Judge Mudd Refuses Sequester Plea: Westerfield Jury Verdict In Sep? (Aug. 16th Verdict Watch)

Union Trib ^ | August 15, 2002 | Jeff Dillion/Steve Perez

[FresnoDA]

Judge denies defense motion to sequester jury

By Jeff Dillon and Steve Perez
SIGNONSANDIEGO

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."

 

'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:

 

• The jury asked to review the recall testimony of prosecution witness Jennifer Shen, a criminalist with the San Diego Police Department.

  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.

   

• Reporters will no longer be allowed to ask questions of the court's bailiff and clerk.

  "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.

   

[pinz-n-needlez]

I see your concern, mommya, but I'd take Brenda's statement with a huge grain of salt.

She doesn't say a thing without an ulterior motive.

Remember, she was recounting a conversation that happened after she decided to peddle her wares, er, Girl Scout cookies, several days after seeing her rich, single neighbor at the neighborhood bar. She brings along her two young children for 'cover.'

She invited herself in to check out his 'knobs.' Probably interrupted him doing work inventing more appliances for the medical use. All this while her children were helping themselves to a tour of his home and garden.

She took his perfectly innocent invitation to come back some time to use his pool and join in on barbeques with other neighbors, and twisted it into something sordid and dirty when she spoke to Damon on the phone. (Remember, two other neighbors testified to using his pool and backyard for fun, not dirty, actitivties.)

That poor girl's death and her activities before her death would be common knowledge in the local community.

Brenda wants DW to bear the consequences for her child's death, while taking absolutely no responsibilites for shirking her own motherly duties.

I don't take any of her statements at face value, including that one. Thanks for the opportunity to share my thinking on this.

[NatureGirl]

I am postive there is testimony about this being a DW hang out

Maybe from Garry Harvey, but definitely not from Glennie Nasland.

[connectthedots]

Reporting in part time. redesigning a frig.

Sears has them on sale this week.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

You CAN'T be serious in your post #228. Do you honestly think you're fooling anyone?

I bet when your were a child, you loved to join in the mischief but as soon as an authority figure happened along, you stepped away and talked about how naughty those other kids were.

What a farce !!!!!!!!

[John Jamieson]

Wife says Webster says "frig" is a dirty word, not an abreviation for "frigidare". Refridgerator is too hard to type. Sorry.

[small_l_libertarian]

Thank you for rounding all of that info up - we had a productive day, didn't we?

[John Jamieson]

Yeah, but theirs already work.

[NatureGirl]

Thanks. I just read the transcript and found the same thing.

[the Deejay]

I say, "fridge."

[pinz-n-needlez]

Well, I'm on the sidelines with the jury pool. Guess that coffee and donuts just invigorated them for more work! lol

[ican'tbelieveit]

from webster's website:

Main Entry: frig
Pronunciation: 'frig
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): frigged; frig·ging
Etymology: Middle English fryggen to wriggle
Date: 1598
usually vulgar : COPULATE -- sometimes used in the present participle as a meaningless intensive

[Eva]

I have been told by an attorney, to NEVER talk to the police. He says that you should always say that you don't want to discuss that right now. Just make up a story, say your too tired, have a head ache, you have to go to the bathroom and throw up. Say anything, but get out of there. Make them come and get you before you discuss anything.

[KnutCase]

That pretty well sums up my take on the case also. Good post.

[ican'tbelieveit]

Another Webster entry:

Main Entry: fridge
Variant(s): also frig /'frij/
Function: noun
Etymology: by shortening & alteration
Date: 1926
: REFRIGERATOR

[small_l_libertarian]

I played with the picture, but all I did was put it into Photoshop and even out the backgrounds by adjusting the amount of red - I wouldn't want to use it to actually PROVE anything, ya' know? I'll send it to you if you want me to, though.

[Freedom2specul8]

"Kim, that comes from Brenda the famous SD swinger/liar, and is not admissable evidence/testimony on this forum."



Yeah, it's interesting as to how DW, the child porn collector is so honest and never lies but the vd's are well known liars and simply can't be trusted.

[dread78645]

Yeah, but theirs already work.

Kinda takes the fun out of it. :-(

[pinz-n-needlez]

Is that you, Scully????

:-)

[ican'tbelieveit]

I do believe that is wild speculation. I have not seen any conviction of Westerfield on being a "child porn collector."

[Freedom2specul8]

The AM asked us to quit, let's do so.