Prosecutors Say Fair Dally Trial Possible

Hoping to stop a defense motion to move the murder trial of Michael Dally and Diana Haun out of Ventura County, prosecutors on Friday argued that heightened publicity surrounding the case has not jeopardized their right to a fair trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Pete Kossoris questioned defense witness Edward Bronson, a Cal State Chico social studies professor, about his interpretation of a survey of prospective jurors.

Dally and his girlfriend, Haun, both 36, are accused of planning and carrying out the slaying of Dally’s 35-year-old wife, Sherri, on May 6 of last year. Abducted from a Target store parking lot in Ventura, Sherri Dally’s badly decomposed body was found a month later in a ravine north of the city.

Bronson said media coverage of the case was biased against the defendants, but Kossoris argued that people’s interest in the case has waned and media coverage did not play as important a role as Bronson implied.

On Friday, Kossoris spent the morning grilling Bronson about his interpretation of the survey data. Kossoris paid particular attention to how the questions in the survey were posed, and implied that the questions were leading.

The survey of about 500 prospective jurors found a high percentage not only knew about the case but believed the couple were either definitely or probably guilty.

On Monday, prosecutors intend to present their own survey conducted by a UC San Diego professor.

Presentations on the motion will probably be done by Tuesday and Ventura County Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones will then rule on whether the trial should be moved out of the county.