David Westerfield, accused killer of Danielle van Dam, preliminary hearing

San Diego Headline News ^ | 3-12-02 | Staff writer

[JRandomFreeper]

Thanks. I think I will go find the Brady decision and read it tommorow. "It's always time for school for mid-shipmen." Or the self-educated (more expensive than college).

/john

[Amore]

Yes, discovery occurs before trial. The judge usually has a pretrial hearing and thereafter sets a schedule. As part of that schedule, for instance, he'll order that all discovery is to be provided by a given date. Brady, as I said deals with violations of discovery. It deals with exculpatory evidence to the extent that if it is the defense claiming a violation, they're really not going to care unless the evidence IS exculpatory. Similarly, the state won't care unless the held-back evidence is inculpatory.

[JRandomFreeper]

Similarly, the state won't care unless the held-back evidence is inculpatory.

My only memory reference is defense crying foul. I'll look up references to prosecution calling foul under Brady.

If I wasn't 40, recently re-enlisted in the reserves, and stuck on a golden tread-mill, and otherwise had too many irons in the fire, I would go to law school. I actually enjoy reading and studying this stuff (don't tell Dad).

/john

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

As to the blood evidence in the VD home, I've been wondering......since Danielle's diary indicates there was friction between her and her Dad, possibly they got into it that night and Dad smacked her upside the head. Maybe he accidently hit her hard and she fell, perhaps hitting her head on something. Head wounds bleed a lot. I would be interested in seeing autopsy results of her brain and skull. Was there internal bleeding in the brain? Could it have been a freak accident that she hit her head just so and it killed her, then the VDs set off on a major coverup to protect themselves?

[It's me]

The porn was on 2 - 3 zip discs. NOT on his computer. Could it be his son's????

Just a question.

[fnord]

I didn't think they could get that kind of precision from dried blood? Thought it had to be fresher. Also, how did they get Danielle's sample to match before they found the body?

What are the lab standards for testing? Double-blind? Or do the police say "We found this blood sample in an RV owned by a suspected child pornographer. Can you tell me if it matches this blood sample from this missing 7 year old girl? Let us know soon, OK?"

That's not even getting into the other blood samples from the VD house. If I was defense, I would have blood/DNA samples from all the VDs, the police, the DAs, and the jurors. Send them all off and see how many, if any, match. Just as a scientific experiment.

This dang hearing is generating more questions than answers ...

[fnord]

Did the judge ever rule on the pictures? Porn/child porn/bikini pics? My questions on the CD go to the possibility that maybe someone else (unspecified) placed them there, for whatever reason. Fingerprints would be indicative. Also, any computer expert worthy of the title could tell where the images came from, when they were burned to the CD, even if that CD had ever been used in any of the computers. This will get particularly interesting if there are computer issues, 'cause I know something about those :-)

Yall keep different hours than I do. I will have to catch up tonight on the day's activities, and in the morning on the nighttime action. Later.

[rmvh]

re your # 145

I don't have a clue as to how much porn there was or who "brought it into the house." My guess is the guy may well be guilty on the circumstantial evidence presented in the press.

Nonetheless, I only reflect on what happened to the Amurault family....as only one example of witch hunting.... in Massachusetts when the politicians literally destroyed this entire family through prosecution for sex crimes that didn't exist. Exoneration came after death yet it is still ongoing for the last family member, Gerald, as have been detailed through some four years of Wall Street Journal exposures via Dorothy Rabinowitz.