People vs. Haun

Oxnard attorney David L. Shain and Westlake Village attorney J. Grant Kennedy offer their take on the Diana Haun murder trial. They will rotate with other experts as the case moves forward. Today, Shain discusses the testimony of witnesses who observed Haun and Michael Dally after Sherri Dally disappeared. Kennedy reflects on the week’s testimony, including statements about Haun’s involvement in witchcraft.

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DAVID L. SHAIN

Oxnard attorney

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“Clearly by the testimony of the Bakers Square witness and the woman who saw them in the movies, these people were acting happy and as a family a day after Sherri Dally was reported missing ... Certainly that fits into the pattern of the prosecution to vilify Dally and to vilify her. Sherri is not in the picture anymore and Diana is. I think it was effective from that standpoint ... You are putting together little building blocks to get to a final result. It’s a series of baby steps, little bits of information that at the end of the case you can expect the prosecution to get up and try to tie together as one argument.”

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J. GRANT KENNEDY

Westlake attorney

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“The interesting thing that I see is a lot of things they say Michael Dally did are incriminating to Diana Haun. They are really trying Diana Haun on how other people interpreted Michael Dally’s statements. It’s guilt by association ... On the witchcraft testimony, Susan Olson did a pretty effective job of taking that perceived testimony and putting it in context. The stuff about human sacrifice didn’t come off as strong as perhaps the prosecution would have liked. That’s the beauty of cross-examination ... All in all, Diana Haun maybe did have an interest in witchcraft, but that doesn’t make her a killer.”

Compiled by Tracy Wilson / Times court reporter