Retired judge chosen to preside over Scott Peterson murder trial

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The judge presiding over Scott Peterson's murder trial will be Richard Arnason, a retired Contra Costa County judge chosen Wednesday by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George.

Scott Peterson's murder trial is being moved to the San Francisco Bay area 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 on Tuesday the judge picked San Mateo County, situated south of San Francisco and about 90 miles away from Modesto.

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 another judge appointed to handle the trial.

Arnason, 83, was appointed to the Contra Costa County Superior Court by Gov. Pat Brown in 1963.

No stranger to high profile court drama, Arnason presided over People v. Angela Davis in which the black militant was acquitted of murder and conspiracy in the 1970 Marin County courthouse escape attempt that resulted in the deaths of four people, including a judge.

Arnason also oversaw the trial of a California woman whose 13-year-old daughter weighed 680 pounds when she died of congestive heart failure in 1996.

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 from Stanislaus County 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 the 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 the Modesto area, 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.

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Judge Richard Arnason at the Martinez courthouse today. (Bob Pepping/Contra Costa Times)

Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Richard Arnason, who juggles a calendar as busy as any in the Martinez courthouse, even though he has retired, will preside over the murder trial of Scott Peterson in San Mateo County, state officials announced today.

Arnason was assigned by Chief Justice Ronald George today to preside over the double murder trial. The case was moved to Redwood City because of extensive pretrial publicity in Stanislaus County.

Peterson, 31, is accused of murdering his eight-months pregnant wife, Laci Peterson of Modesto, and their unborn son in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve in 2002. Their bodies were found along the Richmond shoreline in April 2003.

In 41 years on the bench, Arnason has handled many complex cases, including that of Angela Davis. Davis was charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in connection with a 1970 Marin County court shootout where four people, including a judge, were killed.

More recently, Arnason presided over the case of a former Stockton gang member who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering retired plastic surgeon Kim Fang during a home invasion robbery in Alamo in 2000.

Technically retired since 1995, Arnason, 82, still sits on the bench and gets paid on a per-day basis.

"There's Methuselah in the Bible, and there's Judge Arnason," state appellate justice and former county judge James Marchiano said in a 2001 interview.

Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown appointed Arnason, an Antioch lawyer, to the bench in 1963. The judge has handled criminal law ever since, outlasting lawyers and judges that came before and after him.

"I had a long, lengthy career in the D.A.'s office that will have started and ended while Arnason's been on the bench," said former District Attorney Gary Yancey in 2001.

"He exudes a sense of respect for other human beings, and he seems to know what it's like to be in someone else's shoes," said Public Defender David Coleman........

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When the Scott Peterson murder trial begins it will be a hodgepodge of resources, venues and participants from throughout the state — a crime in Stanislaus county, an arrest and defense attorney from Southern California and a trial in San Mateo County.

Now added to that list is retired Contra Costa County Judge Richard Earle Arnason, 82, who was tapped yesterday to preside over what stands to be the most publicized criminal trial since O.J. Simpson.

Arnason served for 31 years on the Contra Costa County Superior Court before his 1995 retirement. His record is filled with high-profile cases although Peterson’s will likely make Arnason a well-known name much as Judge Lance Ito did during the Simpson double murder trial.

Arnason was picked for the slot by state Chief Justice Ronald George a day after Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami announced the case would move to San Mateo County. Girolami said he thought San Mateo County offered Peterson, a 31-year-old fertilizer salesman, the fairest shot at an objective jury. That jury will be charged with deciding whether Peterson is guilty of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, 28, and the couple’s unborn son near Christmas Eve 2002. Peterson faces the death penalty if he is found guilty.

Girolami declined to hear the case himself because he did not want to travel and asked the Judicial Council of California to appoint a successor.

Arnason, who was appointed to the Contra Costa County Superior Court in 1963, is no stranger to death penalty cases. Arnason, who was not receiving media calls yesterday, is well-known as a criminal law expert, said Lynn Holton, council spokeswoman.

Arnason attended college at the University of North Dakota before moving onto law school at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his degree in 1945 and worked in private practice in the East Bay before joining the bench. In 1973, he was named Judge of the Year by the California Trial Lawyers Association.

Despite his retirement, he continues presiding over cases through the Assigned Judges Program at the standard rate of $529.32 daily. The program provides temporary judicial assignments to alleviate court congestion, fill vacancies or to handle change of venue requests. Arnason has participated since his retirement.

