The judge in the David Westerfield trial rejected another defense request to sequester the jury but said he still considers it "a possible option." 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.
They did have some lawyers that gave information I consider valid and honest, but that airhead commentator interrupted her every time she started to say something that sounded like it would benefit DW.+
There appears to be confusion as to the length of maggots..but not sure how it relates to Danielle's body
Maybe California?
Assuming they all keep you out of jail, the one who can best match your level of risk with the lowest tax liability.
do you have an opinion as to whether or not the 9th, she could have been alive..
objection sustained
Do you have an opnion as to whether or not the 9th accurately states the PMI.
as he stated before he's looking at a period of when the blowflies.?
The job of the forensic entomologist is to interpret these various relationships in order to offer information to law enforcement officers that will assist in leads. "At present," says Goff, "entomology is relatively well accepted by crime scene investigators. When I first began, we were regarded as having limited value. Over the years, with educational outreach and careful work, we have become a recognized discipline." For research---since there's only one Body Farm at this time---he relies on pigs. "I have selected sites for my studies based on the records of localities in which bodies have been encountered. For each study, I use three pigs.
THE BODY FARM IN TENNESEE USES HUMAN CADAVERS. GOFF USES PIGS.
Oh I know a pig is supposed to be the closest to humans, but it isn't a human.
No
I would describe it as both.
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