Judge in Klaas Murder Trial Bans Cameras at New Venue

A judge on Monday decided to bar cameras from the trial of a man accused of kidnapping and killing 12-year-old Polly Klaas, who was abducted from her home in 1993.

The ruling by Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Thomas Hastings was the first order of business as the trial of Richard Allen Davis resumed in its new setting of San Jose. The city is about 100 miles south of the murder site.

The trial was moved from Sonoma County after a judge there conceded two months into jury selection that it would be impossible to get an impartial jury in the county where the crime occurred.

Hastings said he was banning cameras because of his concern about tainting the jury pool. The judge in Sonoma County had previously barred cameras.

Court was to resume Tuesday to consider the issue of whether Hastings would adopt or rehear other rulings made by the previous judge. Hastings said jury selection could begin next week.

Davis is charged with kidnapping Polly from her bedroom in Petaluma during a slumber party on Oct. 1, 1993, strangling her and dumping her body beside a highway. She was missing for two months, prompting a nationwide search. Davis finally told authorities where to find the body.

Davis, 41, has a history of kidnapping, rape and robbery, and was on parole at the time of Polly’s death. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.

His case prompted several get-tough crime measures, including California’s “three-strikes” law that mandates 25 years to life in prison for anyone convicted of a felony after two serious or violent prior felonies.