Distaso attacks defense motion

Prosecutors Wednesday countered a defense effort to dismiss double-murder charges against Scott Peterson. They argued that there was only one reasonable explanation for the bodies of his wife and unborn son washing ashore along San Francisco Bay:

"The evidence leads only to the conclusion that Laci was killed at the hands of another (the defendant)," Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso wrote in documents filed in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

The defense contends prosecutors failed to show at a November 2003 preliminary hearing that Laci Peterson's death involved a crime or provide evidence Scott Peterson killed her.

Peterson was ordered held for trial on charges he murdered his wife and their unborn son, Conner, following the 12-day hearing. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Prosecutors need only establish probable cause -- a low threshold of proof -- at the preliminary hearing.

Legal observers have said the defense motion has little chance of success. A hearing on it is set for Wednesday.

The defense maintains prosecutors failed to establish that Laci Peterson's death was a homicide. Her nearly skeletal remains were found in April 2003. A medical examiner listed the manner of death as a homicide but was unable to determine the cause of death.

Prosecutors contend there are three possible explanations for how Laci and Conner Peterson's bodies found their way to San Francisco Bay: foul play, an accident or suicide........

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Mark Geragos and Pat Harris, attorneys for Scott Peterson, arrive at the Stanislaus County Court house on Thursday. By MARTY BICEK/THE BEE

Lee and Jackie Peterson, the parents of Scott Peterson, speak to the press as they arrive at the Stanislaus County Courthouse on Thursday. By MARTY BICEK/THE BEE

Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda counties are on the short list of where Scott Peterson's trial on double-murder charges will be held. Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ruled this afternoon that the trial should be moved out of Stanislaus County because of massive pre-trial publicity.

Girolami directed the prosecution and defense to suggest three options each. He told them to consider the following criteria for those locations:

Girolami and the attorneys came up with the three Bay Area options. The judge will send the list to the state Administrative Office of the Courts, which will then issue its own list, based on which counties have the available space and personnel for the case.

Girolami said he regretted the inconvenience and hardship the move will cause for witnesses in the case, and the significant cost for the county.

Peterson, 31, is accused of murdering his wife, Laci and their unborn son. Their bodies washed ashore along the San Francisco Bay in April, near where Peterson told police he went fishing on Christmas Eve 2002, the day he reported his .......

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The cost to move a high-profile trial -- which can be exorbitant -- isn't supposed to enter a judge's mind when he or she makes the big decision.

"The expense just builds and builds," said Thomas Testa, a San Joaquin County prosecutor who handled two multiple-murder trials moved to Santa Clara County.

In many cases, the extra costs amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And the Peterson proceeding isn't a run-of-the-mill case. The preliminary hearing alone stretched across three weeks, and the trial is expected to last six months.

Judge Al Girolami today is set to hear arguments from both sides over Peterson's request to move the much-anticipated trial. It is scheduled to begin Jan. 26 but could be postponed, particularly if Girolami says a fair trial in Modesto is unlikely.

Peterson, 31, is charged in the slayings of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors seek the death penalty.

"Little things you don't think about: paper clips, fax machines, a courier service, socks," Testa said. "You've got to orchestrate things that now are on automatic pilot. One night I was driving around in the rain at 11:30, getting lost, looking for a

Aside from attorneys, trials require judges, clerks, bailiffs and stenographers, as well as witnesses, including experts who might need to fly in from anywhere in the United States..........

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MODESTO - The fate of Scott Peterson may end up in the hands of 12 people from Santa Clara County.

Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami ruled Thursday that the trial should be moved from Modesto, preferably to Santa Clara County, because overwhelming publicity and the community's connection to the case would make it difficult to find a fair and impartial local jury. Peterson is accused of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son.

Santa Clara County is Girolami's top choice, with San Mateo and Alameda counties next on his list. Girolami grew up in downtown San Jose and attended Santa Clara University School of Law.

In court Thursday, Girolami said he prefers that the trial be held within driving distance of Modesto and near a major airport. A panel of judges across the state will take the judge's recommendation and survey counties to determine whether they have the time and space to host a trial that could last as long as six months and attract scores of national journalists.

``If the venue is changed to Santa Clara County, we are more than willing to accept it and do what we need to do,'' Kim V. Kelly, assistant chief executive officer for Santa Clara County Superior Court, said Thursday afternoon.

Santa Clara County has a history of inheriting high-profile cases -- from Cary Stayner's Yosemite murder trial in 2002 to the case of Richard Allen Davis, who kidnapped and murdered Polly Klaas, and even back to the 1970 trial of black activist Angela Davis, who was acquitted of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy.

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State court revisits murder of a fetus
What if attacker is unaware of pregnancy?

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The state Supreme Court returned to the stormy issue of fetal murder for the first time in a decade Wednesday with arguments over whether a Northern California man who killed his ex-girlfriend could be convicted of a double murder if he didn't know she was pregnant.

