Penn State starting quarterback Rashard Casey will have to wait at least another week to find out if he will be indicted on assault charges that he struck an off-duty police officer.

The Hudson County, N.J., grand jury has been hearing testimony every Tuesday afternoon for the past three weeks and was expected to make a decision yesterday.

Because more witnesses need to testify, the proceedings were continued to next Tuesday, Hudson County First Assistant District Attorney Terry Hull said yesterday evening.

The decision could also be further delayed because some of the grand jurors have missed days. When a juror is absent, a transcript of the day's testimony must be ordered and read before the grand jury votes, Hull said.

Unlike the Pennsylvania court system, under New Jersey law an accused person is not indicted until he goes before a grand jury. A majority rule of the 23 grand jurors decides if the accused person should be held over for trial in a superior court or if the case should be sent to a lower municipal court. The jury can also vote a "no-bill," which would end the case.

Dennis McAlevy, Casey's attorney, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Football coach Joe Paterno expressed support for Casey during his press conference yesterday afternoon. "I really honestly believe that he didn't do it," Paterno said. "I may be proven wrong. I wasn't an eyewitness or anything like that, but I think he didn't do it. Period."

Paterno would not say how the grand jury's decision could affect his decision to play Casey. "I don't like to get into speculation. Who knows what they are going to say," he said. "I have a lot of other things on my mind."

A media teleconference with Casey scheduled for 12 p.m. Wednesday was cancelled yesterday. Penn State Sports Information Director Jeff Nelson said Paterno discussed the teleconference with him and decided to cancel it.

Nelson would not say whether or not the cancellation had any connection to the grand jury hearing or the reason why the coach decided to cancel it.

However, during a Penn State Media Day press conference in August, Paterno said that as long as the questions were football related, the media's access to Casey would not be restricted.

Casey and a high school teammate, Desmond Miller, were arrested last spring for allegedly assaulting an off-duty Hoboken, N.J., police officer, Patrick Fitzsimmons, outside a nightclub in the early morning hours of May 14. The Penn State starting quarterback pleaded not guilty at his arraignment May 15 and was released on $5,000 bail.

Another high school teammate, Syracuse football player Keeon Walker, who was present at the incident, was not charged.

Casey and Miller are charged with striking Fitzsimmons. The 34-year-old cop suffered facial and head injuries. On June 29, Fitzsimmons also filed a civil suit against Casey, seeking an unspecified amount of money.