Arguing that media coverage was creating a "lynch mob mentality" that could pressure jurors to return a guilty verdict, the defense attorney for David Westerfield today asked the judge yet again to sequester the jury. Posted on 08/16/2002 6:39:20 AM PDT by FresnoDA
August 15, 2002
Arguing that media coverage was creating a "lynch mob mentality" that could pressure jurors to return a guilty verdict, the defense attorney for David Westerfield today asked the judge yet again to sequester the jury.
While the jury completed its first week of deliberations without a verdict, Superior Court Judge William Mudd denied the request and a related motion to "pull the plug" on television and radio coverage of the courtroom proceedings, but agreed to set aside a private room for jurors to take breaks. Defense attorney Steven Feldman had argued that reports suggested jurors felt like they were under siege, unable to leave their deliberating room, go to lunch or walk home without being watched or followed.
"We have no assurance that they are not be intimidated ... by the presence of the media," Feldman told Mudd during a morning hearing. "We can think of only one fair resolution to that: Get the jury out of harm's way."
Westerfield, 50, could face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping 7-year-old Danielle van Dam from her family's Sabre Springs home on Feb. 2 and killing her. Jurors are in their sixth day of deliberations.
Lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek disagreed with Feldman's interpretations of the jury's complaints.
"Whether or not any guilty verdict in this case would be based on a siege mentality or the meida I think is pure speculation and utterly false in this case," Dusek said.
What the jurors had complained about was being watched all the time, he said.
"That hardly equates to being under siege," he said.
Media coverage has diminished since the jurors began deliberating, the judge said.
"The synopsis programs on the two local TV networks are not in place," he said. "The talking heads are doing nothing but speculating about what the jury may or may not be thinking."
Mudd said there were no signs that jurors were being harassed by the public, especially since their names and faces haven't been publicized.
"We've all sat here and picked this jury, know their makeup and know their dedication to this cause," Mudd said. "I would prefer to think that any verdict they make in this case would be based upon the evidence."
Sequestering the jury also wouldn't protect them from any public reaction to the verdict, Mudd said.
Mudd took aim at two radio program hosts from Los Angeles who he previously described as "idiots."
"I suppose it's entertainment out of LA. I hope it stays in LA," he said. "The shows those two gentlemen put on made the court incredulous as to what they were attempting to do."
Mudd also announced:
On July 9, Shen's testimony interrupted presentation of defense witnesses. Shen, a San Diego police criminalist, testified about re-examining a group of fibers she had collected from Westerfield's 4Runner in February.
The orange acrylic fibers, found in various places inside the SUV, were the same color and fabric as a fiber tangled in a plastic necklace that Danielle was wearing when authorities found her body in a hollow off Dehesa Road, Shen testified at the time.
All the fibers looked identical under a microscope and appeared to have the same chemical makeup when tested using infrared technology, she said.
Shen said the fibers seem "most likely to have come from something that was very loosely knit," such as a sweater or blanket.
"You folks are going to deal with my PR person. You're going to leave my bailiff and my clerk alone," Mudd told reporters in the courtroom. "One statement leads to 60 questions that they're not going to answer and neither am I."
Mudd decided to turn the daily updates over to the court's public information officer after deciding that an informal system set up to have a bailiff or court clerk provide updates had failed.
"There was a simple note that they started at 9, they left at 4 left you chomping on bit to get copies," He said. "You're welcome to them, they'll be available as soon as we gett the minute order."
Reporters and members of the public will not be informed immediately about notes passed by the jury, Mudd said. The judge said he had procedure to follow, that includes notifying the attorneys involved in the case about the note and determining the appropriate response.
"This is a capital case and you go by steps," Mudd said.
After a day spent clearing brush on the ranch,I am dessicatedand require gin and tonic.
"OOOHHH...tough guy. Screw you. I know just as much about this trial as you. I have a different opinion. Sue me."
Oh, so this is the "high class" thread? Yeah, that's a post with class alright--all of it low, but class nonetheless. I thought these kinds of flames were only permitted in smokey backrooms?
...one can certainly be forgiven for suspecting that the moderators favor certain "pets"....Demsux' post removed...Hildy's left standing...
OK, Admin Moderator. But in all fairness, don't you think that when a Poster attacks another one with "Screw You" and "sue me"..that isn't material that belongs in the Smokey Backroom too?
sw
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This is something that I have thought about also, but as I am not a ballistics expert, I can only guess. A 22 is a small calib. gun, and a child would definitely die if being shot with one. It may/may not exit the body. If it did exit the body, there would be a pretty good deal of blood at the scene, but if it didn't, the victim would bleed internally and leave very little blood at the scene. The abdomen would swell as blood loss occurs. Bleeding out into the abdominal cavity is a very painful way to die. But it would seem to me that there would still be powder burns and shrapnel in/on the body. As far a a stab wound goes, it is yet another possibility - but it would seem to me that there would have been marks on the underlying bone to indicate such. As far as HOW this child died, it is anyones guess as I did not read any clear evidence pointing to cause, with the exception of fluid in the lungs - which also can occur during decomp. Although I am amazed that the lungs were in the condition that they were if as the prosecution claims, the child was 3+ weeks dead. There are reasons for this - but it's a little too gross to go into.
Them was the good old days, greasy and sweet as I recall. [:<)
So DW didn't use the claim receipt when he picked up the laundry, they must have just given him the stuff cuz they knew him?
The affidavits show BVD told them the cookie day was 1/30..Wednesday.
So is/was there a 3rd claim check receipt found?
I am sure some on the board will appreciate that,
Hogs serve the same purpose in some parts of the mid West as alligators
Truly, the jury should give DW the presumption of innocence.
But the "rule of law" has suffered greatly these days. IMHO, the courts worked best when the witnesses, jurors and judges saw their task as a sacred duty, believing that God would attend even their private thoughts.
Without that reverence, I suspect their greatest concern will be self-serving – that is, what error they can live with: letting a innocent man be convicted, or letting a guilty man go free (like Avila.)
I thought that a bit obvious also, I REALLY didn't want to believe it was true and have tried hard to be VERY objective when it comes to the Moderators and supposed "favorites" - but after the post from hildy, and a few others earlier on, I guess what everyone's been saying is true. :(
I can't begin to explain how it makes me feel.....
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