By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 11, 2002
Two weeks after he was banned from the courtroom, Danielle van Dam's father has asked the judge to allow him to return, promising to avoid "any contact and/or physical proximity" with the man charged with killing his daughter.
In legal papers filed this week, Damon van Dam apologized for his conduct in the courthouse and said he hopes to attend the trial.
An attorney for the family said van Dam is worried that jurors might draw the wrong conclusion if they have noticed his absence.
"The jury may erroneously consider his absence from the courtroom as an indication that he voluntarily elected not to attend because he doesn't care about the outcome, has something to hide and/or doesn't provide emotional support to his wife, who is obviously still attending the trial," attorney Spencer Busby stated in the court documents.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd is expected to consider the issue this morning.
Mudd banned van Dam from the trial and the third floor of the courthouse June 24 after sheriff's deputies said he was trying to make eye contact with defendant David Westerfield and was inquiring about Westerfield's transportation routine from the jail.
At one point, a deputy spotted van Dam staring through the courtroom window at Westerfield. "I just want to let him know I'm here," van Dam reportedly told the deputy.
The judge also cited the father's "facial expressions in the courtroom as they relate to the defense."
In a declaration filed with the motion, the 36-year-old software engineer acknowledged "that I may have been, in recent weeks, perceived as a security threat to the courtroom by the court's personnel and am truly remorseful for any distress or inconvenience I may have caused."
In papers filed with the court, Busby, a victims' rights advocate who is representing the van Dams for free, blamed the behavior on high emotions and said Damon van Dam never intended to cause Westerfield any physical harm.
As the parents of a slain child, the van Dams have certain rights under state law to attend court proceedings for the person charged with the crime, Busby asserted in the motion.
Attorneys involved in the trial can't comment because of a gag order.
I don't like DVD anymore than the rest of you do, but not allowing him in the courtroom because he gave mad looks at the man accused of murdering his daughter? GIVE ME A BREAK HERE! This is as bad as the thought police. "DVD looked at me, waaaahhhhhh He LOOKED at me!"
Here's some more on Damon's behavior, from the 24th--courtesy of a kind Freeper who freepmailed me this transcript and news article:
8 MR. DUSEK: MAY WE APPROACH THE BENCH?
9 THE COURT: SURE.
10 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELDAT THE BENCH BETWEEN COURT AND COUNSEL:)
11
12
13 MR. DUSEK: I'M SEEKING AN ADDED WARNING FROM THE COURT
14 TO THE JURY NOT TO LOOK AT T.V. OR THE NEWSPAPER. DAMON VAN DAM
15 HAS THREATENED TO GO TO THE MEDIA AFTER HE WAS EXCLUDED. WE'VE
16 DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO ANYTHING TO KEEP
17 HIM FROM THEM, BUT HE MAY GO TODAY.
18 THE COURT: IT'S A VERY SHORT ROPE BUT I WILL EMPHASIZE
19 THE ADMONITION.
20 MR. DUSEK: THANK YOU.
21 THE COURT: ALL RIGHT.
22 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD INOPEN COURT IN THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)
23
24 THE COURT: OKAY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE
25 REACHED THE END OF THE DAY. TONIGHT WE ARE GOING TO SEE SOME
26 HITTING. IT ONLY DEPENDS ON HOW MANY TIMES WE PITCH TO BOBBY
27 BONDS I THINK WHO DOES THE HITTING, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE
28 GOOD NEWS TOMORROW.
61371
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OCCASIONALLY DURING THE
2 COURSE OF THE DAY THE COURT MAKES ALL KINDS OF RULINGS. YOU SEE
3 THE RULINGS I MADE IN HERE. I'VE MADE A COUPLE RULINGS TODAY
4 THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HIT THE PRESS TONIGHT, WHICH MEANS
5 TELEVISION, RADIO AND ALL THE SOURCES THAT I'VE TOLD YOU TO
6 AVOID. I JUST WANT TO RE-EMPHASIZE TONIGHT THAT IT'S VERY
7 IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOT LOOK AT THE NEWS, READ YOUR NEWSPAPERS OR
8 ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES. IN OTHER WORDS, JUST SELF-POLICE
9 THE WAY YOU'VE BEEN DOING ALL ALONG AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY
10 PROBLEMS.
11 PLEASE REMEMBER THE ADMONITION OF THE COURT NOT TO
12 DISCUSS ANY OF THE EVIDENCE OR TESTIMONY AMONG YOURSELVES OR
13 WITH ANY OTHER PERSONS, NOR FORMULATE OR EXPRESS ANY OPINIONS ON
14 THE MATTER UNTIL IT'S SUBMITTED TO YOU.
15 HAVE A SAFE AND A PLEASANT EVENING. GO PADS.
16 WE'LL SEE YOU AT 9 O'CLOCK TOMORROW MORNING.
17 (AT 4:30 P.M. THE JURY WAS EXCUSEDAND THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HAD:)
18
19 THE COURT: OKAY. THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT THE JURORS
20 AND ALTERNATES HAVE LEFT THE COURTROOM.
21 COUNSEL, SOMETIME TODAY HAND DELIVER TO ME MARKED
22 "PERSONAL" OR "CONFIDENTIAL" IS AN ITEM THAT MY CLERK HAS --
23 IT'S A DIRECT COMMUNICATION, SO I'M DISTRIBUTING IT TO YOU.
24 I URGE YOU NOT TO DISCUSS THE MATTER PUBLICLY WITH
25 ANYONE UNTIL WE CAN MEET TOMORROW MORNING. IT'S GOING TO -- I
26 THINK THE ITEM IS SELF-EXPLANATORY. IT'S A LETTER DIRECTED AT
27 ME. BUT SO WE SHOULD PLAN ON ACTUALLY GETTING TOGETHER AT 10
28 MINUTES TILL. I THINK THAT WILL BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME. SO
61381
MY CLERK WILL GIVE EACH OF YOU A COPY. IT'S TO REMAIN
2 CONFIDENTIAL WITHIN YOUR OFFICES, AND WE'LL DISCUSS IT AT 8:50
3 TOMORROW MORNING.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020624-9999-pm2.html
Here's one of the articles describing his behavior:
http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/sand/news/stories/news-153012720020625-150635.html
Damon Van Dam Kicked Out Of Courtroom
Father Of Slain Girl Apparently Trying To Intimidate Westerfield
Posted: 1:13 p.m. PDT June 25, 2002
Updated: 1:46 p.m. PDT June 25, 2002
SAN DIEGO -- The judge in the David Westerfield trial has banned the father of Danielle van Dam from the courtroom and the third floor of the courthouse -- for apparently trying to stare down the defendant.
Because of a gag order, no details were immediately released. But as of Monday, Damon van Dam (pictured, left) is under orders to stay away from the Westerfield trial.
There are no private entrances for defendants in the courthouse, and Westerfield is brought up in elevators or stairwells each day, accompanied by four sheriff's deputies.
Van Dam, who is said to wander the hallways of the courthouse, is believed to have been either staring at the defendant or posturing himself to intimidate Westerfield, according to a broadcast report.
The order was issued by Superior Court Judge William Mudd, who is presiding in the Westerfield trial.
Westerfield, 50, is accused of abducting van Dam's 7-year-old daughter earlier this year and murdering her. He could get the death penalty if convicted.