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.

   

[FresnoDA]

Please Judy, don't leave...come back to the Smokey Room...'kay??

[the-gooroo]

I watched part of cc live and it took a lot of willpower not to throw something at the tv. I couldn't believe it when one of the guest attorneys said how there was no evidence of DW being hidden in her room for a couple of hours. CC gives him a roll of the eyes and says,"Oh c'mon, that's just a theory they have." Well Duh!

The prosecution say's that Denise left the side garage door open--DW came in--Brenda closed and locked it when she came home from Dad's--couple of hours later DW leaves carrying Danielle out the back slider, leaving no trace of evidence.

That's how they say it happened. What if you don't believe it happened that way? They're stuck with it because the VD's came up with the doors open/lights blinking story. As far as I'm concerned, I don't need to go any further. He couldn't have been in that house.

[Lanza]

Well, give Beth credit for NOT asking BVD who styles her hair. That would be the only time Beth has shown some sense through this whole trial. BVD's hair is the worst over-processed-brassy-dye-job-stringy-frizzy crap I have every seen. I suspect she does her own hair (surely no reputable hairdresser would claim that mess).

[John Jamieson]

Had to turn Crier off after 10 minutes. Guests talking about Danielle's finger prints on the ceiling of the motor home over the bed, and wondering why no Brenda hair found around DW if they were dirty dancing. Would it be too much to ask these experts to actually read and study the evidence?

[KnutCase]

Are you old enough to remember in The Grapes of Wrath (starring a young Henry Fonda) when the put the dead Granny on top of the truck and got past the inspectors?

[Spunky]

I only nodded my head no that I wouldn't answer questions.

What country/planet do you come from? Here in the states we nod our head for yes, and shake our head for no.;-)

[Bluebird Singing]

How about "critical thinking skills"?

From B.K. Beyer (1987) Practical strategies for the teaching of thinking:

View of a Critical Thinker

Separates relevant from irrelevant information.
Spots inconsistencies in a line reasoning.
Identifies and challenges assumptions.
Separates verifiable facts from value claims.
Identifies doubtful or unclear claims and arguments.

[the Deejay]

Oh sure, I know that movie very well. They didn't put the grandma "on top of the truck." She was in the back lying down.

National Lampoon Vacation they put the aunty on the top of the station wagon, going into Phoenix.

[domestice]

John, do you know this for sure, or speculating?? I would love to know.

And Judy, don't confuse people w/ facts around here!!
:-)

[the Deejay]

I must admit I think Bren's hair, face & body are just shocking, but I usually get jumped if I mention Bren looking bad, in any sort of way.

My first impression of her, was "She looks awfully old to have such young children." The first photo I saw of her
was the day of Danielle's disappearance.

[domestice]

I hear ya, same ole clap trap!!

[small_l_libertarian]

That's the most beautiful thing I've seen all day.

[Dave_in_Upland]

A thought crossed my mind today and hasn't left since.

All along I have thought that Danielle was accidently killed through medication by her parents. (They wanted to make sure that the children slept through the night while they partied.)

In the morning they find her dead. They know that if an autopsy is performed they face negligent manslaughter at the least. The have to find a fall guy.

Isn't it convenient for them that the guy 2 doors down and across the street is loading up his motor home the way he normally does when he leaves for the weekend.

Is it just a bit suspect that the 911 call was placed just a few moments after DW left the neighborhood?

I also wonder who the cops would have suspected had DW not been sooooooo convenient to focus their attention on.......

Have at it friends, rip my theory to shreds, in our search we may just stumble upon the real truth.

[Freedom2specul8]

That's pretty scary...and is worth an email to them..not that it would help.

[Freedom2specul8]

Nice post Bluebird!!

[John Jamieson]

99% sure just from common sense. The microscope would provide a pure white background for all slides. The picture was manupulated, and it's obvious why: They had to make a "dull orange" fiber match a bright "orange fiber."

[domestice]

Exactly!! Unfortunately, methinks teaching them HOW to think is being replaced w/ teaching them WHAT to think.
:-o

[Freedom2specul8]

am reading through various threads over in the backroom...just to get a feel for what is allowed. I personally detest fighting..so if that's the purpose.. YUCK


Judy, here's a direct link to read other threads.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/backroom/browse

[clearvision]

But that fiber had a whole two weeks to fade in the shade of the tree....

[Freedom2specul8]

quote about the ''backroom''


The Smokey Backroom is an enter at your own risk forum. We're going to relax the rules a bit here, as far as heated debate is concerned. This is where you can roll around in the mud and the blood and the beer, so to speak. And if someone gets a piece of his ear bitten off and lets out a curse word or two, he probably won't get banned (as long as he doesn't make a habit of going overboard).

In other words, some of the rules may be loosened up a bit in this forum. But not the rules against racism, or leftist propaganda, etc. That kind of stuff is still not welcome on FR. If a flamewar breaks out on FR, we may ask the flamers to take it to the backroom.

Or, in some instances, we may move entire threads here. This is an alternative to deleting them. We'll be playing it by ear for awhile and see how it is received.

This is not to say that we're going to welcome vicious or nasty attacks, libel or slander, but if some of you wish to get a bit heated and all of the participants involved have thick skins and are not going to cry about it, here's the place.

9 posted on 8/15/02 9:20 PM Central by Jim Robinson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]