The court could decide the case narrowly by focusing on whether Martinez was in police custody at the hospital or whether the law regulating Chavez was clearly established. But the justices agreed to take up Oxnard's appeal posing the broad question of whether the Constitution regulates police questioning that does not lead to an incriminating statement in court.
For Martinez, the slow-moving legal battle has proved to be a new type of agony. Now 34, he lives with his father in a one-room trailer on a farm field in Oxnard. He is in a wheelchair and wears dark glasses, covering his missing eye.
"Everything has changed. I can't do anything for myself," he said in an interview. His father leaves food on the stove each day before leaving so his son can warm his lunch.
"I depend on my dad. It's very difficult for me," he said.
Oxnard's lawyers have refused requests to pay for any therapy for him.
Regardless of what happens in the Supreme Court, Martinez and his lawyers say they will continue to press their claims for illegal arrests and excessive force against the Oxnard police.
The city's lawyers say they are not willing to make payments or a temporary settlement.
The three officers involved in the Martinez shooting remain on the Oxnard police force and suffered no disciplinary action as a result of it, city lawyers said.
