Judge Neal Bronson filed an order today giving Warren County prosecutors a July 6 deadline for responding to defense documents filed Monday.
It's unclear whether he will allow defense lawyers to re-respond to that filing.
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So far, lawyers have made seven separate filings in Widmer's bid for a new trial since the jury convicted him of murder on April 2 in the Aug. 11 bathtub-drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24.
Defense lawyers had asked the judge to accept Monday's documents as the final filing in Widmer's bid for a new trial -- a request the judge denied.
His lawyers claim Widmer, 28, was unfairly convicted after jurors conducted home experiments to see how long it takes skin to air-dry after bathing.
Jurors routinely are warned against doing any outside investigation during a trial.
Two jurors say the experiments influenced them to vote Widmer was guilty.
But prosecutors argue that the jurors were making "observations" about daily activities, which shouldn't be classified as experiments. They also say discussion of air-drying times played little role in the jury's 23-hour deliberation process. Seven jurors filed affidavits to that effect, including one juror who previously filed an affidavit for the defense.
Four of the 12 jurors have filed no affidavits, so their positions on the debate remain undisclosed.