He heard the murder case of a Stockton gang member convicted of killing a plastic surgeon during a 2000 home invasion robbery. Soknoeun Nem was eligible for the death penalty in that case but instead Arnason imposed life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Arnason also presided over the 1972 murder/kidnapping trail of African-American activist Angela Davis. Davis was acquitted of murder and conspiracy in a 1970 shoot-out at the Marin County courthouse in which four people died.

In 1998, Arnason found El Cerrito resident Marlene Corrigan guilty of misdemeanor child abuse after her 13-year-old daughter died of congestive heart failure two years previous. The girl had weighed 680 pounds. Arnason sentenced Corrigan to probation and community service but dismissed felony child endangerment charges.

Also in 1998, Arnason halted death penalty proceedings against Jesse Martinez despite the man’s assertions that he wanted to go to death row. Arnason declared doubt about Martinez’s mental state although he said he has no illness. Martinez was convicted of murdering a 57-year-old convenience store clerk in September 1994.

Arnason was among the first judges to try a case under Proposition 21, the California law which allows minors to be charged as adults in certain crimes.

He has never tried any criminal cases in San Mateo County, said Chief Deputy ........

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Jagdeep S. Bhandari, professor of law at Florida Coastal School of Law, discusses the school’s upcoming conference, entitled Forensic Investigation: The Pursuit of Truth.

The “big top of forensic investigation” will be in the shape of one large tent May 7 as Florida Coastal School of Law presents a conference featuring the nation’s top forensics experts.

The conference, which will be limited to 500 spectators, will be held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. “We’re trying to give people exposure to the nation’s top forensic experts, the real CSI, the pursuit of truth,” said Eric Smith, associate dean for External Affairs and director of the Center for Strategic Governance and International Initiatives. “This is a world-class event.”

The line-up includes Sen. Arlen Specter, who concluded that a single bullet caused President John F. Kennedy’s neck wounds and all of the nonfatal wounds inflicted on Texas Gov. John Connally; and Dr. Cyril Wecht, Allegheny County (Pa.) coroner and founder of the Cyril Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University School of Law.

Wecht has argued against the “tale of the magic bullet” since Specter proposed it in 1964 and it became part of the Warren Commission’s findings.

“My understanding is they’re good buddies,” said Smith. “They’ve made a lifetime arguing the theory.” Other speakers include:

• Dr. Henry C. Lee, a forensic scientist and criminalist, best known for his work in high-profile cases such as O.J. Simpson, Vince Foster and JonBenet Ramsey.

• Dr. Michael Baden, co-director of the New York State Police Medicolegal Investigation Unit. His cases include the examination of the remains of Czar Nicholas and his family, the death of John Belushi and the disappearance and death of Laci Peterson.

• Barry Scheck, professor of law and director of clinical education at New York’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. The co-founder of the Innocence Project has represented clients such as O.J. Simpson and au pair Louise Woodward.

• Ann Wolbert Burgess, RN, professor at William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College and a renowned researcher, author, educator and advanced practice psychiatric nurse.

The law school also expects to have lawyer and author Scott Turow attend the conference, perhaps making a public speech before the event gets under way. “This law school and the Cyril Wecht Institute are bringing the people who are behind the scenes in one respect and yet very much in the forefront of the cases that are out there now,” said Smith.

The public’s knowledge of forensic science has been boosted by the popularity of two CSI shows on CBS, which has been responsible for making it “the No. 1 network,” said Jarrod Turner, FCSL’s director of Institutional Support and one of the conference’s organizers.

“One cannot overstate the value of forensic science in our search for truth in criminal, civil and family medicolegal investigations and court proceedings,” said Wecht. “This conference is designed to explore and inform professionals and academics, from a variety of disciplines and fields, of the value and scope of forensic science as a powerful investigative tool.” The idea for the conference, “the guy that’s riding the point on this,” Smith said, Is Professor Jagdeep Bhandari, who worked on the project with the school’s new owners, Sterling Partners.

“It is he who brought the idea to the table,” said Smith. “Without him, this dog doesn’t hunt.” Bhandari has taught economics, done international transaction and immigration work, and has worked at the World Bank. He has also worked with several of those who will be at the conference, including Lee, Wecht and Scheck.

“It was a matter of making a lot of phone calls,” said Bhandari. “Henry Lee consults to 12 governments. You can’t talk to him on the telephone. Or Barry Scheck, unless they know who you are.

“I had to use up all the capital I had to say, ‘Come to Florida, and we’ll show you a good time.’” The conference has been approved for continuing legal, medical and nursing education.

