Peterson held over for trial

Tje Modesto Bee ^ | November 18, 2003 | John Cote'

[Canadian Outrage]

One thing I don't understand is WHY the Peterson's didn't stick with McAllister period. Geragos is simply a name. He NEVER seems to DELIVER on his grandiose promises. McAllister is just as experienced as Geragos. He would likely serve Peterson better anyway. I think once the Judge stuck with Gagging the Gasbag, he sort of lost interest anyway. He KNOWS Peterson is guilty. There is very little more money he can suck from them I would assume. So......... we'll see.

[Canadian Outrage]

RG - The Rocha's must CERTAINLY have a claim against Laci's half of the property. How is it possible for these encumbrances without some consent? I guess it just works differently there from here. I do that type of legal work all the time. But we have a different system of Mortgaging and conveyances here. The work is done by Lawyers NOT Banks. The Assignment of Rents I assume is assigning the rents collected to the Mortgage company should the Peterson's decide to rent the house out. Here, the first thing that would have been done by the Rocha's is to file a Lis Pendens and a Certificate of Pending Litigation against the property. There is NO END to the GALL of these People.

[Devil_Anse]

Oh boy. We just knew they were determined to use that house to raise money--never mind that it only fell into their power through MURDER.

I hope the Rochas can stop them or at least collect their fair share of this formerly joint asset. Otherwise it really is tantamount to making Laci pay to help her own murderer try to evade punishment. Talk about adding insult to injury.

[RGSpincich]

Actually the Deed of Trust was in favor of the Petersons, they are the lenders/beneficiary and they will be entitled to the rents if what they are owed is not paid by other means.

SP is the trustor, meaning he owes the money. Since that bozo will be in jail forever it looks like the Petersons could end up foreclosing on the property. This has all the earmarkings of a landgrab, especially when you consider that Lee and Jackie have SP's Power of Attorney and probably signed for him giving them a claim on the house.

[Canadian Outrage]

Would it not give them a claim on 50% of the property RG? What can they do about Laci's half which should vest to her estate? How can they foreclose on 50% of the property. To me it sounds like it may come down to a Court Ordered Sale and then Laci's half would go to her heirs and the other 50% could pay the debts. Surely there is a way in CA or any other state for that matter to secure a Joint Tenants portion of a piece of property. Here we call it a Lis Pendens and/or a Certificate of Pending Litigation. Until those charges are discharged, somebody has to be paid out before the property is free to do anything with. Also, since we believe Snott will be found Guilty, he can't profit in any way so are the Peterson's foreclosing on themselves? Way different. I understand what you mean with the P/A. They can do anything Scott could do if he wasn't indisposed. But liquidating and encumbering a jointly owned piece of property seems terrible to me. Here, the estate would have to be settled first.

[RGSpincich]

Here, the estate would have to be settled first.

Given the circumstances, I'm sure the same is true here, too. The Rochas will see to that. My comments were more aimed at the intentions of the Petersons and their vindictive nature. I don't think it's coincidental that SP gets held over for trial and on the same day the Petersons start piling paperwork up on the house he shared with Laci.

[Devil_Anse]

So they, the agents named in his power of attorney, signed an instrument, on his behalf, placing him in debt to THEM??

The person to whom the power of attorney is granted has a fiduciary responsibility to the person who grants the power of attorney. What they did does not sound legitimate.

[Devil_Anse]

But I think, CO, that if Scott and Laci owned that house as joint tenants with right of survivorship, then on the death of one tenant, the other tenant succeeds to ownership of the whole thing.

First thing to consider is that there is probably not that much equity in the house to begin with. So it is probably not that large a sum of money that we are talking about here.

Secondly, the way for the Rochas to collect what Laci is due is to file a civil injury suit against Scott for murdering her. If they won such a suit, they could collect against all of Scott's assets--not just against "Laci's half". In the meantime, as to things which Laci owned separately, I guess it would depend on whether she had a will.

All in all, there may not be all that many assets there. And I dearly hope that any remaining assets Scott owns end up being seized by the Rochas to help pay a judgment against him.

[runningbear]

thanks RG... they make me sick!

[RGSpincich]

What they did does not sound legitimate.

I agree. But what is legitimate in Peterson World? The possibilities are endless.

Wonder how much of that $1 million Geragos fee they laid off on the Covena property. Could bring new meaning to the term "over encumbered". LOL

[RGSpincich]

Would it not give them a claim on 50% of the property RG?

Technically, SP owns the place because he is the surviving joint tennant as DA has stated. They did hold title as joint tennants. There are laws and civil remedies that will prevent him from getting Laci's half if he is deemed to have caused her death. BUT as far as the Petersons are concerned, I don't if the laws address liens on the property by family members of the accused. Might be a loophole.

[RGSpincich]

they make me sick!

Speaking of integrity challenged individuals...

Matt Dalton came from the LA DA's office? Quit(?) there in February of last year, did a brief stint w/Geragos and went on to let his mouth get him in trouble again.

