AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton's fraud trials have been put on hold as the lawyers pursuing the criminal charges against him fight for years of back pay.

Judge Robert Johnson has taken Paxton's three criminal cases off his docket for now, the court confirmed to The Dallas Morning News on Friday. While court staff did not have a reason for the removal, the three attorneys prosecuting Paxton have repeatedly asked for the cases to be halted while they fight to have their pay resumed.

The delay will almost certainly push Paxton's trials into general election season, when he will be seeking another term as the state's top lawyer. In July, Paxton's indictments will turn three years old.

The Collin County Commissioners Court has not paid the three special prosecutors pursuing charges against Paxton since January 2016. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will soon decide whether the prosecutors' hourly rate is fair and legal and whether they're entitled to two years of back pay from the county.

Paxton's trials will likely be on hold until then. It's unclear how long the court will take to rule in the fees case, but a former judge said he'd expect them to make a decision sooner rather than later.

"The [Paxton] case is kind of waiting to go to trial based on their decision," said Larry Meyers, a Democrat who lost his seat on the criminal court last year. "About six weeks would probably be a fairly responsible time for them to get an opinion out."

The Court of Criminal Appeals won't take up the prosecutors' case until Jan. 10, so a decision could be issued just before voters go to the polls in the March 6 primary elections. If the court sides with the prosecutors, jury selection in Houston would likely proceed without much further delay. If it doesn't, the prosecutors have threatened to step down, a move that would temporarily derail the case against Paxton as the county looks for replacement lawyers.

Paxton, a Republican, is accused of violating state securities laws. He faces two first-degree felony fraud charges, accused of duping investors in a McKinney tech firm, and one third-degree felony accusing him of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser representative.

He denies all the allegations, which he calls politically motivated, and was twice cleared of related civil charges brought against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Paxton faces no opposition in the March GOP primary.