Prospective Jurors Eager to Avoid Haun Trial

A man with a lengthy medical history cited motion sickness. Being bused from Santa Barbara to the Ventura courthouse each day, he told a judge, would be a problem. “I feel sick sitting in this chair,” he warned.

Excused.

A roofing tile salesman who works on commission maintained that serving on the trial would cripple his income: “If I don’t work, I don’t eat.”

Excused.

A Little League coach said jury service would not create a financial burden but would tear him away from his team. “It’s the capstone of the season,” he pleaded.

Not excused.

As jury selection in the murder trial of Diana Haun got underway Wednesday in Santa Barbara Superior Court, dozens of prospective panelists offered every conceivable reason why they could not serve on the much-publicized Ventura County case.

With the trial estimated to run through mid-October, many candidates told Judge Frederick A. Jones that their employers would not pay for more than 10 days of jury service.

Others claimed personal hardship, citing family vacations, visiting relatives, university classes, elderly dependents and medical illness as reasons why they could not serve.

In all, more than 60 panelists peppered the judge with excuses during the first full day of jury questioning, and the majority were let go.

A UCSB microbiology teacher told the judge that she was the only instructor able to teach a fall class for undergraduates. She was excused.

A woman with chronic back pain said she was not capable of sitting in a jury box for a four-month trial, much as she would like to perform her civic duty.

“I’ve never turned down serving,” she told the judge. “I’ve been on three juries, two in Santa Barbara and one in federal court. But I really cannot, in good faith, tell you that I would be able to do this.”

She was excused.

A young woman’s dream trip to Greece, Turkey and Israel would conflict with the conclusion of the trial.

“I’ll send you a postcard,” she told the judge.

“Don’t,” Jones responded with a grin before excusing her.

Not everyone called into Department 4, a small courtroom with dark wood benches and bookcases stacked with legal texts, tried to wiggle out of jury service during Wednesday’s questioning.

A woman in her 20s told the judge that she had talked to her husband, who is stationed with the military in Japan, and they agreed that she could take on the responsibility if she got a weekend job.

“Do you mean to say you could be a juror on this case?” Jones asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Oh great!” the judge responded, telling her how much he appreciated her sacrifice.

By the end of the day, the judge had excused more than 45 people called in for group interviews, a time-consuming process set to continue today.

About 15 prospective jurors were asked to come back next week for individual questioning. They included the Little League coach, a judicial clerk, a university student, a law student and the owner of two health-food stores.

Dozens of other jury candidates were excused by telephone Tuesday after the judge and attorneys pored through stacks of questionnaires completed Monday, when more than 200 prospective jurors were summoned for the Haun case.

“We are trying to find 12 good people to devote themselves to this case,” Jones said at one point, before ordering the Little League coach back for further questioning. “It is serious business.”

Haun, a 36-year-old grocery clerk, is accused of abducting and killing the wife of her longtime lover, Michael Dally.

Sherri Renee Dally, a 35-year-old homemaker and day care center operator, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in May 1996 and her body dumped in a ravine north of Ventura.

Haun is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. She also faces two special-circumstance allegations that make her eligible for the death penalty.

Michael Dally, 37, is charged with the same crimes and is considered by prosecutors to be a co-conspirator in his wife’s killing. He will be tried after Haun’s case is concluded.

Both trials will be heard by Santa Barbara County juries, Jones decided, because of excessive pretrial publicity in Ventura County. The Santa Barbara County residents will be bused daily to the Hall of Justice at the Government Center in Ventura.