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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: mommya
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.
241 posted on 08/16/2002 11:14:18 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: Valpal1
I am postive there is testimony about this being a DW hang out

Maybe from Garry Harvey, but definitely not from Glennie Nasland.
242 posted on 08/16/2002 11:15:22 AM PDT by NatureGirl
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To: John Jamieson
Reporting in part time. redesigning a frig.

Sears has them on sale this week.

243 posted on 08/16/2002 11:15:27 AM PDT by connectthedots
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
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 !!!!!!!!

244 posted on 08/16/2002 11:15:30 AM PDT by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: John Jamieson
Wife says Webster says "frig" is a dirty word, not an abreviation for "frigidare". Refridgerator is too hard to type. Sorry.
245 posted on 08/16/2002 11:15:55 AM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: shezza
Thank you for rounding all of that info up - we had a productive day, didn't we?
246 posted on 08/16/2002 11:16:38 AM PDT by small_l_libertarian
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To: connectthedots
Yeah, but theirs already work.
247 posted on 08/16/2002 11:17:16 AM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: Rheo
Thanks. I just read the transcript and found the same thing.
248 posted on 08/16/2002 11:17:23 AM PDT by NatureGirl
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To: John Jamieson
I say, "fridge."
249 posted on 08/16/2002 11:19:01 AM PDT by the Deejay
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To: Rheo
Well, I'm on the sidelines with the jury pool. Guess that coffee and donuts just invigorated them for more work! lol
250 posted on 08/16/2002 11:19:19 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: John Jamieson
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
251 posted on 08/16/2002 11:19:25 AM PDT by ican'tbelieveit
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To: connectthedots
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.
252 posted on 08/16/2002 11:19:30 AM PDT by Eva
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To: connectthedots
That pretty well sums up my take on the case also. Good post.
253 posted on 08/16/2002 11:19:47 AM PDT by KnutCase
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To: John Jamieson
Another Webster entry:

Main Entry: fridge
Variant(s): also frig /'frij/
Function: noun
Etymology: by shortening & alteration
Date: 1926
: REFRIGERATOR
254 posted on 08/16/2002 11:20:02 AM PDT by ican'tbelieveit
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To: Jaded
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.
255 posted on 08/16/2002 11:20:09 AM PDT by small_l_libertarian
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To: Valpal1
"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.
256 posted on 08/16/2002 11:20:21 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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To: John Jamieson
Yeah, but theirs already work.

Kinda takes the fun out of it. :-(

257 posted on 08/16/2002 11:22:25 AM PDT by dread78645
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To: KnutCase
Is that you, Scully????

:-)
258 posted on 08/16/2002 11:22:58 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
I do believe that is wild speculation. I have not seen any conviction of Westerfield on being a "child porn collector."
259 posted on 08/16/2002 11:23:09 AM PDT by ican'tbelieveit
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To: Southflanknorthpawsis
The AM asked us to quit, let's do so.
260 posted on 08/16/2002 11:23:21 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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