The criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, held up for five years by numerous challenges and appeals from both sides, was pushed farther back this week by a state appeals court in Houston. Paxton faces three felony counts related to private business deals in 2011 and 2012 — two counts of securities fraud related to efforts to solicit investors in Servergy Inc. without revealing that the McKinney tech company was paying him for the work, and one count of failing to register with state securities regulators while conducting other investment business. Paxton has defended his actions as legal.