Judge Roland Steinle speaks during the early days of the trial of Serial Shooter suspect Dale Hausner. Pool photo
Live from the courtroom: Before the jury returned from lunch today, Judge Roland Steinle took a number of people to task in the courtroom, including journalists and the defendant. Steinle, who has kept the trial on track with his strict enforcement of the rules, raised his voice and put his foot down on several issues.
The defense
Defense attorney Ken Everett was told to stop mispronouncing the name of star witness Samuel Dieteman. The correct pronunciation is Deet-man, but time and again, Everett added an extra syllable in the middle: Deet-a-min. “If you want to alienate the jury by mispronouncing his name when it suits your purposes, that’s fine,” Steinle told the attorney. But, Steinle added, he felt it was “clear” that Everett was “intentionally mispronouncing” the name.
The media
A television photographer was reprimanded because one of the jurors allegedly was shown briefly on television this morning. The court has banned photographers from showing the jurors, and Steinle was visibly upset by what had happened. “Either follow the rules or pack it up and leave now,” Steinle told the TV photographer.
It’s not clear, however, whether this photographer in particular was the person to blame. Without seeing the clip, I can tell you that the court only allows one television photographer in the room at any time. That person feeds the footage into a pool that any station may use. The various local networks trade off on any given day who sends a photographer down. Still, Steinle even threatened to fine the TV networks $300 per juror (20) for each of the days they’ve been seated (more than 50). If I understand it correctly, which I may not, that adds up to a fine of more than $300,000 for showing a clip of a juror. This shows just how serious Steinle was. However, I will try to get this clarified after testimony ends for the day.
The suspect
Before the holiday break last month, the judge gave the OK for Serial Shooter suspect Dale Hausner to have a special security leg brace removed while in court. The brace kept one of Hausner’s legs straight so he couldn’t move around very easily. Hausner asked for it to be taken off because he has acted well throughout the trial, and Steinle agreed. However, today, Steinle saw Hausner straying away from the defendant’s table, walking to the middle of the courtroom to hand his attorney a note.
“You’re directed and you have been directed to remain seated,” Steinle said to Hausner. If he catches him wandering again, Steinle said: “The leg brace is going back on, starting tomorrow.”