Defense lawyers in Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse trial, set to begin this week, asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for a delay in the proceedings.
A lower court rejected the request late last week.
Jury selection is scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of Sandusky, 68, who was arrested in November and faces 52 criminal counts for the alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years.
He denies all of the allegations, which tarnished Penn State University and brought down the legendary Joe Paterno, who passed away last winter.
The defense said it wanted more time to review material from the prosecution and a delay is warranted for their experts and potential witnesses to be available at trial.
Judge John Cleland, who will preside over the trial, wrote that another issue involved grand jury secrecy, so the motion for a continuance had been filed under seal.
Cleland did not rule on the defense's effort to have the charges thrown out. Sandusky's lawyers have argued that in some instances the allegations are too vague, and in other circumstances rely on impermissible hearsay or lack sufficient evidence.
The judge also had not addressed requests by five alleged victims for a court order that would prevent their identities from being disclosed to the public.
Opening statements are expected June 11.