In a ruling that is due within 90 days, the court must define a law it was instrumental in passing. The court ruled in 1970 that a man who stomped on his pregnant ex-wife, deliberately killing her fetus, was not guilty of murder because the state's murder law applied only to the killing of a human being.

The California Legislature immediately expanded the state's murder law to cover the killing of a fetus without the woman's consent. Wednesday's hearing, in a case from Mendocino County, concerned the scope of the law: whether a defendant unaware of the intended victim's pregnancy can be convicted of fetal murder.

A ruling in the state's favor could lead to more prosecutions under the law, possibly including some death penalty cases.

Nationally, the issue of crimes against a fetus has become a battleground in Congress, where opposing sides in the abortion debate are battling over legislation that would make it a crime to injure or kill a fetus during a violent federal crime on a pregnant.........

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FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The mother of Laci Peterson urged Kentucky lawmakers Thursday to act in the "interests of true justice" and pass a "fetal homicide" bill that has been stymied for years.

Sharon Rocha, whose daughter and unborn grandson were found dead along the California coast last year, wrote a letter endorsing a bill that would apply homicide statutes to a fetus from the time of conception.

The bill also picked up support from Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who told a Capitol rally, "It is time that we pass this legislation."

Under rulings by the Kentucky Supreme Court, a fetus is not a person until a live birth occurs. In one defining case, the court overturned a murder indictment against a man who attacked his pregnant wife and killed the fetus.

In her letter, Rocha said if her daughter and unborn grandson had died in Kentucky, it would have resulted in a single homicide charge.

She said if a mother survives an assault but loses her fetus, Kentucky law doesn't recognize any loss of human life. She said "this injustice would be cured" by enactment of the bill, named the Caleb-Haley Act to memorialize two babies .......

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A Superior Court judge has granted a change of venue in the Scott Peterson murder trial.

NBC11 reporter Karen Brown said the judge pointed to the inordinate amount of publicity given to the case in Modesto and that so many residents sympathized with victim Laci Peterson in her own hometown.

He also pointed the small size of Stanislaus County, with a population of 500,000 -- thus reducing the pool of potential jurors, as a reason for his decision.

The judge's decision denied arguments by county prosecutors that news coverage of the case, which gained national notoriety as Laci Peterson's disappearance went unsolved for nearly five months last year, is so widespread in California that there is no point in moving the trial.

Defense lawyer Mark Geragos argued in court papers that Peterson has been demonized and that the prosecution's argument "can be boiled down to the old adage, 'Sure we can give him a fair trial, then we will take him out and hang him."'........

Oh these pics of Scott Peterson... ;o(

Will lazy college students sidetrack Scott Petersons trial?

Scott

Will lazy college students sidetrack Scott Petersons trial?

Though a judge ruled last Thursday to move Scott Peterson's trial out of Modesto, Calif., new revelations suggest defense surveys were partly "made up."

By Harriet Ryan

Court TV

When a judge decided last week to move Scott Peterson's trial out of Modesto, Calif., he singled out as particularly persuasive an independent poll by a local college professor showing the overwhelming majority of the community believed the accused murderer guilty.

Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said the telephone survey, which gauged public opinion across the state on the case, was not only "the most thorough" submitted, but also clearly indicated that jurors in other parts of California were more apt to keep an open mind.

But hours after the ruling, six of the professor's students confessed they had fabricated the raw data because they were either too busy studying for finals or to poor to afford the toll calls, according to a local report.

"We falsified the info," one student told the Modesto Bee. "The stuff we submitted wasn't true."

Just what the impact of these revelations will be is unclear. The judge is scheduled to meet with lawyers Jan. 20 to choose another venue for the trial, and he could change some or all of his ruling at that time.

Prosecutors bitterly opposed moving the trial out of Modesto and immediately urged the students, who spoke to the newspaper anonymously, to contact the district attorney's office.

Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold would not say whether they have interviewed any students, nor whether they plan to ask Judge Girolami to rethink his decision, but he acknowledged the office was intrigued by the reports......

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Judge rules to move Scott Peterson's trial from Modesto

Scott and Mark Geragos

Judge rules to move Scott Peterson's trial from Modesto

Scott Peterson's murder trial will not be held in Modesto, Calif.

By Harriet Ryan

Court TV

Modesto, Calif. — A judge ordered Scott Peterson's double-murder trial moved to another county Thursday afternoon, saying intense press coverage would make it difficult to pick an unbiased jury locally.

"Despite the court's best efforts, the nature and extent of the publicity this case has received has rendered Stanislaus County an inappropriate venue," Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said.

Citing "8,000 articles worldwide and at least 150 here in Modesto" stemming from last year's disappearance of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci, the judge said, "There's a reasonable likelihood that in the absence of a change of venue, the defendant would not be tried by a fair and impartial jury."

The judge will consult with state court officials before convening a hearing Jan. 20 to select a new location. Girolami said he favored a larger metropolitan area within driving distance of Modesto and specifically named Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda counties as possible contenders.