“It’s good for professionals and for interested lay people as well,” said Smith. “We’re hoping that, not just national and international people, but local people will attend.”

Smith expects the rush will be on soon for tickets to the conference, which will “comfortably accommodate” an audience of about 500 at the Adam’s Mark. Those who are interested in attending may register online at www.fcsl.edu/forensics or by phoning (888) 24........

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In the coming weeks, hundreds of potential jurors in San Mateo County will receive court summons attached to a pleasant letter highlighting the positive side of the responsibility.

“It’s a really nice letter that tells them that they can bring laptops, where to find parking, how to get a parking permit and how to check the Web site,” said San Mateo County Presiding Judge Mark Forcum.

Despite the cheery tone, the process of picking a jury for the Scott Peterson trial will be long and painful for all involved.

Peterson, a Modesto fertilizer salesman, is charged with the murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn child. If convicted, Peterson could face the death penalty or life in prison.

“The jury selection will be tremendously important for both the defense and prosecution. In this particular case, it won’t go as routine. Given the length of the trial they will go through an extensive procedure,” said Jim Hartnett, an attorney with Hartnett, Smith & Associates and a Redwood City Councilmember.

For potential jurors, it’s going to be long and tedious. For attorneys, it’s going to be crucial and possibly very expensive.

Those who receive a summons will be pooled together in the courthouse and given a questionnaire to determine if a lengthy trial would create a hardship for them. Those who can afford to devote months to the trial are randomly divided into “panels” of approximately 60, said Forcum.

Each panel is sent to a courtroom where attorneys question them in person. People may be questioned individually, as a group or with a lengthy questionnaire. The judge determines the process and scope of questioning. Retired Judge Richard Arnason, 82, was chosen yesterday to oversee the Peterson case. The trial is expected to last five months.

Questions could range from religion to family history. Each side has 20 opportunities to eliminate jurors in what’s called a peremptory challenge. Jurors can be eliminated for any reason except on the basis of race, said Jeff Boyarski, a San Mateo County defense attorney.

In most high-profile cases, attorneys often hire consultants to analyze the jury pool and recommend selections. Consultant groups, like the Oakland-based National Jury Project, provide services ranging from demographic studies to mock trials.

“They do a lot of studies on cases and what their outcomes have been. They help with preparing questionnaires, change of venues — if you want to go full board, they can get sample jurors before they are tried,” said Boyarski.

Depending on the type of money Peterson can afford to drop on this trial, consultants can create trial scenarios by picking different types of focus groups to act as juries before the real trial ever starts. The focus groups allow the defense to figure out how different types of jurors would respond.

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REDWOOD CITY - Retired Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Richard Arnason, a jurist with long experience in trying complex murder cases, was named today to preside over the Laci Peterson murder trial.

California Supreme Court Justice Ronald George made the announcement just one day after the trial was moved to the County by Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami to San Mateo County.

Laci Peterson was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Her body and the body of her unborn child washed ashore in Richmond four months later. Her husband, Scott Peterson, 31, is the alleged killer, and faces two counts of murder and the death penalty.

Arnason is a well-known criminal law expert who has extensive experience with death penalty cases. He sat on the Contra Costa County Superior Court bench for 31 years before his retirement in 1995.

Members of the media tour the courtroom in Redwood City Tuesday, where the murder case against Scott Peterson is to be tried. Judge Al Girolami ruled Tuesday that the case will be moved to San Mateo County after rejecting a prosecution request to keep the case in Modesto. 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. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The judge is a member of the Chief Justice's Assigned Judges Program, which assigns judges to preside criminal trials. He has done so primarily in Contra Costa County. Arnason was one of the first judges to try a case under Proposition 21, the law that allows prosecutors to file felony charges for some offenses against juveniles 14 years or older without a judge's approval.

He also presided over the murder-kidnapping trial in the case of Angela Davis, a UCLA professor and radical activist who supported the Black Panthers and others during the 1960s and 1970s. She was acquitted and continued her academic and writing career. Judge Mark Forcum, the presiding judge in San Mateo County, said he will provide Arnason all of the support he needs during what is expected to be a lengthy and contentious trial. Admitted to the California Bar in 1945, Arnason attended Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.

Arnason's appointment was the latest event in a fast-moving drama that began Tuesday when the hyper-publicized trial was sent here from Stanislaus County.

