MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments today in George Burch’s appeal of how his cell phone was searched during the investigation which led to his conviction in the murder of Nicole VanderHeyden.
Burch was sentenced to life without the chance of the parole. VanderHeyden, 31, a mother of three, was found beaten and strangled to death in a farm field, three miles from her Ledgeview home, on May 21, 2016.
Burch’s appeal focuses on the trial judge’s decision to allow evidence from his cell phone, arguing his Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
In a somewhat unusual move, the state appeals court did not hear the case. Instead, it asked for the appeal to go directly to the Supreme Court. In December, the court agreed to it.
During the trial, prosecutors used data found on the phone that placed Burch at the bar where VanderHeyden was last seen, outside her Ledgeview home where she was murdered, and at the Bellevue field where her body was found.
According to the court’s summary of the case, the issues raised by Burch on appeal that the Supreme Court will review are:
Whether police violated George Burch’s Fourth Amendment rights by conducting a second warrantless search of his cellphone extraction; and whether critical evidence from Fitbit, Inc.’s business records was admissible without expert testimony and without a witness from Fitbit to establish that the evidence was accurate and reliable. Also, whether this issue implicated Burch’s right to confrontation.
The hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. today.
After the court hears the arguments, it’s typically several months before a decision is released.
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