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.