Scott Juceam has been banned from attending the trial of a babysitter accused of shaking his baby daughter and causing fatal brain injuries two years ago.
Juceam was ordered Wednesday by Placer Superior Court Judge Colleen Nichols to stay away from the historic courthouse in Auburn because he used a cell phone to take pictures of the attorney for defendant Veronica Martinez Salcedo during a mid-day break inside the building.
Nichols said she was shocked and disappointed to learn that Juceam had taken photos because she considered it a violation that may have caused a security issue within the courthouse.
"I can't condone this behavior," Nichols told him.
Juceam, who surrendered his cell phone to court bailiffs, told the judge that he'd received no specific instructions from her that shooting a photo was a violation of courthouse rules.
He told Nichols that he wanted to use the photo of attorney Mary Beth Acton for his Web site.
Outside the courtroom, Juceam said shooting the photos "has nothing to do with the case or the safety of anybody."
Acton said if Juceam wanted to post her picture on a Web site, "He doesn't have my permission to use it."
The photo incident occurred prior to prosecutor Karin Bjork delivering her closing statement to the jury about 2:15 p.m.
At 4 p.m., when jurors were dismissed for the day, Nichols detained Juceam and questioned him.
It was the second time this month that a member of the Juceam family had run afoul of the judge.
On June 2, Nichols looked into an allegation of "jury tampering" because a letter written by Juceam's wife, Lorena, appeared in a political candidate's mailer sent to Placer County voters.
In the letter, Lorena Juceam wrote, "Dear friend, You may remember hearing about my beautiful 16-month-old daughter, Hannah. She was shaken to death by a babysitter two years ago."
Acton moved to have the case dismissed, saying the letter convicted her client before jurors had completed the trial.
Nichols queried each juror privately and was satisfied that none were tainted by the letter.
Martinez Salcedo is accused of shaking Hannah Rose Juceam to stop her from crying on May 11, 2006.
Scott and Lorena Juceam have testified that they made the decision to take Hannah off life support two days later after learning from doctors that the brain injuries would leave their child a "vegetable."
Acton will give her closing statement today.
This is Salcedo's second trial in the case. The first ended with jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.
Call The Bee's Art Campos, (916) 773-2825.
