A judge yesterday postponed the trial of Christopher and Jason Rosengrant until at least June at the request of their defense attorney who faces a temporary suspension from practicing law by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The two are charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Oct. 26 death of Penn State student Salvador Peter Serrano. Serrano died after an early morning altercation outside of the All American Rathskeller, 108 S. Pugh St.

Defense attorney Karen Muir requested the continuance at a pretrial conference, citing her upcoming suspension from practicing law, and the fact that she will not continue representing both defendants.

The continuance will prevent the trial from occurring during a 90-day disciplinary period during which Muir will be suspended from practicing law.

The suspension, effective March 31, was handed down by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board earlier this month, said Paul Burgoyne, the disciplinary counsel for the court.

Muir said the suspension is the result of a monetary dispute that took place "five or six years ago."

Burgoyne said he could not disclose the reason for Muir's suspension until her appeal period expires. Muir said she doesn't plan to appeal the ruling prior to the March 31 deadline, at which point her three-month suspension would begin and documentation detailing her offense would be released, he added.

Muir, who will continue to represent Jason Rosengrant, argued the continuance would allow the two lawyers representing Christopher Rosengrant time to prepare for the trial.

Judge Jonathan Grine granted the continuance until June, with a trial date being determined at the Rosengrants' next scheduled court appearance on May 27. He gave Robert Munley and Joe McGraw five days to formally declare themselves as the defense attorneys representing Christopher Rosengrant.

Because the May 27 pretrial hearing falls during Muir's period of suspension, it is unclear whether she will be able to represent Jason Rosengrant at the hearing. Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar contested Muir's motion to postpone the trial. During an interview after the hearing, Gricar said the decision by Grine disappointed him "very much."

"It's an extremely important case. It is a homicide and there's a great public interest in the case. To postpone it because of [Muir's] particular situation would delay this case until August or September and that's an extremely long delay," Gricar said.

Burgoyne would not comment about the severity of Muir's offense, but added that the court decided the offense warranted the judgement.

"If you are suspended at all, it is pretty serious," Burgoyne said.

Muir is one of five Pennsylvania attorneys suspended by the court this year. Four others were disbarred. Last year 42 lawyers were suspended and 33 were disbarred.

During the pretrial conference, Gricar said the evidence he planned to present during the trial included autopsy reports, medical reports, photographs and diagrams. He said the prosecution would call 25 witnesses during the trial. Muir said she did not plan on submitting evidence beyond what the prosecution would present.