TROY — The state attorney general's office has filed a motion asking to reargue a judge's dismissal of a criminal indictment against Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove involving his handling of a fatal police shooting case.

The motion filed this week follows the attorney general's recent filing of notice of its intent to appeal the judge's decision. The motion asks state Supreme Court Justice Jonathan D. Nichols to vacate his June 11 dismissal and reinstate the indictment that charged Abelove with lying to a grand jury and manipulating the investigation that cleared a Troy police sergeant in the fatal 2016 shooting of an unarmed DWI suspect.

"Our indictment detailed a disturbing pattern of misconduct that violated the law and undermined a criminal investigation," said Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. "As we’ve said, we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision, and have now filed both a notice of appeal and a motion to reargue."

Nichols ruled the state attorney general's office exceeded its investigatory authority under state executive law and did not have the statutory jurisdiction to prosecute Abelove on charges of felony perjury, which allegedly took place when he testified before the panel that indicted him.

Abelove was indicted in December, and had been widely criticized for his controversial decision to rush the shooting case before a grand jury less than a week after Edson Thevenin was fatally shot in April 2016. The district attorney, who is facing re-election this year, was charged with felony perjury and two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct.

William J. Dreyer, Abelove's attorney, declined to comment.

The indictment had charged Abelove with holding back evidence from the grand jury that investigated the fatal shooting. That included his decision not to subpoena two civilian witnesses who were at the scene of the shooting and told investigators they did not believe the officer was in imminent danger when he opened fire on the motorist.

The second misconduct count accused Abelove of unlawfully allowing the officer who fired the fatal shots to testify with immunity from prosecution when he appeared before the grand jury that cleared him.

Nichols did not dispute that the attorney general's office had authority under an executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate the circumstances of the fatal shooting, including whether Abelove had committed official misconduct in its aftermath. But the judge ruled the attorney general improperly pursued a perjury charge that was beyond its authority.

Nichols wrote that the felony perjury charge was "so inextricably intertwined" with the misdemeanor counts of official misconduct — and may have damaged Abelove's credibility with the grand jury he was accused of lying to — that he dismissed those charges as well.

The attorney general's motion said it was wrong to dismiss any of the charges.

"Abelove is the district attorney whose misconduct the governor directed the special prosecutor to investigate, and his perjury directly concerned the matter under investigation, namely, the propriety of his conduct during the Thevenin grand jury presentation," the attorney general's motion reads. "Such perjury constitutes an act or omission 'arising out of, relating to, or in any way connected with' the grand jury presentation regarding the Thevenin shooting."

The attorney general's motion also said the official misconduct counts should be reinstated whether or not the judge reinstates the perjury count, noting their office "was indisputably authorized to present these counts to the grand jury under (Cuomo's) executive order."

The attorney general's ongoing court battle with Abelove is unfolding as a mid-level appellate court in Albany on Thursday suspended the law license of former St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary E. Rain for prosecutorial misconduct. Rain, who was district attorney from 2013 to 2017, was the subject of multiple complaints of misconduct, incompetence and mismanagement of her office.

The state district attorneys' association has not intervened in the case involving Abelove, who had unsuccessfully challenged the governor's order directing the attorney general's office — at its discretion — to investigate fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians.

But the association quickly supported the appellate court's decision to uphold the suspension of Rain's law license.

"As one of the parties that filed a grievance against Mary Rain, we fully agree with the court's holding that her actions damage the reputation and public confidence in prosecutors," the association's president, Oneida County District Attorney Scott D. McNamara, said in a statement. "We feel that the suspension of her license to practice law is appropriate and furthermore it sends the right message to the public that prosecutorial misconduct is fully reviewed and punished when proven to have occurred."