Attorney in Former Astronaut's Trial Files For Evidence Rehearing

An attorney for former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak has filed for a rehearing with the 5th District Court of Appeal.

The filing comes two weeks after the court allowed evidence found in Nowak?s car to be allowed at trial.

Nowak is charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and attempted burglary with assault. Authorities say Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando International Airport the weekend of Feb. 5, 2007, to confront Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman about their mutual love interest, former astronaut Bill Oefelein. Shipman was returning from a trip to visit Oefelein.

Trial Judge Marc Lubet ruled late last year that Orlando Police Detective Chris Becton did not properly read Nowak her Miranda rights and that he tricked her into leading them to her car. Becton found maps from Houston to Orlando International Airport, along with directions to Shipman?s home in Cape Canaveral, inside Nowak?s car.

The appeals court agreed with Lubet on the Miranda rights issue, but disagreed that the search of her car was illegal. The three-judge panel said the car would have been found in the La Quinta Inn parking lot anyway, without Nowak?s help.

Nowak?s attorney, Donald Lykkebak, filed a motion this morning, saying that he police had not already started searching for the car when Nowak led them to it, which makes using evidence found in it illegal.

?During the several hours of interrogation, no one went to the La Quinta Inn, nor did a search of the airport lots begin until after Becton learned from her that she had driven,? Lykkebak wrote. ?Had the defendant lied and told Becton she flew, it is pure speculation that anyone would have gone to the La Quinta parking lot.?

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