JUDGE TO RULE ON HAIR DYE FOR NIEVES; PROSECUTION WARY OF GRANTING FAVOR.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

As the trial nears for a mother accused of killing her four daughters, court hearings have been held deciding whether the defendant can color the gray hair that has sprouted since she was jailed.

After delaying a decision Monday, North Valley Superior Court Judge L. Jeffrey Wiatt is expected to decide Dec. 2 whether the jailed Sandi Dawn Nieves, 35, may dye her hair back to its natural brown.

Prosecutors call the request ludicrous and complain that the defense is wasting the court's time.

``We believe if the court allows the color, that would open the floodgates and the Sheriff's Department would open into a full-purpose salon,'' said Deputy County Counsel Terry Cheathem.

If the Santa Clarita woman is allowed to use Clairol hair color in the Twin Towers Jail, the system would be bombarded with similar requests from other inmates, prosecutors said.

But public defender Howard Waco argues that Nieves has the right to present herself to jurors the way she looked at the time of her arrest, adding that deputies had allowed her to dye her hair once before. Waco also said he wants Nieves to regain her previous hair color before she sees her estranged son, who is scheduled testify at her trial.

``I think a person has a right to present herself in a reasonable fashion,'' Waco said. ``I'm not asking to try on a dozen different clothes. I don't see it as unreasonable.''

Nieves was arrested in July 1998 on suspicion of four counts of murder in the deaths of her daughters Jaqlene Marie Folden, 5, Kristl Dawn Folden, 7, Rashel Hollie Nieves, 11, and Nikolet Amber Nieves, 12.

The girls were found dead in the kitchen of the family's Seco Canyon home, the cause later found to be smoke inhalation. Nieves also was charged with arson and the attempted murder of her son, David Nieves, then 13.

The murder charges include special circumstance allegations that Nieves committed multiple murders and did so during arson. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

The children's deaths occurred two weeks before Nieves was due in court to negotiate custody of her two daughters by her second ex-husband, David Folden.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said hair color should not be an issue in identifying Nieves. Those who are expected to testify did not know her previously, and her son should not have a problem identifying his mother, she said

``To argue that her son won't recognize her is completely ridiculous,'' she said.

Nieves was allowed to use the hair color at least once before in jail, Waco said.

Paul Schrader, a legal deputy at Twin Towers, said it was a fluke that the hair dye was allowed inside the jail, stating that for the purposes of safety and security, the Sheriff's Department does not allow any type of chemical into the jails.

``Someone could change their identification to effect an escape or use the chemical to assault staff,'' Schrader said.

Waco countered that the hair dye has no toxic materials and is water-based.

Schrader reiterated that it is a matter of policy that hair dye not be allowed inside, adding that this was the first such case of which he was aware that an inmate was allowed to dye her hair.

But Mary Broderick, the executive director of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, said the prosecution should not dictate a defendant's hairstyle.

``Inmates should be able to change hair color, especially if it was the hair color she had before she was arrested,'' Broderick said.