I'm sure this is the same one. There is one other Matt Dalton listed at the Bar, he's a Public Defender in Oakland.

Mad Dog Dalton on the move again.

[Devil_Anse]

I've never known of anyone who was in jail for years on end in this country, w/o ever having been found guilty of a crime.

OJ spent about a year in jail, didn't he? Only b/c no bail was allowed for capital murder. 99% of offenses charge allow a bail amount to be set. The bail amount is changeable, to reflect the prisoner's prior record of violence, and his level of threat (if any) to the victims of the crime charged. Prisoners can ask a judge over and over again, if they choose, to have their bail amount lowered. They get to present evidence to support their position.

Sometimes court dockets are clogged. But years on end? Not that I've ever heard of.

[Spunky]

"I've never known of anyone who was in jail for years on end in this country, w/o ever having been found guilty of a crime."

A while back when there was discussion on the Westerfild thread about him not waiving his right to a speedy trial there was discussion on how soon the trial would have to take place if he did not waive his right.

I did a Google search and came up with a thread that gave a case where a person has been in jail for 5 years and has never been charged yet. I am unable to find that thread but found this one this time.

SWIFT JUSTICE? THE RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL

"Although four murder suspects were quite pleased with a City judge's decision to dismiss first-degree murder charges against them, others, including the victim's family, have reacted to these dismissals with outrage. According to Judge Roger W. Brown, these defendants were denied their state constitutional rights to a speedy trial by being placed on hold for nearly three years. Yet, his dismissal of all charges against these men has prompted many serious questions about our criminal justice system:"

Swift Justice?

[Canadian Outrage]

Okay. I see. Here we must TRANSFER the 50% to the surviving joint tenant. My point however, is that the Rocha's on Laci's behalf should have filed some type of Pending Court Action against the property which would effectually leave the property in limbo until all the rest of the stuff is resolved. If the Peterson's are allowed to basically "steal" Laci's portion of the home, there needs to be some serious changes in property law there. That is a loophole that should NOT exist. How can they encumber something that may NOT ever be Scott Peterson's. There is a rather large issue to be resolved yet. I REALLY dislike those people. They are deceitful, greedy, disgusting and lack all measure of decency whatsoever as far as I can see.

[Devil_Anse]

All I'm really saying, Spunky, is that there are not legions of people sitting rotting in jail without ever having been charged with a crime, or without being allowed a hearing to try to get out.

The main thing, in my experience, which might make a person stay in jail a fairly long time PRE-TRIAL, is the back-up of court dockets in some jurisdictions.

But the fact is that most persons awaiting trial for a crime have a bail amount set for them. The bail amount is set taking into consideration the person's likelihood of not showing up for court if released, his prior violent offenses, his likelihood of harming the victims of the crime he's charged with, etc. The person can ask repeatedly for his bail to be lowered.

With capital murder, of course, no bail is set. Yes, that is a problem even for people like OJ who could meet almost any bail requirement. Sorry, OJ--you should've gotten arrested for something other than capital murder!

There are agencies which will work with prisoners awaiting trial to put up their bail for them. This is designed to help those who are too poor to raise even a moderate bail amount. If a prisoner is bailed out by one of these agencies, usually there is a requirement that he report periodically to be tested for illegal drug use. If his urine samples are clean, he stays out.

There was one very unusual case I know of where a deaf-mute man was lost in the system for a while. But someone found him, fortunately, and his rights were secured.

As for being in jail for 5 years w/o being charged, I guess it depends on what you mean by "charged". Charges are brought by police, and that results in arrest. Charges are brought by DA's, and that results in a preliminary hearing. Charges are brought by grand juries, and that is indictment.

There are periodic court dates built into the system. The police can't hold a person longer than 72 hours without bringing him before a judge or magistrate, who is supposed to be an impartial evaluator of whether the person should be held or not. This even goes for juveniles.

[Canadian Outrage]

RG and Dev: When a joint tenant on a piece of property dies here, the FIRST thing that must be done is that an ORIGINAL Death Certificate together with an application and of course applicable FEES & TAXES must be submitted to the Land Title Office Registry with a Transfer to the Surviving Joint Tenant. If All other Assets were NOT joint and the amount of the estate exceeds $10,000.00 then the Estate MUST be probated. After Letters Probate are issued by the Court, the property will then be transferred. If all the other assets are joint, the transfer to surviving joint tenant can take place right away. Of course, if there are debts against the Title the Surviving joint tenant would inherit those debts. In THIS CASE HOWEVER, with a criminal act involved, It is just incomprehensible to me, that no provision would be available for the Rocha's to essentially tie the property up by filing whatever it is CA calls it. It makes me NOW wish more and more that the SR. Peterson's would be charged with an aiding and abetting charge as well as their son being a PRE-meditating double murderer. The whole situation just irritates me. Where are the protections for the victims of these crimes?