Jurors guilty of conservatism
By Yunmi Choi, Daily Journal Staff
The verdict is in: jurors in San Mateo County are known across the state for their conservatism.
“The common belief is that juries in San Mateo County are generally more inclined to the prosecution side of the case,” said Jim Hartnett, a Redwood City Councilmember and attorney with Hartnett, Smith & Associates.
Whether that will impact the outcome of the Scott Peterson case is yet to be seen.
From his regular discussions with local attorneys, however, Hartnett said the general consensus is that county jurors tend to be tough on plaintiffs and don’t like to reward big settlements in civil cases. In criminal cases, he said jurors are more likely to side with prosecutors.
“There’s a reason why [Scott] Peterson’s attorneys didn’t put San Mateo County at the top of their list,” Hartnett said.
The county was particularly known for its conservative juries about 20 years ago, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
“It’s the nature of the community,” Wagstaffe said. “People here are hard working and highly educated. But they don’t just accept what prosecutors put forth.”
The reasons reach back to the area’s history.
Although it’s a wealthy area today, Hartnett said San Mateo County was historically a blue-collar community used to working hard for whatever it got. Residents also tend to be family-oriented, have a healthy respect for police and value quality of life issues, he said.
Over the years, Hartnett said the county has grown considerably more diverse. At the same time, he said its core values have remained intact.
“Clearly it’s a very top-heavy Democratic county,” Hartnett said. “But in basic values, people here tend to be more conservative.”
Redwood City Councilmember Barbara Pierce said there’s a strong sense of civic responsibility among county residents. But Pierce said there’s no way to predict the character of the Peterson jury.
“I don’t think you can guess a thing like that,” she said.
Earlier this month, the judge in the Peterson case ruled that the trial had to be moved out of Modesto to ensure that Peterson got a fair trial in the slaying of his wife, Laci, and unborn son. ........
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Peterson will face trial in Bay Area on Peninsula
Posted on Wed, Jan. 21, 2004
Peterson will face trial in Bay Area on Peninsula
MODESTO JUDGE PICKS REDWOOD CITY COURT
By Julia Prodis Sulek
Mercury News
MODESTO - Brace yourself, Redwood City. Scott Peterson's double-murder trial -- and the storm of celebrity media, hotshot lawyers and gawkers that comes with it -- is coming to town.
A Modesto judge, who ruled earlier this month that Peterson couldn't get a fair trial in his wife's hometown, passed over front-runner Santa Clara County on Tuesday because court officials needed more time to prepare. Instead, he chose San Mateo County.
Jury selection for the 31-year-old fertilizer salesman accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son could begin in mid-February. A San Mateo County judge likely will hear the case and could be selected today. Scott Peterson's defense lawyer raised the possibility he might want to sequester the jurors during the four- to six-month trial while they decide if he is guilty and, if so, should be put to death.
Santa Clara County officials said it would take six weeks to assemble a large jury pool, it didn't have enough courtroom staff, and the largest courtroom was booked until March. San Mateo County, however, is ready, willing and able to take the case.
When the news hit the San Mateo County Convention & Visitors Bureau, ``everybody screamed,'' said Anne LeClair, the organization's president and chief executive. ``We're all excited.''
The trial could bring in upward of $16 million in revenue to county businesses, particularly hotels and restaurants, said LeClair, who sent a packet of information to court officials in Modesto to distribute to attorneys and the media.
``We're going to get the kind of publicity that money can't buy,'' she said.
San Jose's loss
The San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau couldn't help but be disappointed. Dan Fenton, president and CEO of the bureau, also had sent a packet to Modesto and was planning shuttles and office space for legal teams and the media.
``We were ready, and we had thought through a lot of ideas of how we could service them well and make it a smooth operation,'' he said. ``If there's anything positive about this, we hope people in the legal world realize San Jose is ready to step up. Bring on the next one.''
