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Judge Mudd Refuses Sequester Plea: Westerfield Jury Verdict In Sep? (Aug. 16th Verdict Watch)
Union Trib ^ | August 15, 2002 | Jeff Dillion/Steve Perez

Posted on 08/16/2002 6:39:20 AM PDT by FresnoDA

Judge denies defense motion to sequester jury

By Jeff Dillon and Steve Perez
SIGNONSANDIEGO

August 15, 2002

Judge William D. Mudd addressed counsel on a motion by defense attorney Steven Feldman regarding media access to jurors in the trial of defendant David Westerfield at San Diego courthouse, August 15, 2002. Westerfield is accused of the kidnapping and murder of seven-year old Danielle van Dam from her Sabre Springs home, last February.  REUTERS/POOL/Dan TrevanArguing 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."

 

'Broccoli heads'

He cited an incident earlier in the week in which radio talk show hosts from KFI-AM 640 in Los Angeles broadcast from outside the courthouse, waving stalks of broccoli around and reportedly calling jurors "broccoli heads" for being unable to return a quick guilty verdict.

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.

 

Trust in the jury

Mudd dismissed most of Feldman's concerns, saying that the jurors had only asked a bailiff to keep reporters a little bit farther away, though an alternate juror reported that he or she had been followed to his car.

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.

 

'The activities of a few'

"The tragedy is, the majority of the people in this courtroom are abiding by the court's orders and working very hard to insure they, meaning the media, do not cause something to occur that is going to cause a mistrial," Mudd said. "Not all of them feel that way as is very apparent with the activities of a few."

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:

 



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To: JudyB1938
I didn't live there until '74. And when I got pregnant with our first child, we moved back to Florida where we had come from. So I don't think I saw that guy, unless he morphed into . . .

When I visited Balboa Park the first time, there was some strange festival going on. Seems like it was a Renaissance Festival, but I got the feeling there were a lot of Satan worshippers in the crowd. There was one strange guy walking around by himself with a hand mirror. He would look at himself and say something, and then write in a little spiral bound notepad. I remember him to this day - that's how weird he was.
1,641 posted on 08/18/2002 4:43:25 PM PDT by Bluebird Singing
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To: All; CAPPSMADNESS; ~Kim4VRWC's~
Also, a police forensics examiner testified that while searching files on Westerfield's hard drive and computer disks, he found suggestive photos of Westerfield's girlfriend's teenage daughter named Danielle.

Detective James Watkins testified he copied the hard drives of four computers and the contents of a "Palm Pilot" device in Westerfield's home three days after van Dam was reported missing. Investigators also seized three CD-ROMs and two "zip" disks, he said.

A total of 64,000 images were found in "very highly organized" files, Watkins said.

"Overall, there were thousands of pictures," Watkins said, but of "a questionable nature there were less than a hundred."

Included was a series of six showing a bikini-clad teen posing suggestively on a lounge and in a hot tub.

"I found pictures of a girl named `Danielle' who appeared to be the daughter of a (Westerfield) girlfriend," Watkins said.

One photo, according to Watkins, was of her with a towel over her head.

Defense attorney Robert Boyce challenged Watkins' appearance as a witness before he testified, claiming his testimony would be prejudicial, that there was no evidence Westerfield was the one who downloaded the other "questionable" photos and that they were legal.

But Dusek (pictured, right) argued that Watkins' testimony would support a charge of misdemeanor child pornography and would go to the issue of motive in van Dam's murder.

Superior Court Judge H. Ronald Domnitz examined the prosecution photographs before allowing Watkins to testify.

Among the other items found, Watkins said, were photographs of young females posing with or performing sexual acts with animals and several animated series, including one depicting rape.

In cross-examining Watkins, Boyce was able to get him to acknowledge that there was no evidence Westerfield was the person who downloaded the images, and that the investigator was unable to determine the ages of the females in the photographs. Watkins also said another detective examining the files told him there were no images of prepubescent girls.

March Preliminary Hearing

1,642 posted on 08/18/2002 4:47:27 PM PDT by Spunky
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To: CAPPSMADNESS; Spunky
As I posted in #1512, the jury saw videos with real females being raped per Mr. Feldman himself. His only argument to the jury is that the females were not under eighteen. I have no idea if they actually children or not, I have not seen them. The jury is supposed to decide.

I think there is confusion because the jury was shown three types of things in this area: still photos, animes AND two of these videos. The animes were shown in addition to the other two types of media, which is why we are hearing about "cartoons" and such. But animes are not the only type of porn shown to the jury.
1,643 posted on 08/18/2002 4:50:03 PM PDT by cyncooper
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To: JudyB1938
I just did a search on satanic sacrifice, and I found this interesting explanation of Wicca. Scroll down to the shamrock. Talks about child sacrifice. You may have seen this already.

http://missingpersons-ireland.freepress-freespeech.com/archive-wbyeats.htm
1,644 posted on 08/18/2002 4:51:06 PM PDT by Bluebird Singing
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To: Bluebird Singing
The similarity between Wiccan and ancient eastern Satanic sacrifice cults is practically the same.

