MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) – The state Supreme Court will hear arguments this morning in a local murder case.
At issue is whether prosecutors can use the statements that Devin Felix gave to police and the evidence they gathered from his Wausau apartment when he is re-tried.
An appeals court in March overturned Felix’s conviction and ordered a new trial in the 2007 stabbing death of Nathaniel Davids outside a Schofield house party.
The court ruled that police illegally arrested Felix and gathered evidence from his apartment, including the suspected murder weapon, without a warrant.
The key issue that justices will have to decide is what is known as the “attenuation doctrine,” which says that lawyers can still use evidence obtained illegally if they prove the connection between the evidence and the way it was illegally obtained has been attenuated or reduced over time.
After hearing oral arguments, justices usually prepare their written decision, which could be released before the end of the court’s current session next summer.