Peterson's defense had hoped to move the trial to Los Angeles, where lead attorney, Mark Geragos, is based. The judge, however, said he opposed southern California because of the inconvenience to witnesses from Modesto........

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County able but not eager to host Peterson trial

Posted on Mon, Jan. 12, 2004

County able but not eager to host Peterson trial

By Brandon Bailey

Mercury News

Santa Clara County's presiding judge told state officials today that the local court system could accommodate the high-profile trial of murder suspect Scott Peterson, provided that concerns over staffing and related issues can be resolved.

``It's not a good time for us, but that's probably true for everyone else,'' said Presiding Judge Thomas Hansen, explaining that Santa Clara County officials are not eager to host the Peterson trial but would try to cooperate ``within reason.''

The judge said his concerns include security, availability of courtroom space and a shortage of qualified court reporters that is already creating problems with the county's current docket of trials. But he said it might be possible to resolve those issues. For example, he said court reporters might be provided by Stanislaus County, where the Peterson case originated.

A judge in Modesto will select a host county on Jan. 20, after reviewing a report from state court officials. Judge Al Girolami has already granted a defense request to move the case out of Stanislaus County, where Peterson is accused of killing his wife, Laci.

Girolami indicated last week that his first choice is Santa Clara County, followed by San Mateo and Alameda counties.

The case has sparked an international media frenzy .......

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Another way Geragos get press coverage

Geragos has a full plate as defense attorney in Jackson, Peterson cases

By Matt Krasnowski

COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
January 12, 2004

Associated Press

Mark Geragos takes on the high-profile and very troublesome cases – including Michael Jackson's child molestation case and Scott Peterson's wife-killing case.

With two of the most compelling criminal cases in the nation occupying his workload, Mark Geragos may have trouble keeping his conspiracies straight.

On some days, the Los Angeles-based criminal defense lawyer has found himself in Modesto defending Scott Peterson, accused of killing his wife and unborn son. Other days, Geragos is at the side of one of the most recognizable figures in the world, Michael Jackson. The lawyer and the entertainer are expected in Santa Maria on Friday for Jackson's arraignment on child-molestation charges.

Geragos, 46, is obviously the lawyer of the moment in California, if not the nation. Some say he has become as common a household name as O.J. Simpson defender Johnnie Cochran.

But even Cochran never handled two stratospherically high-profile cases at the same time.

Friends and foes say Geragos is perfectly suited for the tasks. He's at ease in front of cameras, has sharp courtroom instincts, can be simultaneously charming and tough, and has a way with a phrase that the media – but not every jury – laps up.

"What you see in Mark is a very confident, almost cocky attorney.........

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The next scheduled court date in the case of People v. Scott Lee Peterson is Wednesday, January 14, 2004. Requests for Courtroom Seating will be accepted beginning at 8:00 am (PST) on Monday, January 12, 2004.

DETAILS BELOW:

Date: **January 14, 2004 - 8:30 am (Wednesday) Location: Department 7 (Judge Marie Silveira) Event: Hearing on the 995 PC Motion Duration: Anticipated to be less than (1) one day Seating: Media must submit a request on January 14 Cameras/Pool in Courtroom: Pool camera/audio anticipated.

** Originally scheduled for January 7th - date was continued on 12/18/03 by stipulation of the parties.

Superior Court, Stanislaus County January 9, 2004

Penal Code Section 190.3 Notice Regarding Aggravating Evidence

Court TV's Beth Karas discusses the judge's decision to move Scott Peterson's murder trial

Mon Jan 12, 5:35 PM ET Add Crimes and Trials - Court TV to My Yahoo!

(Court TV) —

Court TV Host Beth Karas is joining us from the Modesto courthouse where the judge in the Scott Peterson case today said that he would change the venue of the trial. A hearing is about to start on possible other locations...but I'll let Beth tell you all about that when she gets here in a few moments...

Court TV Host Beth Karas is here! Welcome, Beth!

Beth Karas: Hey, everybody!

Question from kiara: Welcome Beth.....so why did prosecution bother to try and fight change of venue?

Beth Karas: Because it's a hardship generally to try a case somewhere else and for the prosecution to bring witnesses and relocate themselves. It's just not as convenient as being home. Besides, half the legal eagles around the courthouse thought the judge would keep it in Modesto.

Question from gm: How much do you think the change in venue will delay the trial?

Beth Karas: Weeks, maybe a month or two. It really depends on the jurisdiction that is selected and whether that court can begin a trial soon.

Question from Saladhead: Beth, is there a possibility the Peterson case will move out of California?

Beth Karas: No, it can't. It's a state case and has to stay within California. Right now the lawyers are coming up with suggested venues, and the judge already said no to Los Angeles.

Question from Gmarie: Why no to LA, do you suppose?

Beth Karas: The judge wants the lawyers to come up with .....

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