Haun Team Can Keep Evidence for Now

Defense attorneys for murder suspect Diana J. Haun should not be forced to turn over all their evidence to prosecutors until a month before the trial, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones said Wednesday.

Haun, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the abduction and slaying of Ventura homemaker Sherri Dally, the wife of Haun’s longtime lover, Michael Dally.

A former grocery clerk, Haun could face the death penalty if the district attorney decides to pursue her case as a capital murder case.

Haun’s trial is set to begin Feb. 3, and attorneys are now in the discovery stage of gathering evidence and lining up witnesses.

Lawyers argued a series of legal issues before Jones on Wednesday, and while he agreed to take most under submission, he offered a tentative ruling on a prosecution motion to force the defense to turn over evidence now.

“It seems reasonable to me, at least at this moment, that the disclosure deadline of 30 days should drive this matter at this point,” he said. “I don’t think an order requesting an immediate turnover is at all acceptable.”

Jones said the parties in the Haun case have been unusually cooperative, and added that he did not anticipate problems with discovery issues shortly before the trial.

But prosecutors said they would like to see what evidence the defense has before January.

“We don’t have to wait 30 days before trial to expect discovery,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth said. “What we are trying to circumvent are last-minute delays.”

Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn argued there are few secrets among the attorneys in the murder case, and urged Jones to deny the motion.

“They know the contours of the case,” Quinn said, “so surprise is not an element.”