Posted on 12/04/2003 6:07:55 AM PST by runningbear
Peterson: 'I am innocent'
Defense seeks change of venue; judge continues gag order
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 Posted: 10:59 PM EST (0359 GMT)
Scott Peterson listens during his arraignment Wednesday.
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MODESTO, California (CNN) -- Scott Peterson denied Wednesday that he killed his wife, Laci, and their unborn child.
"I am innocent," Peterson told the judge at his arraignment. It was his second claim of innocence, having denied the accusations after his arrest in April. He appeared thinner after spending nearly seven months behind bars.
The charges carry the death penalty.
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami set a trial date of January 26. But pretrial hearings on defense motions for a change of venue and to dismiss the charges could delay the trial's start.
Mark Geragos, Peterson's high-profile defense attorney, contends that massive pretrial publicity in Modesto -- where the couple lived and where numerous residents participated in searches and vigils after Laci Peterson's disappearance -- would influence potential jurors.
Laci Peterson, 27, was last heard from last Christmas Eve. She was eight months pregnant. Scott Peterson, 31, a fertilizer salesman, told police he left to go fishing that morning and she was not there when he returned late that afternoon.
In April, the bodies of Laci Peterson and the couple's unborn son washed up on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, just miles from where Scott Peterson said he had been fishing. He was arrested days later .........
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'LACI' TRUCK TO BE GIVEN BACK
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December 4, 2003 -- MODESTO, Calif. - A judge yesterday ordered prosecutors to give back the pickup truck that accused killer Scott Peterson allegedly used to dispose of his murdered pregnant wife.
At Peterson's arraignment yesterday, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami asked Peterson if he pleaded not guilty to murdering wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Connor.
"That's correct, your honor," said Peterson.
Girolami set the trial date for Jan. 26. .......
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Lawyers seek fair Peterson trial venue
Posted on Thu, Dec. 04, 2003
Lawyers seek fair Peterson trial venue
By Brian Anderson
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
MODESTO - Prosecutors will begin investigating as early as today whether there is any California county where Scott Lee Peterson can be tried fairly on charges accusing him of killing his pregnant wife, Laci.
A day after Peterson, 31, again pleaded not guilty to the crime, jury survey experts were expected to begin preparing questionnaires to determine how much non-stop news of the case has sunk in, officials said.
The research process behind a possible change of venue as well as moving the trial to another county if necessary threatened almost from the beginning to derail Peterson's Jan. 26 trial date.
He has a right to have a trial within 60 days of arraignment but a judge could decide to delay it if there is a good reason to do so, said John Goold, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office.
"I'm never surprised when trial dates move, especially in murder cases," Goold said. "Right now, as far as we're concerned, Jan. 26 is a good date."
Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos said Wednesday he will file a motion Dec. 12 asking to move the high-profile trial out of Stanislaus County. Geragos, who is defending Peterson, has said too many people in the Modesto area know the case and have opinions about Peterson's guilt.
News coverage has been incessant since 27-year-old Laci Peterson was reported missing Dec. 24. Her remains and those of the couple's unborn son washed ashore in and near Richmond on April 13 and 14.
Days later, police arrested Peterson, who said he was fishing Christmas Eve near where the bodies later surfaced. He was charged with two murder counts and a special circumstance that prosecutors will use to pursue a death sentence.
Peterson had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges. He did so again Wednesday in a standard legal process after last month's preliminary hearing, where he was ordered to stand trial.
Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami has indicated that finding a jury not tainted by Laci Peterson coverage might be impossible. He has voiced his desire to hold the trial in Stanislaus County if possible, suggesting that jurors from neighboring San Joaquin County could be bused in to serve............
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Jan. 26 trial date set; DA to return truck, cash
Jan. 26 trial date set; DA to return truck, cash
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: December 4, 2003, 05:45:16 AM PST
Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he murdered his pregnant wife and unborn son, and a judge scheduled a Jan. 26 jury trial.
"That's correct, your honor," Peterson told Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami. "I am innocent."
The 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman is accused of murdering his 27-year-old wife, Laci, and the couple's son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Peterson previously pleaded not guilty, but faced a second arraignment after a judge ruled last month that there was enough evidence to go to trial.
