Judge Mudd Says Sequestering Of Jury Possible: Van Dam case has jurors facing more Mad-Dawgging!!

Union Trib ^ | July 30, 3002 | Alex Roth

[FresnoDA]

Judge says sequestering of jury possible

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

July 30, 2002

The judge in the David Westerfield trial rejected another defense request to sequester the jury but said he still considers it "a possible option."

Superior Court Judge William Mudd said he didn't think it was necessary at the moment but has asked the county to prepare "a back-up contingency plan" just in case.

Westerfield's lawyers have asked several times for jury sequestration, and they renewed their request yesterday. Lead defense lawyer Steven Feldman said he worried that the jury might be affected by the publicity in the Samantha Runnion kidnap-murder case in Orange County.

Feldman cited comments made by Samantha's mother about Alejandro Avila, the man charged with kidnapping and killing the 5-year-old girl. In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Erin Runnion blamed her daughter's death on a jury that acquitted Avila of child molestation charges two years ago.

Feldman said he worried that jurors in the Westerfield case might hear about the interview and feel pressured to convict his client, who is charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam of Sabre Springs.

The judge said he would remind jurors about news coverage they should avoid. He also said he talked to them about sequestration last week after receiving reports that someone in the media followed some of the jurors to their cars and wrote down their license plates.

"They're a hearty group and they didn't appear to be intimidated by what occurred, and I continue to believe in their integrity," the judge said yesterday.

With the trial in recess for a day, lawyers spent yesterday discussing legal instructions to give to the jury before they begin deliberations. It seems likely that testimony will continue into next week.

Prosecutors are expected to finish their rebuttal evidence today, at which point the defense will put on evidence to rebut the prosecution's rebuttal. One possible defense witness probably won't be called until Monday, Feldman told the judge yesterday.

[VRWC_minion]

Goff said the date was when the bugs laid eggs and that that event could have been delayed further by things like FROST.

I don't expect any apologies by those who called me names etc. but it nice to know for myself that I was right about what he would say.

[bvw]

You should thank your selective recall.

[John Jamieson]

So he has made 4 estimated ranges, only one of which makes it to 2/2. Goff is telling us in very convoluted terms that he can't make Dusek's case either. He can come closer than the other guys though.

[John Jamieson]

No, they were the temperatures that the two lab test were performed at.

[VRWC_minion]

My selective recall also says that the same folks who had diaparaging comments said that Goff was going to agree with the defense. But hey, what do I know.

[UCANSEE2]

It's the lack of a SOURCE that invalidates the fiber testimony, in my own personal evaluation of the evidence.

Thanks, Shezza

Establishing the REAL source would probably invalidate the whole case. If the Blue/Grey fibers did come from the LE's, if the orange did come from searchers/LE's/Dog handlers/Dogs, etc.

Think about it. The blue/grey fibers were found everywhere the LE's spent time. Searching the Washer/Dryer,In the SUV, standing over Danielle's body.

[mommya]

So - when Goff says that Faulkner should not have used the temperature regarding the maggot mass - because there aren't completed studies on that issue - that Faulkner should just have stuck with the ambient temp. reading only - does that mean that his estimate is more correct than Faulkner's? I dunno - they are doing the studies - the entomologists obviously think there is an increased effect on the temp. regarding the maggot mass - so Faulkner just wanted to try to be more accurate by factoring that in - even if he could not be 100% correct about it - he knew that just figuring using the ambient air temp was not accurate. So even if Haskell overestimated his temps regarding the maggot mass - going back to using the ambient air temps would be too much compensation back in the other direction - no?

[Jaded]

Goff'a testimony deserves this....

**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**

Stealth Ninja Dave

[UCANSEE2]

Goff said the date was when the bugs laid eggs and that that event could have been delayed further by things like FROST.

I notice he said they COULD HAVE, not that they were, or that the temp records proved it.

[John Jamieson]

Yes, heating and cooling calculation from HVAC contractors do the same thing in degree-days using 68 for heating and say 76 for cooling as the base.

It has nothing to do with number systems like octal, decimal, binary, or hex.

[mommya]

"it was my impression that Goff used more recent developed data on what it takes to get a big bug. He felt it was better than the old 1954 data."

I think he said he did not know for sure which stuff Haskell used - that he though he might have used the Kemal stuff - instead of his (goff's) info. How can he speculate about that? Couldn't he just ask Haskell and Faulkner what they used?

[bvw]

Some did, yet the cross hasn't happened yet.

[VRWC_minion]

I notice he said they COULD HAVE, not that they were, or that the temp records proved it

And explained how frost would affect it.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

It is possible GOFF's analysis might be more accurate. Why Didn't DUSEK call him in from the beginning? Why did he only beg to do so after the people he USUALLY USES and RELIES ON, didn't give the answer that would benefit the prosecution's case?

Jurors have to wonder the same. Besides, I am understanding Goff to say the 9th. It still works for the defense, doesn't it?

[mommya]

I agree - bump!

[VRWC_minion]

It should have been in their report if they were thorough.

[bvw]

So "base ten", meaning degrees-above-10-degress-centigrade is a term of Goff's invention or of the literature in his field?

[alexandria]

I SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL. The Judge, the Prosecutor, Especially the SDPD and the DA have a LOT TO LOSE if DW gets NOT GUILTY. For them to admit that the other recent FEMALE CHILD RAPE/KILLINGS in the same DAMN AREA have anything to do with Danielle would make them look like they JUMPED THE GUN, ARRESTED THE WRONG MAN, and they won't admit that. You can bet you last dollar on it.

I know how you feel. The DA has played it safe by immediately arresting THE culprit and can say well, we did everything we could to bring justice to Danielle. Except for, gather evidence properly, take digital photos, not let LE interrogate a person without a lawyer, and hell not match factual evidence found in house that has no known match (hand/palm/prints and DNA in the bedroom of the victim) with what is on record for child sex offenders or any offenders database. When you have DNA at a crime scene you test it, ALWAYS.
"There is no legitimate reason for the failure to compare a suspect to DNA found at the crime scene," says Turvey, who's advised on high-profile cases nationwide, including the infamous Sam Sheppard murder case in Ohio. "A suspect is a suspect."
If it's a match, you have your man, he says, if not, you know you can take your focus off him, and put it where it may do some good.
http://www.corpus-delicti.com/mirror_070802.htm

[cyncooper]

Also, only one dog vest was given for testing, and there were two dogs, each in his own orange vest. Perhaps they thought that if they tested one, the other would be moot.

Wouldn't the dogs be wearing the same type of vest? How would dog vest fibers get in DW's bed and laundry and SUV and entwined in Danielle's necklace?

Detectives wearing jackets....It's not inconceivable that an innocent searcher or forensics collector could have carried and shed these fibers.

First, are these jackets "blue/gray"?

And second, if these jackets are prone to spreading fibers wherever they're worn, why don't all crime scenes show these fibers and the analyst would be used to coming across them and discarding?

(never mind the lack of evidence that transfer could have been made to Danielle's body sheet, DW's laundry and in his MH).

[cyncooper]

Kudos, minion.