Other details to become public today, first anniversary of Farmers’ Market crash
SM COURTHOUSE — A 42-page statement given to police one year ago today by elderly driver Russell Weller will remain sealed under court order, a judge ruled Thursday.
In a written decision opposing her earlier ruling, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker indicated the lengthy statement could impair a pending criminal trial against Weller, 87, who faces ten counts of vehicular manslaughter for the Farmers’ Market crash of July 16, 2003. “The Constitutional Rights of Privacy and the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution provide substantial weight in favor of” the protective order, Judge Baker wrote.
Weller’s statement is just one part of a 914-page California Highway Patrol report. Judge Baker also ordered sealed an interview with Weller’s wife, Harriet, as well as documents detailing Weller’s medical history, unreported traffic accidents, medications taken and toxicology results.
Other portions of the report will become public as early as today under the ruling. This includes nearly 600 pages of witness statements, a detailed mechanical description of Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre, autopsy and injury reports, Weller’s driver’s license history, and expert analysis and opinion.
The ruling punctuates a seven-month struggle between lawyers involved in the criminal and civil cases against Weller. Weller’s defense attorneys and prosecutors wanted to keep the entire report sealed and worried pre-trial publicity would affect Weller’s right to a fair trial. Civil attorneys split on the issue, though most said there was no good reason to keep the report private.
A lawyer for The Los Angeles Times joined the courtroom proceedings last week, after Judge Baker indicated she would keep the entire report sealed until Weller’s preliminary trial was complete. Judge Baker reversed course after hearing from The Times and issued a tentative ruling to release the entire report. She heard further argument Wednesday before issuing her final decision, a compromise.
Lawyers in the civil cases are expected to receive specially prepared CDs today with the full 914-page report, and all supplemental diagrams and photographs.
More than two dozen victims have filed civil lawsuits related to the Farmers’ Market crash. Because Weller’s assets likely will be easily exhausted, they’ve targeted Santa Monica City Hall. Lawyers argue the city should have erected barriers to keep cars from entering the market.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.