The trial date, which could be pushed back, was penciled in during Wednesday's wide-ranging hearing in which prosecutors agreed to turn over $15,000 in cash seized during Peterson's arrest. Also, Girolami ordered Peterson's pickup -- confiscated Dec. 27 -- released to defense attorney Mark Geragos.
The judge kept in place his gag order and turned down a request by The Bee and other newspapers to unseal search, arrest and autopsy documents.
The timetable in the case now seems dictated by a defense effort to move the trial. Peterson's camp maintains that the Stanislaus County jury pool has been tainted by massive pretrial publicity.
"I think this is as close to a foregone conclusion as one can get," Geragos said, indicating that he has "voluminous exhibits" to support moving the trial. He is scheduled to file a change of venue motion Dec. 12.
Prosecutors will be ready if the trial starts Jan. 26, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said outside court. But he acknowledged that court dates often are delayed.
"If they stick to that, we'll stick to it," Goold said.
If Girolami grants the defense motion to move the trial, logistics and planning would push the trial date back months, Goold said.
Prosecutors want to keep the trial in Modesto but would not oppose moving it if survey data from prosecution and defense jury experts indicate that an impartial jury cannot be seated in Stanislaus County, Goold said.
"There's no justice," he said, "in having a trial held somewhere it shouldn't be held."
Jury analyst expresses doubts
Jury expert Edward J. Bronson said it would be all but impossible to begin Jan. 26 if Peterson's camp officially requests that the trial be moved. Bronson's résumé includes cases involving the Unabomber, the Oklahoma City bombing and the San Francisco dog-mauling trial -- all moved to new venues........
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Peterson: 'I am innocent.'
Scott Peterson, left, appeared in court for his arraignment Wednesday, Dec. 3 with lead attorney Mark Geragos. Peterson's jury trial has been scheduled for January, 2004. Bart Ah You/The Modesto Bee
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: December 3, 2003, 11:53:37 AM PST
Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty this morning to charges of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son, and a judge scheduled a Jan. 26 jury trial. “That’s correct, your honor,” Peterson told Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami. “I am innocent.”
Girolami refused to lift a broad-based gag order and to release previously sealed arrest and search warrant affidavits that presumably lay out authorities’ case against the 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman.
The judge agreed to release to Peterson’s family the $15,000 in cash that the defendant had when arrested in April, and his pickup that was seized Dec. 27. Both are needed to ease financial strain of paying for his defense, his attorney, Mark Geragos of Los Angeles, has said. Arguing unsuccessfully to keep the truck in police custody, prosecutor Rick Distaso revealed that Peterson’s blood was found on a door jamb, a visor and a “map pocket.”
Seated away from the defendant’s table was previous co-defense counsel Kirk McAllister, whose help was “limited for purposes of the preliminary hearing,” Geragos explained. Peterson had retained McAllister when he came under suspicion in January.
The 12-day preliminary hearing ended two weeks ago......
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Frey pregnant, source says, but Allred won't confirm it
Frey pregnant, source says, but Allred won't confirm it
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: December 4, 2003, 05:56:03 AM PST
The attorney representing Scott Peterson's former girlfriend approached reporters outside the Stanislaus County Courthouse on Wednesday and announced that she would not say whether her client Amber Frey is pregnant. She is, by about four months, a source close to Frey confirmed. Peterson has been in custody since April 18; he is not the baby's father, the source said.
"What is important is not whether Amber Frey is pregnant," said attorney Gloria Allred, adding that the focus should remain on who murdered Laci Peterson and why.
Wednesday morning, Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty to charges of slaying his wife and unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Several friends and family members declined to comment. Frey herself has refused all media interview requests, appearing only at a pair of news conferences controlled by police and Allred.
Some legal experts agreed with Allred that Frey's private life after her romance with Peterson has nothing to do with her contribution as a witness at his trial, and may not be allowed by a judge.
Tuesday, Allred said of her client, "If she is or is not pregnant, that has no relevancy to what her testimony may be. It should have no impact whatsoever on her credibility."
Other experts, however, said defense lawyers could challenge Frey's credibility, citing two pregnancies out of wedlock and the fact she posed nude for photographs four years ago.
Frey, 28, a Fresno resident, was dating Peterson when his pregnant wife was reported missing Christmas Eve.
