WASHBURN COUNTY -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reversed a decision by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on a Washburn County Circuit Court case that charges Adam Vice with sexual assault of a child and sent the case back to the circuit court for further hearings.
DrydenWire previously reported that Adam Vice was facing charges of sexual assault of child in Washburn County Circuit Court. The criminal complaint filed against Vice alleges that he had sexual contact with a child, age 4 at the time of the alleged assault. Vice is charged with 1st Degree Child Sexual Assault – Sexual Contact With a Child Under Age 13, a Class B Felony.
After the Hon. John Anderson, presiding over the matter, ordered that a confession by Vice would not be admissible in Court, the State submitted an appeal with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals found that Judge Anderson had not sufficiently determined why Vice’s confession to the crime should be suppressed and returned the case to circuit court.
Numerous hearings were then held and the case was scheduled for jury trial. In September of 2018, Judge Anderson again granted a motion to suppress Vice’s statements.
Online court records show that the case was again submitted to the Court of Appeals, where the decision to suppress Vice’s statements was upheld.
The State then requested a review of that decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
On June 16, 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 33-page decision and reversed the Court of Appeals Decision, remanding the case to the circuit court for further proceedings.
The conclusion of the published decision from the Supreme Court states the following:
"We conclude that the statements Vice made during his post-polygraph interview are admissible because: (1) the interview was discrete from the polygraph examination; and (2) the statements were not the product of police coercion, and therefore were voluntary. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the court of appeals."
If convicted of the charge of 1st Degree Child Sexual Assault – Sexual Contact With a Child Under Age 13, a Class B Felony, Vice could face a maximum sentence of 60 years in State Prison.
Online records show that a hearing on the case is scheduled in Washburn County Circuit Court in July 2021.
Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Jun 22, 2021 12:05 pm CDT
