Sonoma County prosecutors appealed Judge Arthur Andy Wick's ruling that excluded statements Dr. Maurice Wolin made to Petaluma police during his arrest, booking and interrogation.
Wolin and 28 other men were arrested in August 2006 during a three-day sting Petaluma police and other agencies conducted in partnership with the TV show "Dateline NBC" and an advocacy group called Perverted Justice.
Investigators believe Wolin arranged online to meet someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sexual purposes. Wolin maintains he wasn't intending to have sex with the "girl," who was actually an adult male decoy from Perverted Justice.
Wolin is charged with attempted lewd conduct with a child, a felony that could mean as long as four years in prison if he is convicted. He would also have to register as a sex offender for life.
In December, Wick ruled that law enforcement officers twice improperly interrogated Wolin after he invoked his Miranda rights by asking to speak with an attorney. He said Wolin first asked for an attorney during the booking process and then again during later interrogation, yet police continued to question him.
Prosecutors argued Wolin was ambiguous in expressing his desire to have an attorney present. They also said Wolin initiated conversations with police after they stopped questioning him.
The hard-fought case had been heading toward trial this summer, but Sonoma County proceedings were put on hold when prosecutors sought to overturn Wick's order in the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.
Wednesday's ruling lifts a stay on local proceedings in the case, now more than 2? years old. Further hearings and a trial date likely will be scheduled soon.
Typically, according to Miranda rules established in a landmark 1960s case, police interrogation of an in-custody suspect must cease if the suspect clearly invokes the right to have an attorney present. Statements or evidence gathered as a result of an interrogation in violation of a suspect's rights can be tossed out.
Because Wolin's post-arrest statements were improperly obtained, prosecutors cannot use them against Wolin at trial.
Both prosecutors and Wolin's attorney declined to discuss the effect of the ruling on the case. Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Brady said prosecutors will take some time to consider all legal options before deciding how to proceed.
"We don't want to be specific about what we will do, but we always have an option of seeking review" (to the state Supreme Court), he said. "That is one of many things we'll look at."
Wolin's attorney, Blair Berk of Los Angeles, declined to comment.
Wolin, an oncologist from Piedmont, has been free on bail since shortly after his arrest. His state medical license has been suspended.
Wick's December ruling didn't exclude other prosecution evidence against Wolin, including transcripts of sexually tinged online chats and a TV recording showing Wolin arriving at the sting house, talking with a female decoy and being arrested after he apparently saw TV monitors and started to leave.
Wolin has challenged the accuracy and authenticity of the chats, which occurred over a four-day period and were given to Petaluma Police by Perverted Justice. The group's founder describes the group as a vigilante organization dedicated to catching adults seeking minors online for sex.
Police didn't train, oversee or guide Perverted Justice decoys in their chats with men online.
Perverted Justice provided all the computer and video equipment for the sting free of charge to Petaluma and was paid $140,000 by Dateline NBC for the two hours of television coverage the sting produced.
You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 568-5312 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.
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