The long-drawn-out saga of “The Oklahoma Three” continues. The preliminary hearing for Rick Carpenter, Paul Jacob, and Susan Johnson has now been reset for Monday, November 17, in Oklahoma City.

This hearing was originally set for July 23, but was postponed by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson only a week prior to that. The new date means that these three innocent people will have to wait for over a year before having even a “preliminary” hearing. The AG’s indictment was first issued in early October of 2007. The three defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud the state over a 2005 initiative petition. The AG alleges the three conspired to hire non-residents to gather petition signatures.

The Oklahoma AG’s actions have been roundly criticized both in Oklahoma and nationally. Oklahoma legislators have labeled the case “politically-motivated” and Andrew Spiropoulos, an Oklahoma City University law professor, called it “unjust.” A Wall Street Journal editorial found the prosecution “bizarre,” and Steve Forbes dubbed it “thuggish.”

At the preliminary hearing, the State of Oklahoma must convince a judge that there is enough “probable cause” for the judge to order a trial. This is a very low bar—a prosecutor is rarely ever blocked at this point. Thus, the Oklahoma Three won’t really get their day in court to rebut the charges until this matter goes to trial.

“At that time, I’m confident we’ll win,” said Paul Jacob. Between now and a trial, he vowed, “I’m going to continue to speak out against the attacks on the voter initiative process all across the nation as well as this assault in Oklahoma. The right to petition is absolutely critical to restoring citizen control of government, and this nasty criminalization of politics must stop.”