Change of Venue Hearing in Dally-Haun Case Ends

Concluding a four-day hearing, defense attorneys tried Tuesday to persuade a Ventura County Superior Court judge to grant a change of venue in the high-profile murder case of Michael Dally and Diana Haun.

“This decision is probably more serious than a lot of decisions that an officer of the bench faces,” said attorney James Farley, who is representing Dally.

“It goes to the very core of our judicial system,” Farley said, “the right of a defendant to a fair trial.”

His comments came at the end of an exhaustive hearing before Judge Frederick A. Jones that focused on whether Dally and Haun’s trial should be moved out of Ventura County because of defense allegations that news reports have contaminated the objectivity of the local jury pool.

To buoy their cases, defense attorneys and prosecutors presented dueling surveys taken earlier this year that attempted to gauge what impact news reports have had on the community.

Prosecutors said their results indicated an 85% recognition rate of the Dally-Haun case. The 36-year-old grocery clerks are accused of planning and carrying out the slaying of Dally’s wife, Sherri, one year ago.

But defense attorneys said their survey showed a higher recognition rate--91%--and argued that the nature of the news coverage has triggered emotional reactions in the community that have created biases among potential jurors.

Given the fact that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against their clients, the lawyers urged the judge to rule in favor of a venue change to ensure a fair trial.

“We can risk going ahead here, but I would ask the court not to,” said Deputy Public Defender Neil B. Quinn, who is representing Haun.

One solution, Quinn suggested, would be to move the trial to Santa Barbara County, where there has been virtually no publicity about the case, he said.

But prosecutors countered that a venue change is not necessary. They said the county is large enough to provide an ample pool of jurors who have not been influenced by news reports.

And they told the judge that defense attorneys failed to prove under the law that a fair and impartial jury could not be seated here.

Jones took the matter under submission and indicated that he intends to rule on Monday.