, Huizar pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax evasion, admitting to beating up real estate developers for more than $1.5 million in bribes for downtown construction projects.