Thousands of documents in Danielle van Dam case to be released
By The Associated Press
01.07.03
SAN DIEGO — A judge agreed yesterday to release thousands of pages of documents sealed during the trial of the man who was sentenced to death last week for killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
Lawyers representing The San Diego Union-Tribune and other media have pressed Superior Court Judge William Mudd to release all documents in the case.
The documents, which are to be ready for release in one week, could shed light on a 16-hour interview two police detectives conducted with David Westerfield after the girl vanished in February.
Defense attorneys raised concerns that the detectives had violated Westerfield's constitutional rights, and jurors never heard the interview.
Discussions about the lifestyle of Danielle's parents, which helped fuel intense news-media interest in the case, could also be made public. During the trial, the van Dams said they once engaged in spouse-swapping and they had smoked marijuana the night Danielle vanished.
"We're pleased that he released as much as he did," said Guylyn Cummins, the lawyer representing the media. But still, there are outstanding issues "that unfortunately are going to have to be addressed by the court of appeal."
Mudd refused to release transcripts of sidebar discussions with attorneys.
More than 250 pages will remain sealed touching on issues of the identity of jurors; witnesses and evidence not presented at trial; hearings regarding public funding of defense counsel; and some allegations of misconduct by police officers.
Cummins protested there was no legal justification to keep them sealed. But Mudd said he would not budge on the matter unless ordered to do so by a court.
"The rule of law in this country is that secrecy is only allowed in extraordinarily rare circumstances," Cummins said after yesterday's hearing. "I think the number of motions that were sealed, the number of hearings that were held out of the public and press eye, did not meet the First Amendment requirements for an open trial."