Posted on 07/30/2002 7:13:26 AM PDT by FresnoDA
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.
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.
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.
**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**
I notice he said they COULD HAVE, not that they were, or that the temp records proved it.
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?
And explained how frost would affect it.
Jurors have to wonder the same. Besides, I am understanding Goff to say the 9th. It still works for the defense, doesn't 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
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).
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