GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that some statements made by mass shooting suspect Jason Dalton should not be used against him at his upcoming trial in Kalamazoo.
The opinion, released Tuesday, July 31, said the statements Dalton made to law enforcement should be suppressed.
Dalton's legal team argued that statements made to police after his Feb. 2016 arrest shouldn't be used against him because Dalton repeatedly asked for an attorney and said he didn't want to answer questions.
Prosecutors argued the questioning was permissible because of an urgent public safety concern. It wanted the statements to be available at trial later this year. A three-judge panel in Grand Rapids heard arguments from both sides on July 10.
The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday it has not decided whether to challenge the Appeals Court ruling.
The legal issue has been argued back and forth for more than a year. A Kalamazoo County Circuit Court judge ruled in April 2017 that prosecutors could not use some of Dalton's statements, but said other statements were admissible.
Dalton's attorneys wanted to keep all the statements out. When his legal team first presented the case to the Court of Appeals, they declined to hear it. The case then went to the Michigan Supreme Court, which ordered the Appeals Court to give it a second look.
Dalton is charged with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder for the shootings at three locations in Kalamazoo County. Police say that he committed the shootings while working as an Uber driver.
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