Santa Clara County had been the first choice of Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami, who grew up in downtown San Jose, and prosecutors, who said in court Tuesday that ``San Jose would be a wonderful choice.''
Alameda and Orange counties had also been in the running. Orange County had been the defense's first choice, with San Mateo County being a second choice for the defense, prosecution and the judge.
During Peterson's preliminary hearing in November, more than 250 press credentials were issued, and the Stanislaus County visitors bureau set up a table alongside the row of media tents offering soft drinks and fresh-baked cookies.
While San Mateo County is promising a fine experience for visitors, less certain is the reception the defendant will get in this county that has sent at least 16 people to death ........
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San Mateo County to host Peterson trial
Judge says he chose site because it could hold proceedings right away
Henry K. Lee and Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
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Scott Peterson will be tried in San Mateo County in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, a Modesto judge ruled Thursday.
Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami ruled earlier this month that extensive pretrial publicity would prevent Peterson, 31, from getting a fair trial in Laci Peterson's home county. The judge said he selected San Mateo over Santa Clara, Alameda and other counties because officials there could host the trial immediately.
Peterson's trial has been set for Monday and is expected to be one of the most intensively publicized murder cases since the prosecution of O.J. Simpson eight years ago. Girolami said he will preside over the case if another judge cannot be found.
The former fertilizer salesman is accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Laci Peterson and the couple's son, whose bodies washed ashore in Richmond in April, four months after the mother-to-be was reported missing. Peterson faces the death penalty if convicted.
San Mateo has seen its share of infamous trials. In 1990, a San Mateo jury convicted Ramon Salcido of the murders of seven people in Sonoma County and sentenced him to death. The county was also the site of the 1987 trial of Joe Hunt and two other members of the cult-like investment group called the "Billionaire Boys' Club," who were sentenced to life in prison for murder.
Stanislaus County prosecutor James Brazelton had argued that the judge consider moving the case to Sacramento County, while Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, named Orange County as his top choice.
San Mateo County is an ethnically diverse county that has one of the most educated populations in the country, said Anne LeClair, president and chief executive of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"I think they’ll get quite a variety of people on the jury. It might be a skycap from San Francisco International Airport next to a senior officer from Siebel or Oracle," LeClair said.
According to the 2000 census, 49.8 percent of the county’s residents are white, 21.9 percent are Hispanic, 19.8 are Asian, 3.4 percent ..........
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Judge Orders Peterson Murder Trial Moved
Posted on Tue, Jan. 20, 2004 Judge Orders Peterson Murder Trial Moved
BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press
MODESTO, Calif. - The judge in the murder case against Scott Peterson moved the trial about 90 miles away to the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday because of hostility toward Peterson in his dead wife's hometown.
Judge Al Girolami ruled earlier this month that the trial had to be moved out of Modesto to make sure Peterson got a fair trial in the slaying of his wife, Laci, and unborn son.
Four counties had offered to host the trial, and the judge picked San Mateo County, situated south of San Francisco. Girolami had said he wanted a county close enough to Modesto that witnesses could drive there.
"I'm satisfied we can get a fair and impartial jury in San Mateo," Girolami said, adding that he wants San Mateo County appoint a judge to handle the trial.
The trial is scheduled to start Monday but will probably be postponed. A hearing is scheduled later this week to discuss a delay. Prosecutors asked for two weeks to move their operation to San Mateo County.
Peterson, 31, is charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing his pregnant wife just before Christmas 2002 and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. In April, her remains and those of the fetus she was carrying washed ashore in the bay two miles from where her husband said he was fishing when she vanished. Peterson could get the death penalty.
Peterson's lawyers argued that he had been demonized in Modesto's Stanislaus County, citing vandalism of his house, crowds yelling "Murderer!" outside the jail and T-shirts sold with Peterson's likeness and the motto: "Modesto, a killer place to live." Blood drives have been held in honor of Laci Peterson and 3,000 people attended her internationally televised memorial service.
