Posted on 11/20/2003 6:04:54 AM PST by runningbear
Peterson attorney wants $15,000 back
Peterson attorney wants $15,000 back
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: November 19, 2003, 08:20:52 AM PST
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami plans to hear arguments on releasing two pieces of evidence Dec. 3, when Scott Peterson is to be arraigned on the double-murder charges upheld Tuesday at his preliminary hearing.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos asked prosecutors to release the $15,000 cash Peterson had with him when he was arrested and Peterson's Ford pickup, which police seized in December.
"It's an expensive task for the family to fund this," he said. "It isn't going to get any less expensive."
Prosecutor Rick Distaso opposed the move, saying both items are evidence he intends to introduce at trial.
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold, who serves as a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said physical evidence can have more impact on jurors than photos of the items.
Geragos also indicated that he would file motions to move the trial and to ask another judge to overturn Girolami's Tuesday order because of insufficient evidence.
The change of venue motion will be filed Dec. 3, Geragos said in court.
Girolami indicated that he also plans to revisit a gag order he imposed in June that bars people connected to the case from speaking publicly about it.
Geragos, citing the gag order, refused to say outside court why he wants the trial to be held elsewhere.
Asked about Girolami's idea to bus jurors from San Joaquin County to Modesto, which was done in a previous murder trial, Geragos said people in neighboring.......
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EMBATTLED STAR HIRES 'LACI' LAWYER
EMBATTLED STAR HIRES 'LACI' LAWYER
By HOWARD BREUER
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November 20, 2003 -- Workaholic defense attorney Mark Geragos was still in Modesto handling the Scott Peterson preliminary hearing Tuesday when he agreed to defend Michael Jackson against sexual-molestation charges. Geragos insists he can easily juggle California's two highest-profile criminal cases.
"They're just two cases," Geragos told The Post as he worked a conference call with Jackson's people on another line. "There's no problem, no issue."
But longtime Geragos rival Gloria Allred, also an advocate for prosecuting Jackson, said she's worried that this move may cause delays in the Peterson trial.
"Sometimes, as in the O.J. Simpson case, attorneys demand a speedy trial and that can be very effective," Allred said.
For Geragos, Jackson is but the latest in a substantial list of high-.........
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Jacko taps top-shelf mouthpiece
Jacko taps top-shelf mouthpiece
By MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos (l.) appears with another big-name client, accused murderer Scott Peterson.
Move over, Johnnie Cochran. Mark Geragos - tapped by Michael Jackson to defend him against child molestation charges - is now the lawyer of choice for high-profile suspects.
Some say Geragos already has his hands full defending philandering fertilizer salesman Scott Peterson, who is accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son in Modesto, Calif. But with 20 years of experience and a slew of celebrity clients, the double challenge may mark the pinnacle of the slick Los Angeles lawyer's career.
The son of an Armenian-American lawyer, Geragos began to show his star power in 1998 and 1999 when he won two acquittals for Whitewater scandal figure Susan McDougal. He kept up his Clinton connection, later representing Bill Clinton's half-brother on drunken driving charges that were dropped after Roger Clinton agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
The same year, Geragos got felony charges of kidnapping and making terrorist threats thrown out against rapper Nathaniel (Nate Dogg) Hale.
He has since defended sticky-fingered actress Winona Ryder in her shoplifting trial and represented former Rep. Gary Condit.
Geragos raised eyebrows this April when he agreed to represent Scott Peterson, just days after making an appearance on "Larry King Live" as a commentator about his soon-to-be client: "It's a damning, circumstantial case. The man is a sociopath if he did this crime."
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Experts: Both Sides Will Use Amber Tapes in Peterson Case
Experts: Both Sides Will Use Amber Tapes in Peterson Case
Scott Peterson was having an affair with Amber Frey.
Bill Schechner
Legal experts say that taped phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his girlfriend Amber Frey could have big implications in Peterson's murder case.
Scott Peterson is accused of killing his wife Laci and her unborn son. During the police investigation, Frey let police record her phone conversations with Peterson for almost two months.
One of these 214 calls, a rambling 23-minute conversation, was entered in evidence Tuesday. It includes evasions, denials, and pleas for patience from Peterson as Frey tries to get him to explain himself and events. Criminal lawyer Michele Hagan says it is damaging to his case.
"It goes to the motive," she said.
In the call Frey tells Peterson his stories don't add up.........
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Missing 10 minutes could decide Peterson case
Missing 10 minutes could decide Peterson case Modesto Bee
MODESTO - The case against accused double-murderer Scott Peterson could come down to roughly 10 minutes.
That's the space of time from when someone used Peterson's cell phone in or near his home the morning of Dec. 24 until a neighbor said she found the Petersons' dog standing in the road, its leash dangling from its collar.
If the 10:08 a.m. call indicates the time Peterson left his home, his alibi appears to hang on his pregnant wife mopping the floor, leaving to take the dog for a walk and being abducted during that 10-minute stretch.
Neighbor Karen Servas testified that she found the Petersons' golden retriever standing in the street at 10:18 a.m. She deduced that time after checking a time-stamped receipt and clocking how long it took her to retrace her route to the store.
Peterson told police he left home at about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24 to go fishing in San Francisco Bay, stopping at a warehouse he used in his work as a fertilizer salesman to get his boat and to check his e-mail, Detective Al Brocchini testified during Peterson's preliminary hearing.
Peterson said when he left, his wife was preparing to mop and planning to run errands before walking their golden retriever, McKenzie, Brocchini said.
Prosecutors contend Peterson murdered his wife and unborn son either late Dec. 23 or early Dec. 24. He could receive the death penalty if convicted on both murder counts.
The bodies were found in April along the bay's eastern shore, less than two miles from the spot where Peterson said he went fishing.
The 10:08 a.m. call from Peterson's cell phone to his voicemail appeared to show the caller driving westward from the Petersons' Covena Avenue home because it switched to a different cell phone tower, district attorney investigator Steve Jacobson testified.
Peterson's Emerald Avenue warehouse is northwest of his home.
"Does it appear that he's driving from the house and that, while making the phone call, that the cell phone site switches?" defense attorney Mark Geragos asked.
"That would be my understanding," Jacobson said.
Cell phone tower data cannot pinpoint a location, Jacobson acknowledged; it can only indicate that the call came from within the area it covered.
The cell tower serving the Petersons' home has a radius .......
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(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
I have one more turkey to bake.. I got a free one from the local store as my fiance bought so much in food, the turkey came free... ;o)
Trade you for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? ;o)
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