That is obviously a lie. Everybody knows how gentle and loving Wiccans are. < /so >

1,645 posted on 08/18/2002 5:40:50 PM PDT by JudyB1938
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To: JudyB1938
Judy- You gotta see this

http://wshmybravenet.com/bos/wheel/imbolic/recipes.html

Imbolic food recipes for ritual #2 Bridgit bread-----It's made and twisted into a loaf, but look at the INGREDIENTS
IT'S PIZZA..

Also, see Bride bed at the bottom, the wedding bed for the goddess Maiden Bride Bridgit: glitter, etc... Symbolic that the earth is the bed. Actually, they are teaching their chidren through these activities. How sick and perverted Huh??
1,646 posted on 08/18/2002 6:12:19 PM PDT by juzcuz
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To: JudyB1938
Just found this on google. IMO, the possiblity can't be ignored. Look at Feb. 2.

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/heart7/date/srac2.html

1,647 posted on 08/18/2002 6:16:11 PM PDT by Bluebird Singing
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To: juzcuz
sorry folks-- http://wsh.mybravenet.com/bos/wheel/imbolic/recipes.html
1,648 posted on 08/18/2002 6:27:56 PM PDT by juzcuz
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To: dread78645
Cope
1,649 posted on 08/18/2002 6:28:24 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: Bluebird Singing; JudyB1938; juzcuz; hoosiermama
Y'all are scarin' me!

Thank God I'm an "overprotective mother" (usually said with a curled lip by other neighborhood moms) who won't let my bunchkins out of my sight...and we have two behemoth dogs* sprawled out on the living room floor most of the time who would gleefully rip the left foot off of any intruder. (*Rottie/German shepherd cross--beautiful and scary-looking! -- and Lab/chow barkomaniac)

1,650 posted on 08/18/2002 6:28:27 PM PDT by shezza
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To: juzcuz
Glitter around the Bride's bed, huh? Just like all over Danielle's carpet...and she had that veil-like canopy over her bed. Too weird.
1,651 posted on 08/18/2002 6:31:58 PM PDT by shezza
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To: John Jamieson
Many of her comments I was like "HUH"??? Then after the insult... well... if one can dish it out, one should to be able to take it. When I joined in, I thought to myself, that I would not participate in any flaming BS. I chide myself for even commenting, but sometimes I can be too outspoken!!

BTW, I hope I don't come across as some grammar/vocabulary nut, I'm not! It just seems to me that it would be common courtesy to put spaces between words now & then! ;-) I don't think I need to elaborate.....
1,652 posted on 08/18/2002 6:38:46 PM PDT by domestice
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To: shezza
glitter and canopy---

I know BIZZARE...... set of CIRCUMSTANCES- huh????
1,653 posted on 08/18/2002 6:40:48 PM PDT by juzcuz
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To: dread78645
Makes sense to me!
1,654 posted on 08/18/2002 6:49:33 PM PDT by domestice
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To: shezza
One of my daughters is into glitter. She's 22 and she uses it sometimes as an accent to her makeup. One thing about glitter - it travels with anyone who comes near it. Did they find glitter in Danielle's room? I know about the sparkly outfit, but is this something else? There is even glitter in the crevices of my car.
1,655 posted on 08/18/2002 6:54:36 PM PDT by Bluebird Singing
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
http://www.wordsmith.org
1,656 posted on 08/18/2002 7:02:01 PM PDT by itsahoot
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To: JudyB1938
"The only weird thing I ever saw in California was a guy in a white robe who used to roam around at Laguna Beach in the early 60's. Did you ever see that guy?"

Yes! That was the "Luguna greeter"! Always on the same corner, by the pottery shop/yard and seemed to be there almost every time you went thru. I think his name was Dave.

Have to tell you though... that was not even, near, the weirdest thing I ever saw in California. LOL.

1,657 posted on 08/18/2002 7:13:08 PM PDT by theirjustdue
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To: All
I know this is not testimony, but from a press article around 2/6 or 2/7 there was this comment:

"They were having a good time, just playing pool with people and joking around," Westerfield said earlier this week, adding that he'd danced with his neighbor before leaving around 10:30 p.m.

For some reason I thought the belief was he did not say he danced with her...



1,658 posted on 08/18/2002 7:20:52 PM PDT by clearvision
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To: shezza
bookmark
1,659 posted on 08/18/2002 7:29:47 PM PDT by demsux
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To: CAPPSMADNESS
Nothing mysterous about all the well organizeds name in the folders, digital Cameras assign names like this.
P5190001.JPG
P5190002.JPG
P5190003.JPG
P5190004.JPG
P5190005.JPG
P5190006.JPG
P5190007.JPG
P5190008.JPG
P5190009.JPG
P5190010.JPG
P5190011.JPG
P5190012.JPG
P5190013.JPG
P5190014.JPG
P5190015.JPG
P5190016.JPG
P5190017.JPG
P5190018.JPG
P5190019.JPG
P5190020.JPG

Also some graphic converter programs do an auto rename so they won't write over duplicates.
1,660 posted on 08/18/2002 7:47:26 PM PDT by itsahoot
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