The preliminary hearing for former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III has been delayed again, and it won’t be back on the schedule at the Las Vegas Justice Court until after March 22 — more than one year after it was originally scheduled.

The State of Nevada contends the former Alabama standout was at fault in a fatal crash that occurred in Las Vegas at 3:39 a.m. Nov. 2, 2021. That’s when a Corvette driven by Ruggs struck a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tina Tintor, a 23-year-old Las Vegas resident. Tintor and her dog were killed in the crash.

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Ruggs has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm and possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

But Ruggs has not gone to court for a preliminary hearing yet. He was in court on Wednesday, though.

That’s when Judge Jennifer Schwartz of Department 17 of the Eighth Judicial District Court stayed the proceedings, which meant, in her words, “You’re not having a preliminary hearing on Feb. 1, sir” while she decides on a writ of mandamus filed by Ruggs’ attorneys.

Mandamus allows a court to order a lower court to carry out a specific duty in the appropriate manner.

Ruggs’ lawyers, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, object to an action by Judge Ann E. Zimmerman, who has presided over the case as the preliminary hearing was postponed from March 10 to May 19 to Sept. 7 to Feb. 1.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Judge Joe Bonaventure had been assigned to take over the DUI specialty court over which Zimmerman had presided, but Zimmerman had moved to keep the Ruggs case under her control.

The court record shows the case was reassigned from the Justice Court’s Department 8, where Zimmerman works, to Department 9 and Bonaventure on Jan. 1. Two days later, the court record shows the case was reassigned to Department 8, with the notation “Per Judge Zimmerman, this case is to stay with Justice Court Department 8.”

Ruggs’ attorneys charge Zimmerman singled out their client by moving his case when the administrative structure of the court calls for Bonaventure to preside over it now. They want Schwartz to order it reassigned to Bonaventure’s court.

Kim Buchanan, the chief deputy district attorney for Clark County, represented the Las Vegas Justice Court during Wednesday’s proceedings, and Schwartz wondered how the District Attorney’s Office could prosecute Ruggs and represent the court.

“I still just don’t understand how you can be representing both the district attorney’s office and the Justice Court,” Schwartz said, “so in response to the petition, the proceedings are stayed.”

Schwartz said the Clark County District Attorney’s Office could present its case at a hearing on Feb. 24, with Ruggs’ representatives scheduled to reply on March 10 followed by a hearing on March 22, when she could rule on the petition.

Law-enforcement authorities say Ruggs’ Corvette was traveling at 156 mph 2.5 seconds before impact and 127 mph at the time of a collision. The LVMPD used data from the car’s airbag control module to find those speeds.

The Clark County Office of the Coroner determined Tintor died from “thermal injuries due to a motor-vehicle collision.”

The Coroner’s Office also determined that significant conditions contributing to Tintor’s death “were inhalation of products of combustion, fractures of the nasal bones, right-sided ribs and left forearm, and a left hemothorax.” (A hemothorax is a collection of blood in the space between the chest wall and the lung.)

The Las Vegas police department reported tests on Ruggs at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada within two hours of the accident showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.161 percent. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08 percent.

After his bail was set at $150,000 on Nov. 3, 2021, Ruggs was released into an electronic-monitoring program. The use of SCRAM technology also is a condition of Ruggs’ bail. SCRAM stands for secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring.

The Raiders released Ruggs on the same day that the wreck occurred. Ruggs was in his second season with Las Vegas, which acquired him with the 12th selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, the fastest time at that year’s event.

A prep star at Lee High School in Montgomery, Ruggs caught 40 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019 for Alabama and had 98 receptions for 1,716 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons with the Crimson Tide.

In 20 NFL games, Ruggs had 50 receptions for 921 yards and four touchdowns, 12 rushing attempts for 65 yards and 11 kickoff returns for 211 yards.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.