Detroit (WWJ)  -- A 36th District Court judge has delayed a preliminary hearing in the criminal case against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.

Judge Ronald Giles set September 22nd as the new date for the hearing which will determine if there's enough evidence for a trial.  The hearing had been set for June 9th.  

WWJ's Pat Sweeting reports defense attornies say there are thousands of pages of evidence and c.d.'s to look over in the case in which Kilpatrick and Beatty were charged with perjury, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. 

Text messages printed in the Detroit Free Press showed the mayor and Beatty allegedly lied while testifying in a whistleblower lawsuit trial.  The city agreed to settle the case with three police officers for 8.4 million dollars. 

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued a statement saying she wouldn't comment on the specific ruling Tuesday.  However Worthy said it was irregular to have a preliminary exam six months after any defendant is arraigned. 

The Prosecutor's office is appealing to Wayne County Circuit Court in an attempt to disqualify Giles and the entire 36th District Court bench from hearing the case.  At least two judges are listed as potential witnesses in the case.  A hearing is set for May 19th.