Judge Briefs 2nd Pool of Potential Haun Trial Jurors

SANTA BARBARA —  It looked a lot like the first day of school.

Curious and cautious, people walked into a large room filled with strange faces. They sat in rows of chairs or at small desks. A woman holding a clipboard took roll call. An authoritative man in a dark suit spoke from a podium.

But they were not there for a class.

They were there, the man explained, for jury selection in a much-publicized Ventura County murder trial expected to last three to four months.

At least 18 people are needed, the judge explained, to serve as impartial jurors, to decide the guilt or innocence of a Port Hueneme woman named Diana J. Haun.

And so began the second round of jury selection in Haun’s trial, as Ventura County Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones enlisted the participation of about 275 jury candidates.

Over the last three weeks, the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys have pared an initial panel of about 250 prospective jurors called June 30 for the same orientation.

The majority of that group was excused for financial and personal hardships, however, prompting the judge to summon a second group.

That panel appeared at the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors’ meeting room Thursday, split between the morning and afternoon sessions.

In a speech almost identical to one three weeks ago, Jones explained the basic facts surrounding the kidnap-slaying of Ventura homemaker Sherri Renee Dally.

Haun is accused of kidnapping and killing the wife of her longtime lover, Michael Dally, he told them. Sherri Dally disappeared May 6, 1996, and her remains were found about a month later.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Haun, and at some point jurors may be asked to choose between life in prison or death as possible sentences if Haun is convicted of first-degree murder and at least one special circumstance allegation, he said.

“The defendant has entered her plea of not guilty,” Jones said. “And that brings us to this juncture in the criminal-justice process.”

Jones told the prospective panelists that he hopes to seat a 16- to 18-member jury--12 regular jurors plus as many as six alternates--for what is expected to be a lengthy proceeding with about 200 witnesses.

And he explained that those jurors selected would be bused five days a week from the Santa Barbara area to the Ventura courthouse.

Like the group called three weeks ago, many of the residents rolled their eyes, shook their heads or held their hands to their mouths in apparent disbelief.

“It would be extraordinarily difficult to find jurors from our county,” Jones continued, explaining that heavy publicity has followed nearly every turn of the case since it began.

“The media’s fascination with this case has jeopardized the defendant’s rights to a fair trial in Ventura County,” Jones said.

But the trial was not moved to a Santa Barbara courtroom because of logistical problems.

“Here in Santa Barbara, you do not have the courthouse facilities to take this case,” he said. “We do have the space and I do have the time.”

His speech concluded, the prospective jurors filled out forms that will be used next week when jury selection continues.

Jury candidates will be questioned Monday and Tuesday about their ability to serve in such a lengthy trial. Those with financial or personal hardships will be excused, and others will be asked to return for further questioning later in the week.

The judge hopes to have a large enough group to begin the final phase of the selection process July 29, when prosecutors and defense attorneys begin deciding which jurors they will keep or excuse.