With its high profile and masses of media from around the world, the trial may easily become the biggest criminal event in County history, while bringing millions of visitor dollars to hotels and retail outlets.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami moved the trial after finding that Peterson, 31, could not receive a fair trial in Modesto because of extensive media coverage. An hour after Girolami sent the trial to the County, television camera crews and newspaper reporters began arriving in droves.

"I'm satisfied we can get a fair and impartial jury in San Mateo," Girolami said from a Modesto courtroom Tuesday. .........

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(Court TV) -- Scott Peterson's lawyer said Tuesday the double-murder suspect's parents have spent a million dollars on his defense.

Attorney Mark Geragos made the disclosure while asking Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to move the trial to southern California, closer to the Petersons' San Diego home, as well as Geragos' office in Los Angeles.

He said Jackie and Lee Peterson's funding "has saved the taxpayer's a seven-figure sum, at least" and asked the judge to consider which venue was more convenient and cheaper for them.

He noted that his client has the right to ask the taxpayer's to foot some of the bill if he can no longer afford private representation, but has so far not exercised that right.

Under California law, if a capital defendant becomes indigent before the conclusion of his or her trial, a judge can order the local government to pay the private attorney's costs, albeit at a reduced rate.

Prosecutor Dave Harris objected to the mention of the Petersons' finances, saying the defense team starts talking about public money whenever "the court doesn't give them their way."

In the end, Girolami said Southern California was too far from Modesto .........

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Whew! He's out!!!

http://www.ktvu.com/news/2785639/detail.html

Peterson Prosecutors Challenge Arnason Appointment

POSTED: 12:33 PM PST January 22, 2004
UPDATED: 3:30 PM PST January 22, 2004

MODESTO, Calif. -- Prosecutors in the murder case against Scott Peterson exercised their authority Thursday to remove the judge appointed to preside at the trial, contending he is biased against them.

Video

Video On Demand: Ted Rowlands Reports On Prosecution Challenge

Under California law, the prosecution and the defense each have one opportunity to remove a judge without having to give a reason. A new judge will be appointed by California's chief justice.

Peterson, 31, is accused of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, just before Christmas 2002 and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. Her remains and those of the fetus she was carrying later washed ashore.

Prosecutors acted a day after retired Judge Richard Arnason, 82, was named to oversee the Peterson case when it is moved from central California to the San Francisco Bay area.

The case is being moved after a Modesto judge ruled Peterson could not easily get a fair trial in his dead wife's hometown.

Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said Arnason "is prejudiced against the interest of the party, so that I believe I cannot have a fair and impartial hearing."

Video

Video On Demand: Jury Experts Says San Mateo Favors Prosecution

Prosecutors refused to comment on their reason for removing the judge, said a receptionist in the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office. Peterson's defense lawyer did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The tactical move will postpone the case that was scheduled to start Monday, said Lynn Holton, spokeswoman for the state's court administration.

Holton said it will take State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George until next week to find another judge for the case.

A hearing is scheduled Friday in Modesto to discuss the transfer to a courthouse in Redwood City and future court dates.

Arnason was selected in part because of his experience handling major trials.

2/3 National Enquirer - courtesy of Rickamorti at Purgatory

SECRET WITNESS; SCOTT TOLD ME HE WANTED TO KILL LACI!

'MY INFORMATION IS THE SMOKING GUN'

BY DON GENTILE

NEW PICTURE; DUMPY LOOKING, 45 YEAR OLD, PEGGY GAGNON, IN FIJI T-SHIRT
WITH GREASY HAIR

SYNOPSIS

2 Months before Laci vanished, her husband hit on a housewife in a Death Valley bar- and she says he told her he wanted to kill his wife.

They even discussed weighing down a dead body with anchors and dropping it in the ocean, housewife Peggy Gagnon told the NE.

Weeks before the body washed ashore, Penny went to police and told them about the shocking conversation she had with Scott.

"I think my information is the smoking gun," said Penny. The NE confirmed that Penny has been interviewed several times by Detective Al Brocchini, one of the investigators on the case.

Penny told the NE that her 'scary encounter" with Scott occurred in October 2002.

"I was a member of a Jeep club," she said. "We'd been on one of those camping trips to Panamint in Death Valley and I was coming home. I lived in Long Beach at the time."

Penny stopped at a small bar and restaurant in Death Valley around noon, she ordered food and a drink. Scott was already at the bar. He came and stood next to her and she noticed he was handsome. He told me his name. He said it was Scott Peterson. "I told him it was a neat sounding name." "My grandma likes the name Scott. She always wanted me to name my kids Scott. So whenever meet a Scott I always remember his name."

