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.
Yep. the Youngflesh "evidence" smells like yesterdays fish.
But the password thing is normal. I've seen clients who'll put their password on a post-it note on their monitor, or pencil it on the keyboard.
Stealth Ninja Dave is slipping.
sw
If these well documented incidents don't at least give pause to the "hang 'em now" crowd, they simply choose to deny reality.
A young woman is strangled; her naked body dumped near Balboa Golf Course and the killer is still on the loose.
It's been a year and a half since a police found the body of Diane Ayers, 23, off Golf Course Drive. Ayers lived with her mother in South Park, just nine blocks away from the spot where her body was found.
Almost every weekend, Diane would go country dancing in Mission Valley and police suspect she may have met up with a stranger.
It was Labor Day weekend, 1999 on a Saturday afternoon. A group of golfers discovered the naked body of Diane Marie Ayers in the bushes off the side of the road near Balboa Golf Course. Her body was found nude, but according to pathologists, she was not sexually assaulted.
Diane was 23 years old at the time of her death, but she looked much younger. Based on evidence at the scene, police believe Diane was strangled at a different location. The killer probably drove her to the golf course area because it was dark. He then pulled in to a dirt turnout by the side of the road and dragged her body into the bushes.
She had one white sock on her left foot. Investigators never found the rest of her clothes or the blue-gray backpack that she always carried.
Diana was last seen by her mother two days before the murder. Carol Ayers says she has no idea why someone would want to hurt her daughter.
Diane used to shop at Horton Plaza and she would go country dancing in Mission Valley at a bar called "In Cahoots." She also hung out at a bar called "Snippy's" on Fern Street near her mother's home. The manager remembers Diane coming in and says she never drank alcohol. She simply ordered a soda and listened to music while waiting for her bus.
Diane did not have a driver's license and sometimes walked the streets by herself at night, returning home from a bus stop. Police say that may have been how she encountered her killer.
Diane had friends in the military and liked military people. But Carol Ayers says her daughter would never take rides with strangers. Now, a year and a half after Diane's murder her family and friends are still searching for answers.
When you addressed your "be good" comment... you can see if you go back and read some of the newbie posts, why there might be flames.
That's fine. All I am saying is that we want to keep the primary forums free of flame wars. If there is a desire to have free-for-all style discussion, perhaps the thing to do would be to repost this thread over in the Smoky Back Room. Thanks, AM
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