Superior Court Judge William Mudd also ruled that autopsy photos of the victim and photographs of the bedroom where the 7-year-old Sabre Springs girl was abducted will remain sealed until he has a chance to hear arguments on their admissibility at trial.
The judge did rule, however, that a number of motions -- including a prosecution request to allow a jury to view Westerfield's motor home and a motion to sequester the panel -- will be made public Monday.Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping, possession of child pornography and a special circumstance allegation of murder during a kidnapping in connection with Danielle van Dam's death.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek announced last week that his office will ask a jury to recommend the death penalty if Westerfield is convicted.
Mudd said his decision to keep some documents and attachments sealed weighed heavily in favor of Westerfield's right to a fair trial as well as "the people's right to a fair hearing."
The judge said the release of motions pertaining to "lifestyle issues" involving the victim's parents would "excessively invade the privacy of Mr. and Mrs. van Dam. They will remain under seal."
Mudd also refused to release prosecution documents stating aggravating factors on why they are seeking Westerfield's execution.
The judge said the motions raise post-convictions issues.
"It has nothing to do with the guilt phase of the trial," Mudd said.
The judge said some of the hearings scheduled to begin Tuesday will be off-limits to the public because of their nature. Mudd said he will rule on that issue on a motion-by-motion basis.
Brenda and Damon van Dam discovered that their daughter was missing from her bed the morning of Feb. 2. Volunteer searchers in the East County found the 7-year-old's body on Feb. 27, along a road in Dehesa.
Westerfield, who lived two doors down from the van Dams in Sabre Springs, was questioned almost immediately about the girl's disappearance. Police kept the self-employed design engineer under surveillance and arrested him Feb. 22.
Affidavits police prepared in support of requests for warrants to search Westerfield's home and recreational vehicle also remain sealed.
Last week, Mudd ordered prosecutors to let Westerfield's attorneys and their expert to view "questionable" material lifted from the defendant's home computer.
Some of the material allegedly depicts naked girls, some engaged in sexual acts with humans and animals.
No TV coverage will be allowed of the pretrial hearings, which could take up to two weeks.
May 2, 2002
Lawyers for David Westerfield want to sequester the jury in his upcoming murder trial, a process that involves keeping jurors separated from the public day and night, a judge revealed today.
Also today, Superior Court Judge William Mudd decided to seal court documents that discuss Westerfield's statements to police and that contain potentially embarrassing information about the parents of the girl he's charged with killing.
Prosecutors are opposed to the idea of sequestering a jury. Several legal experts had different opinions about whether Mudd might grant it.
Attorneys for the Sabre Springs engineer – accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam – filed the request sometime in the past few weeks. On Monday, the press will be allowed to see copies of the motion and the prosecution's opposition, the judge said today.
At that time, the press will also get to see several other motions that lawyers have filed in the case, many of them dealing with how the trial might proceed, the judge said. Jury selection is set to start May 17.
The judge said he will keep several other motions secret from the public, at least for the time being. Those motions contain information about statements Westerfield made to the police – information that may or may not be admissible at his trial, the judge said.
Among other things, some of the sealed motions also contain "lifestyle" information that may "excessively invade the privacy of Mr. and Mrs. van Dam" if released to the press, the judge said.
Danielle's parents have admitted smoking marijuana the night she vanished from her home, two doors away from where Westerfield lived. Westerfield's lawyers have hinted that the couple was also involved in wife-swapping.
The judge also said he will keep a document filed by prosecutors that outlines the evidence they will present at the penalty phase of the trial should the jury find Westerfield guilty.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Westerfield, a twice-divorced engineer whom they believe was sexually attracted to young girls.
The judge said releasing such information to the public would be "premature" and "has the potential to jeopardize the integrity of the trial."
It was unclear today when, if ever, the judge might consider these sealed documents available for public viewing.
It was also unclear whether the media would appeal the judge's ruling. An attorney for the Union-Tribune and other news organizations said the press has a well-established right to see all pre-trial motions in criminal cases, even those discussing evidence that might not be admitted at trial.
Wow! Wonder how bad the "lifestyle issues" can be?
sw