I hear that Geragos has today filed his motion for change of venue.
Good to see you DA,here is the article titled,"Peterson defense Files For Change of Venue".
link
http://www.ktvu.com/news/2705851/detail.html MODESTO, Calif. -- Waiting until the 12th hour, Mark Geragos -- Scott Peterson's lead attorney -- officially filed a change of venue motion early Monday morning, citing the enormous pre-trial publicity surrounding the domestic murder case that has captured the attention of the nation.
Geragos was granted an extension through the weekend until 9 a.m. Monday to file the petition by Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami. The noted defense attorney told the judge last Friday that his office needed the extra time to compile 8,000 exhibits accounting media coverage of the case on a disk to submit to the court.
In the filing, Geragos claimed that: "the lynch mob atmosphere that has been created in this case has become so poisonous that the nature of the news coverage has in many instances been reduced to nothing more than vilification. In fact, even former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino stated on numerous occasions that Mr. Peterson cannot get a fair trial in Stanislaus County. "
A January 8th hearing was scheduled to determine if there will be a change of venue in the case.
The Peterson defense team had also objected at last Friday's hearing to a petition by the prosecution to survey potential jurors in Modesto, Sacramento and Los Angeles. But the judge -- citing the previous use of a survey in the Modesto courts -- said he'd allow the prosecution to move forward with its plans.
In court documents filed on Dec. 10, prosecutors had asked for permission to survey potential jurors not only in Stanislaus County, but also in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
The latter two were not too surprising since jurors in both locations have shown a tendency to find defendants guilty in capital murder cases. Of the 638 inmates on California's death row, 189 have come from Los Angeles County -- the highest number in the state.
Meanwhile, Sacramento County trails only Alameda in the number of death row inmates from Northern California with 35. In comparison, San Francisco County has just one death row inmate and nearby counties of San Joaquin and Madera have seven and three, respectively.
At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Geragos had said he planned to ask for the change of venue.
"Generally what happens in a change of venue is that both sides will file," Geragos said. "Some times, the prosecution will concede -- which is what happened in the (San Francisco) dog-mauling case -- the prosecution conceded. Some times, they will fight it. Some times, they will propose other solutions."
John Goold, the lead district attorney, said his office was weighing what to do if Geragos asks for a change of venue.
"People always ask that (about a change of venue) and we are going to look at it," he said. "If we can have the trial held here, we want the trial held here. We do not want the trial here if it's not going to be done properly. If the jury pool is so bias that the defendant cannot get a fair trial (we don't want it here). Because that doesn't work for anybody...I just can't tell you at this point (if the prosecution would fight a change in venue)."
Goold also expected that wherever the trial is held, it would not be anytime soon.
"I really don't want to get into a crystal ball," Goold said. "You saw how long the preliminary has taken. It will take a while for this case to go to trial."
Prosecutors -- who encircled Peterson during a lengthy preliminary hearing in November with a loose-knit web of circumstantial evidence -- won the battle to have him held for trial on two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Laci and the couple's unborn son, charges that could bring the death penalty.
Girolami said there was sufficient evidence the crimes were intentional, deliberate and premeditated.
Peterson, 31, is being held without bail. He has pleaded innocent.
Thanks, Mags and Anse. BTW, Anse, that Oct. 28th NE synopsis is the one Vel put up in Oct., and it's the only one I ever recall seeing...IOW, it was always a synopsis and not the real thing. If someone put up the real thing, I didn't see it and would appreciate a link to see what was really said at the end of the original article.
They were joking on a Chicago radio station today that Geragos is on his way to Qatar to defend Saddam. ROFL!