Trial delayed pending Court Ruling

A three-judge panel will be asked to rule on the appropriateness of prosecution evidence before trial is held for an Oconee County man. Scheduled to have started Tuesday, the trial of Billy Christopher Whitmire on the charge of domestic violence in the second degree has been halted. Judge Lawton McIntosh ordered a stay in the proceedings pending a ruling by the Court of Appeals in Columbia on whether the recording of a phone conversation violated the South Carolina Home Security Act. The judge acted on a motion by Whitmire’s attorney, Suzanne Earle.