FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The next hearing in the death penalty appeal of a man convicted of killing a University of North Dakota student in 2003 has been pushed back nearly six months to allow a new defense team to catch up on evidence.

A judge in June re-assigned the case of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. to the Federal Community Defender Office, or FCDO, in Pennsylvania. The habeas corpus motion, considered the last step in the appeal process, was originally filed in 2011.

Before the change in lawyers, the next hearing was expected to take place Nov. 1. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson on Tuesday moved it to March 28.

Rodriguez, a convicted sex offender, was convicted of killing Dru Sjodin (shuh-DEEN'), of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. It was North Dakota's first federal death penalty case.

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