Although the first criminal charges were filed against former BP engineer Kurt Mix just last week, the official trial for the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been postponed until January 2013.

The Gulf Coast states as well as the U.S. government were both hoping for a trial for summer 2012, but Judge Carl Barbier decided Thursday that the trial will begin on January 14, 2013.

The delay is unsettling for those who have been seeking help with restoration, cleanup, and settlements for the damage caused by the spill. The spill, which killed 11 workers in April 2010, resulted in the largest U.S. offshore oil spill in history. According to experts, the
postponement may have several different outcomes. Edward Sherman, a professor at Tulane University Law School, suggested, “This may spur the government to settle…The Obama administration may want to show its stuff before the November elections.”

Although 311 witnesses have been asked to testify and nearly 100 million pages of documents have been produced, some doubt the trial will take place at all. Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond, remarked: “The farther we move past the actual event, it may complicate matters for all sides. Memories fade and evidence could grow stale.”