THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Judge Bars TV, Still Cameras From Trial in Klaas Slaying

Noting the “media saturation” of the O.J. Simpson trial, the judge in the trial of Polly Klaas’ accused killer refused Wednesday to allow video and still cameras to carry the court proceedings.

Richard Allen Davis, 41, a parolee, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 1, 1993, abduction and slaying of the 12-year-old Petaluma girl. Jury selection began July 11 in Sonoma County Superior Court and is continuing.

Judge Lawrence G. Antolini, who is presiding over Davis’ trial, rejected an appeal by media organizations to allow a pool camera and still photographers into the courtroom. He reiterated his policy of allowing cameras only five minutes of “wallpaper” photos before the start of each session.

Antolini said the media coverage of the Simpson trial is having an “immediate effect” on other courtrooms. He noted that prospective jurors in the Davis trial have voiced their unanimous fear of cameras. “One juror hit the deck in the courtroom when he saw a camera,” Antolini said.

Media attorney Neil Shapiro argued in vain that even if cameras were allowed, the Davis trial would never become a media event on the level of the Simpson trial. “The O.J. Simpson circus began long before the trial, and there is only one camera in the courtroom,” Shapiro said.

Cameras have become the scapegoat for the Simpson media circus, Shapiro argued. Both the defense and prosecution in the case argued Wednesday against allowing cameras.

Defense attorney Barry Collins, who is trying to get a change of venue in the case, said it would be difficult to avoid sequestering the jury if television cameras significantly increase media coverage. Another issue in the Davis jury selection has been prospective jurors’ fears of having to live in hotel rooms for four to six months, having heard the horror stories of the Simpson jury’s sequestration.

Prosecutor Greg Jacobs said after the ruling that Marc Klaas and Eve Nichol, Polly Klaas’ divorced parents, have expressed a desire to avoid a media circus. Polly Klaas’ two young girlfriends, who were with her when she was kidnaped from her Petaluma home, will have to testify, Jacobs said, and cameras are objectionable when there are young witnesses.

Attorneys and the judge agreed Wednesday that the intense emotionalism of the case will be a burden on a jury and that television cameras would heighten the tension.