Seeing a potential economic windfall, San Mateo County's tourism bureau had sent a letter to the judge offering to host the trial.
Anne LeClair, president and chief executive of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her office was "screaming with great excitement" upon hearing the news.
Restaurants, hotels, car rental services and other businesses could see an influx of $8 million to $16 million, she said.
"There's just under 500 media people in attendance for .............
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Judge moves Peterson trial to San Mateo
Judge moves Peterson trial to San Mateo
Scott Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos and partner Pat Harris walk to the Stanislaus County Courthouse for a hearing on Tuesday morning. MARTY BICEK/THE BEE
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: January 20, 2004, 11:03:48 AM PST
Scott Peterson's double-murder trial is headed to San Mateo County in the Bay Area, a judge ruled this morning.
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami has not said whether he will hear the case in San Mateo. He said he would prefer not to. Officials are asking the Administrative Office of Courts to appoint another judge, and if the office is unable to do that, Girolami said he will stay with the case. A decision is expected sometime this week.
Peterson, a 31-year-old Modesto man, is charged with murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Another hearing is scheduled for Friday to try to hash out scheduling. Prosecutors indicated in court today that they will ask for a two-week delay in the trial, now scheduled to start Monday. The delay would allow the district attorney time to move files and personnel to San Mateo County, prosecutors said.
San Mateo County has courthouses in South San Francisco and Redwood City. Local officials are checking with the office of courts to find out which one will take the Peterson case.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos and prosecutor Dave Harris agreed that San Mateo County was the second pick for both sides. It has room to accommodate the trial and would be able to start proceedings at any time, according to an office of courts report discussed in court.
Redwood City is about equal distance between San Francisco to the north and San Jose to the south. It's almost 90 miles from Modesto. South San Francisco is 94 miles from Modesto.
The disadvantages of San Mateo County include a further drive from Modesto than Alameda County, Harris said. Oakland and Modesto are 81 miles apart.
Alameda County, however, is undergoing courthouse renovations that would delay the trial, the office of courts report said.
This morning, Geragos continued to argue to move the trial to Orange County.
The office of courts indicated that Orange County was best place to go because the trial could start immediately, he said. Also, Orange County could provide all court staff and the services of a public-information officer to handle the media rush, he added.
Geragos pointed out that a major expansion of Orange County's airport would make travel convenient for witnesses. He also said that Jackie Peterson, Scott Peterson's mother, is on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and having the trial in Orange County, about an hour for her home, would be more convenient for her.
Prosecutors continued to argue to move the trial to Santa Clara County, but proceedings couldn't get under way there until March 1.
Before Girolami ruled, prosecutors asked him to reconsider moving the trial because of the scandal surrounding California State University, Stanislaus, Professor Stephen Schoenthaler's survey.
Schoenthaler oversaw a 10-county, 1,175-person survey conducted by about 65 criminal-justice students in November and December. Nine have said they fabricated some or all answers to the survey, which measured bias against Peterson, because they were short on time and money for lengthy, long-distance telephone calls.
The survey suggested that more jurors without bias could be found in the Bay Area and Southern California than in Stanislaus County. Geragos submitted the survey as an official case exhibit, and Girolami cited it when explaining his decision to move the trial.
According to court documents that prosecutors filed late Friday, a district attorney's investigator found someone who had worked with Schoenthaler on other surveys until 1991. She said Schoenthaler ordered her to falsify data so survey conclusions would more closely match his projected outcome, the documents said. Those surveys were part of nutrition studies, not potential jury bias in trials.
Girolami noted that the woman had worked with Schoenthaler a long time ago and asked if prosecutors were able to find any students who had worked on the Peterson survey. Harris said they hadn't, because Schoenthaler refused to give them a list of his students. He asked Girolami to order the professor to do so.
Girolami refused, saying Stanislaus State should handle the investigation.
For the full story, see The Bee or www.modbee.com on Wednesday..........
