The attorney for a nanny accused of shaking a Roseville baby and causing fatal brain injuries has asked a Placer County judge to declare a mistrial.
Mary Beth Acton, lawyer for Veronica Martinez Salcedo, said in a written motion to the court Monday that a political letter written by the baby's mother was in a congressional candidate's campaign mailer and that it has essentially convicted her client before the trial has been completed.
Acton said the letter from Lorena Juceam amounted to "jury tampering" because members of the jury in Martinez Salcedo's current trial may have received the campaign literature from Doug Ose, who is running for the 4th Congressional District seat.
She called it a "clear and blatant violation of (the) defendant's right to a fair trial and due process."
Placer Superior Court Judge Colleen Nichols, who is presiding over Martinez Salcedo's trial, is being asked to dismiss the case.
Placer Deputy District Attorney Jeff Wood, who along with Karin Bjork is prosecuting the case, declined to comment, saying he had not read the motion.
Lorena Juceam was unavailable Monday, but her husband, Scott, said his wife's letter had nothing to do with the trial and was sent to "all new moms in Placer County."
"It does not mention Veronica or anything else," he said. "We took great care in drafting the letter and who it was sent to."
The letter, dated May 23, says, "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."
The letter goes on to criticize Ose's opponent in the 4th District race, state Sen. Tom McClintock, over an alleged lack of support for child protection legislation.
The letter doesn't mention Ose, nor does it endorse him.
Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Ose, said the letter was included in campaign material to educate voters about issues important to the Juceams and to parents in the 4th Congressional District.
Stan Devereux, a spokesman for the McClintock campaign, said the senator had no comment, citing the ongoing trial involving the Juceams.
Martinez Salcedo is in her second trial on a charge of assault on a child causing death. Prosecutors allege she shook Hannah Rose Juceam so violently on May 11, 2006, that it caused fatal brain injuries.
Prosecutors say the defendant gave four different accounts of the incident, including one in which she said she shook the baby.
Acton said her client shook the baby only lightly and that Hannah may have had an illness or the injuries may have occurred at the hands of others before the day on which Martinez Salcedo was watching the child.
The current trial is in its second month.
A first trial last year ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of conviction.
Call The Bee's Art Campos, (916) 773-2825.