Six days later, Frey began cooperating with police. She said Peterson had lied to her about his marital status. With coaching from detectives, she continued to exchange calls with Peterson for seven more weeks.
That contact puts Frey in a position to be a key prosecution witness. Detectives relayed information on her behalf at Peterson's preliminary hearing; she is expected to testify at his trial.
Attorneys often urge jurors to question a witness's believability, raising issues from his or her past......
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Jan. 26 trial date set; DA to return truck, cash
Scott Peterson, left, with attorney Mark Geragos, pleaded not guilty to the murders of his wife and unborn son. BART AH YOU/THE BEE
Jackie Peterson, the defendant's mother, is accompanied by her sister-in-law Janey Peterson as they leave court. AL GOLUB/THE BEE
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: December 4, 2003, 06:03:15 AM PST
Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he murdered his pregnant wife and unborn son, and a judge scheduled a Jan. 26 jury trial.
"That's correct, your honor," Peterson told Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami. "I am innocent."
The 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman is accused of murdering his 27-year-old wife, Laci, and the couple's son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Peterson previously pleaded not guilty, but faced a second arraignment after a judge ruled last month that there was enough evidence to go to trial.
The trial date, which could be pushed back, was penciled in during Wednesday's wide-ranging hearing in which prosecutors agreed to turn over $15,000 in cash seized during Peterson's arrest. Also, Girolami ordered Peterson's pickup -- confiscated Dec. 27 -- released to defense attorney Mark Geragos.
The judge kept in place his gag order and turned down a request by The Bee and other newspapers to unseal search, arrest and autopsy documents.
The timetable in the case now seems dictated by a defense effort to move the trial. Peterson's camp maintains that the Stanislaus County jury pool has been tainted by massive pretrial publicity.
"I think this is as close to a foregone conclusion as one can get," Geragos said, indicating that he has "voluminous exhibits" to support moving the trial. He is scheduled to file a change of venue motion Dec. 12.
Prosecutors will be ready if the trial starts Jan. 26, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said outside court. But he acknowledged that court dates often are delayed.
"If they stick to that, we'll stick to it," Goold said.
If Girolami grants the defense motion to move the trial, logistics and planning would push the trial date back months, Goold said.
Prosecutors want to keep the trial in Modesto but would not oppose moving it if survey data from prosecution and defense jury experts indicate that an impartial jury cannot be seated in Stanislaus County, Goold said.
"There's no justice," he said, "in having a trial held somewhere it shouldn't be held."
Jury analyst expresses doubts
Jury expert Edward J. Bronson said it would be ......
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He sure knows how to 'spin' a story, doesn't he?
(((((my opinion here...I think this editor/journalist in SFGate should rethink what Scott Peterson spoke of his plea be corrected: "I am innocent"))))
Not guilty plea for Peterson Judge orders seized cash, truck returned
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, December 4, 2003
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Modesto -- Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the slayings of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, while a judge ordered prosecutors to return Peterson's truck and $15,000 in cash seized during his arrest.
"That's correct, your honor, I am innocent," a thinner-looking Peterson, 31, responded when Judge Al Girolami of the Stanislaus Superior Court asked him whether he was entering a not guilty plea during the former fertilizer salesman's arraignment on two counts of murder.
Last month, Girolami ordered Peterson to stand trial after an 11-day preliminary hearing. He could face the death penalty if convicted of charges he killed his wife, drove his truck to the Berkeley Marina and dumped her body in San Francisco Bay.
Peterson could go to trial as early as Jan. 26 because he exercised his right Wednesday to a speedy trial. But the date could be delayed because the defense is seeking to try the case in another county.
Also Wednesday, Girolami ordered prosecutors to return Peterson's 2002 Ford F-150 truck, saying they could show photos of the truck or use a similar vehicle to display to a jury.
It's my belief the publicity is going to help Peterson since the jurors will now be more careful to make sure they look at all the evidence more closely. If there is even the slightest room for reasonable doubt he'll walk.
Looks like McAllister is out. I never did hear why Lee wasn't there.
Right, Geragos being a skilled lawyer should welcome it knowing his client is innocent and use the publicity to his advantage. The fact he's concerned about it... maybe he's afraid there is enough evidence to convict.
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