Updated at 4:30 p.m. to include response to the motion for continuance from Ken Paxton's attorneys.

Hurricane Harvey and an ongoing legal fight over back pay could again delay Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's upcoming criminal trials.

This week, Paxton's lawyers and the special prosecutors pursuing charges against the state's top lawyer will meet in a Houston courtroom. The prosecutors want to delay the first of two trials, scheduled for December, while Paxton's attorneys argue their client has waited long enough.

"The [prosecutors] are part of an ongoing lawsuit to prevent payment for their services," the three lawyers wrote in their motion for continuance, adding, "Hurricane Harvey caused devastating flooding in Houston incapacitating the Harris County Criminal Courthouse," where the proceedings were meant to take place.

These factors "make a trial date in December impossible."

Paxton's lawyers shot back, saying their client "has waited upwards of two years to clear his name."

"The court should give him the opportunity to do so," they said, adding, "Paxton has been ready and anxious for his day in court."

The criminal courthouse in Harris County will be closed for at least several months due to flood damage. Criminal cases have been moved elsewhere, to county civil and family courthouses, causing confusion among lawyers and their clients about when and where proceedings will happen.

If Harris County can't accommodate the case, Paxton's attorneys have suggested the trial be moved to another venue, such as Rockwall County.

Harris County District Judge Robert Johnson, who was recently tapped to preside over Paxton's trials, will decide whether to grant the prosecutors' request to postpone the proceedings. He will hold a hearing on their motion for continuance Wednesday afternoon. It's unclear when Johnson would set the trials if he chooses to push them back.

Read: Prosecutors' motion for continuance

Read: Paxton's response to the motion for continuance

1 / 5Special prosecutors Nicole DeBorde (left) Brian Wice (center) and Kent Schaffer leave the Collin County courthouse after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's pre-trial motion hearing in December.(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer) 2 / 5Special prosecutors Kent Schaffer, left, and Brian Wice respond to questions from the news media after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton left the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth on Thursday, August 27, 2015. It was Paxton's first appearance in state district court on charges of securities fraud.(David Woo / Staff Photographer) 3 / 5A defense team for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gathers during a break at Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer) 4 / 5Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (right) and his attorney Dan Cogdell sit at the defense table during his pretrial hearing at Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer) 5 / 5Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (left) and his attorney Phillip Hilder enter the Collin County Courthouse for his pretrial hearing in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer)

Paxton's case has been delayed at least twice since the attorney general was indicted in July 2015. First, the case was moved from Collin to Harris County after the prosecutors said they couldn't get a fair trial where Paxton has lived and worked for years. Soon after, the trials were delayed again when Paxton's lawyers successfully argued to remove the original presiding judge.

In their argument to again push back the attorney general's case, the prosecutors blamed his lawyers' "series of pre-trial writs and motions" for why the case has taken more than two years to reach trial.

They have asked Johnson to delay the first of Paxton's two trials until after a related lawsuit over their fees is settled. Collin County, which is on the hook to pay for the prosecution, has sued to block the prosecutors' pay. They've argued their hourly rate is exorbitant and violates state caps on attorneys' fees.

The 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas sided with the county in August. The court voided the prosecutors' last paycheck, which topped $205,000 for more than a years' worth of work. The prosecutors then appealed this ruling to the state's highest criminal court, which last week agreed to hear arguments about why they should be paid.

Collin County has also discussed suing to claw back the only paycheck it has cut to the prosecutors.

Paxton's lawyers disputed the prosecutors' claims, stating their client is not the reason for the trials' delay. They added that the lawsuit over the fees is unrelated to their client's charges and should not have bearing on his case.

"The fee dispute between Collin County and the [prosecutors] is wholly irrelevant to the trial of this cause," they wrote. "If 'a trial date in December is impossible'... then their remedy is not further degradation of Paxton's right to a speedy trial — it is withdrawal."

Paxton was indicted in July 2015 on three counts of violating state securities laws. He faces two first-degree felony securities fraud charges and one third-degree charge of failing to register as an investment adviser representative. The alleged crimes, which carry a maximum penalty of 99 years in prison and tens of thousands in fines, date to his time as a state House member.

Collin County must pay for Paxton's prosecution because the alleged crimes were committed in McKinney. This type of case would usually be handled by the local district attorney, but Collin County DA Greg Willis recused himself because of his friendship with Paxton.

Prosecutors Nicole DeBorde, Kent Schaffer and Brian Wice were then asked to take over the case and were to be paid $300 an hour for their work.

Paxton denies the charges and is scheduled to face trial in December. Similar charges filed against Paxton by the federal government were dropped for a second time earlier this year. He is expected to run for re-election as the state's top lawyer next year.