The Office of the Attorney General is appealing a Schuylkill County judge's ruling in a homicide case.

Two of three statements made to police by a Schuylkill County man facing his second trial for a 1992 homicide can't be used against him because they were made after he asked for a lawyer, President Judge William E. Baldwin has ruled.Police violated Ronald G. Champney's Sixth Amendment rights when they took the statements after Champney had requested a consultation with a lawyer May 13 and Oct, 8, 1998, Baldwin wrote in a 20-page ruling issued Monday.The Sixth Amendment guarantees, among other rights, that a defendant is entitled to advice from an attorney.Prosecutor Jennifer Anne Peterson of the state Office of the Attorney General immediately appealed Baldwin's ruling to the state Superior Court.The county is providing Champney's defense attorneys. Kristin Weisenberger of Perry, Shore, Weisenberger and Zemlock of Harrisburg, will be paid a $12,000 retainer and $75 an hour for in-court time and $100 for out-of-court time.According to state law, two certified attorneys are required in the defense of people facing the death penalty.Weisenberger is certified by the state for death penalty cases, as is Andrea L. Thompson of the Schuylkill County Public Defenders office. The attorneys will each handle different phases of the trial.In his ruling, Baldwin referenced conversations between Champney, 64, and now-retired trooper David Shinskie of the Schuylkill Haven barracks.At a suppression hearing held before Baldwin on March 13, Champney's lead defense lawyer, Weisenberger, questioned the timing of Champney's being given his Miranda rights and being questioned about the case by Shinskie, of the trooper's physical proximity to Champney during his discussions about the case, the tone of those discussions, and whether Champney may have felt intimidated or pressured while giving his statements.At the hearing, Shinskie testified that he "took every opportunity" to talk with Champney about the homicide case, but that Champney was given his Miranda rights before discussions about the case.At one point, Shinskie said he "asked him point-blank, did you shoot Roy Bensinger?"He testified that Champney "kind of hesitated, mumbled, stammered" before replying, "Before I say anything, I need to talk to (attorney) Frank Cori."Cori is a former county district attorney."There is no doubt that Sgt. Shinskie was engaging in interrogation during all of his conversations with Champney," Baldwin wrote. "He freely admits so. His style was not confrontational nor overpowering. He asked very few direct questions of Champney."Champney's second trial for the murder of Roy Bensinger, 37, of North Manheim Township, was scheduled to have begun Monday in the courthouse in Pottsville before aLancaster jury andwith Baldwin againpresiding.However, the appeal means it will likely be delayed for at least a year.A Schuylkill County jury in November 1999 convicted Champney of killing Bensinger with a single shotgun blast on June 4, 1992, as Bensinger stepped out of his pickup in the driveway of his home. They imposed the death penalty the next day.Prosecutors' key witness, David Blickley, was Bensinger's widow's ex-husband, whom Champney said paid for the killing.Champney, whose vanity license plate read "1 SHOT," had bragged that he fired once into Bensinger's face with a .30-30 Winchester rifle he took from the victim's gun cabinet, according to police.He was scheduled to be executed on Nov. 30, 2004, but a federal judge halted his execution.A Philadelphia group, the Federal Defenders, sought the new trial.In June 2008, Baldwin ruled that errors made by Champney's lawyer, Marsha Chwastiak, likely led to his death sentence, and ordered a new trial.The state Supreme Court in 2013 upheld Baldwin's ruling.Champney faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and possessing instrument of crime.