Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2002
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Cited: http://www.norml.org (NORML)

ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ACCUSED KILLER IS MEMBER OF PRO-MARIJUANA GROUP

SAN DIEGO- An attorney who condemned the parents of a 7-year-old girl for 
smoking marijuana the night their daughter vanished is a member of a group 
that advocates the legalization of marijuana.

Steven Feldman sits on the legal committee for the National Organization 
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He paid a $175 membership fee and defends 
people charged with marijuana use, sometimes for free.

Feldman has criticized Damon and Brenda van Dam in court for their 
lifestyle, which includes admissions of smoking marijuana and engaging in 
extramarital sex. Feldman has raised those questions in order to show 
jurors that there may have been someone other than his client, 50-year-old 
David Westerfield, who could have kidnapped and killed Danielle van Dam.

Danielle was last seen Feb. 1 in her home and was reported missing the 
following day. Her nude, decomposing body was found three weeks later along 
a rural road east of San Diego.

Westerfield, who has pleaded innocent to charges of kidnapping, murder and 
possession of child pornography, could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bob Doyle, president of the San Diego NORML chapter, called Feldman's 
attacks on the van Dams "an outrageous conflict."

"It strikes me as an extremely polarized position that on one hand he 
advocates for the legalization of marijuana, and on the other hand he 
implies some sort of criminal negligence associated with the casual smoking 
of marijuana among friends," Doyle said.

But not all of the organization's members believe there is a problem with 
Feldman's approach.

"What he's doing is zealously defending his client in the best way he knows 
how," said Donna Shea, NORML's legal director in Washington, D.C. "It 
doesn't necessarily mean his personal beliefs have anything to do with the 
defense case he puts together."

More than 350 attorneys from across the United States are members of the 
legal committee for the nonprofit organization.

They provide legal assistance in important cases, keep NORML apprised of 
trends in court decisions and provide copies of relevant legal documents. 
Attorneys must renew their membership annually, and are encouraged to take 
one pro bono case a year.
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