Peterson case search warrants re-sealed by appeals judgePosted on Wed, Jul. 30, 2003
Peterson case search warrants re-sealed by appeals judge
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The state's Fifth District Court of Appeal has overturned a Stanislaus County judge's decision to unseal initial search warrants issued during the early investigation into the disappearance of Laci Peterson.
Agreeing with defense attorneys for the woman's husband, Scott Peterson, the court ruled this afternoon that Judge Roger Beauchesne erred when he ordered in June the release of eight search warrants and their supporting information.
Lawyers for the Times and other newspapers had fought to have the documents made public, while prosecutors, police and defense attorneys had battled to keep them sealed. Opponents of the unsealing argued that Scott Peterson, who stands accused of killing his wife and unborn son, might not be able to receive a fair trial if the information in the warrants was broadcast publicly.
Peterson was arrested in April after a walker discovered the remains of his wife and the couple's first child washed up along the Richmond shoreline.
Laci Peterson had been missing since Dec. 23 or Dec. 24. Scott Peterson said he last saw his wife the morning of Christmas Eve when he left on a fishing trip to the Bay Area. His wife's remains were discovered within a few miles of the location that Peterson has told authorities he was fishing.
He has been charged with two .......