Penny introduced herself and wasn't ready for what Scott said next. Scott came right out and asked Penny, "You want to have an affair?" She told him
she was a good Christian woman and that wasn't her thing.

Then she said, Scott told her in a calm, matter of fact voice: "I'm married. "She's six months pregnant and I want to kill her." Said Penny: "It sounded so off the wall to me, it didn't really sink in right away what he was saying."

"I said, "Why do you want to kill her? There's always divorce." Penny says Scott's answer surely interested investigators. "Scott said, "She's going to have this kid and if I divorce her, I'll have to pay for it for the rest of my life," Penny disclosed.

"Then he asked me, "IF you were going to kill somebody, how would you do it?" It seemed like just a stupid conversation. I mean, you don't talk about stuff like that if your really serious."

" So I told Scott, I've wanted to kill my ex-husband a few times, not that I was serious." I told him if I would kill him, I'd get a boat and drop him into the ocean with weights or anchors around his knees or something." "That's how."

Penny said the man left the bar after the talk of murder.

She sat there a few minutes, then thought it might be good to get his license plate number.

"But when I went outside he was gone".

Peggy soon forgot the strange encounter. But as the news of Laci's disappearance burst onto the nightly news, she spotted a familiar face on TV. "It was this guy Scott!"

Her husband Donald remembers it was a few days after Christmas, as he and his wife watched the news, when a report about Laci came on.

He told Detective Brocchini that when his wife saw Scott, she immediately recounted the story of the man she met in the bar. But three months passed before Penny got up the courage to call the police.

"I was scared. I thought Laci would turn up or Scott would confess," she said. "And for some reason I thought I could be charged as an accessory for suggesting a way to kill someone."

"On March 6, 2003, five weeks before the bodies of Laci and her unborn son washed up in the Bay, Penny finally called police in Modesto.

Brocchini called her back that day for the first of her several interviews, assuring her that her fears about an accessory charge were unfounded.

Penny added: "I told police I'd take a lie detector test- and testify at Scott's trial!"

New Peterson judge ousted by prosecutors

HERE IS WHY I DON'T LIKE THE NEW JUDGE...........

Judge Richard Arnason

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: January 22, 2004, 01:46:12 PM PST

One day after he was appointed to hear the trial, Judge Richard Arnason apparently is off the Peterson case.
Prosecutors today challenged the appointment of Arnason to hear Scott Peterson's double-murder trial.

In a one-page document filed in Stanislaus County Superior Court, prosecutors contend they "cannot have a fair and impartial hearing before said judge."

Under state law, a new judge will be assigned. The defense and prosecution are allowed one such challenge each per criminal case.

Arnason's bailiff said he would have no comment.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George tapped Arnason Wednesday for the trial after Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said he didn't want to follow the case to San Mateo County.

The prosecution move to remove the judge could delay Peterson's trial, scheduled to start Monday. That date was already in doubt as attorneys and court officials sought extra time to move operations to San Mateo County.

Girolami earlier this month agreed to a defense request to move the case, ruling that massive publicity endangered Peterson's ability to get a fair trial in Stanislaus County.

The 31-year-old Modesto man is charged with murdering his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, in a case that has drawn international attention. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

A retired Contra Costa County Superior Court judge, Arnason, 82, is best known for presiding over the sensational trial of activist Angela Davis, who was acquitted of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in 1972.

The charges stemmed from a 1970 Marin County Courthouse escape attempt that left four people dead, including a judge. Arnason took the case after five other judges withdrew or were disqualified.

Here are a few other career highlights, taken from published reports:

In 2001, the judge said two high school football stars who later pleaded no contest to several sexual assaults could not be tried as adults. Proposition 21, approved by voters the year before, gave prosecutors the power to charge minors as adults in severe crimes. Arnason said the initiative violated the California Constitution.

In 1996, the judge presided over the trial of a mother who was convicted of child abuse because her 680-pound daughter died of congestive heart failure at age 13. The trial attracted national attention. Arnason sentenced the mother to three years' probation and 240 hours of community service.

In 1994, Arnason refused to sentence a man who stole $80 worth of batteries to life in prison, even though California's "three strikes, you're out" law, adopted earlier that year, allowed the stiff sentence. The judge said he had the discretion to reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor.
Bee staff writer John Coté can be reached at 578-2394 or jcote@modbee.com.

Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen contributed to this report.

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