Posted on 06/06/2003 5:30:02 AM PDT by runningbear
Peterson prosecutors claim wiretap was legal
Posted 6/6/2003 7:30 AM
Peterson prosecutors claim wiretap was legal
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — The judge overseeing Scott Peterson's murder trial will be asked Friday to dismiss the prosecutors assigned to the case and to toss out the results of two wiretaps that monitored thousands of Peterson's calls after the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci.
During the court-approved wiretaps, the first of which began two weeks after Laci Peterson vanished when investigators thought they had exhausted normal evidence-gathering techniques, police logged 3,858 phone calls made to her husband, according to court papers.
Some of those conversations will be questioned by defense lawyers who claim prosecutors engaged in misconduct because police eavesdropped on protected conversations between Scott Peterson and his lawyer.
The hearing Friday will also cover requests by more than 20 reporters who want to listen to tapes of their own wiretapped conversations with Peterson. Most of those journalists want those calls blocked from evidence under a state law that protects reporters from revealing unpublished work.
Judge Al Girolami will also consider issuing a gag order to prevent evidence leaks in the case and he may decide whether to release autopsy results of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. Prosecutors have said they support some form of a gag order, while defense lawyer Mark Geragos said in court paper that he opposes any effort to curtail discussions about the case.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder for allegedly killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. The pregnant part-time teacher disappeared just before Christmas.
Prosecutors said in papers filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court that detectives acted in good faith during the wiretaps. Any portions of conversations recorded between Peterson and his lawyer and a private investigator will not be used in court, Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said.
A judge approved the wiretap of Peterson's phone Jan. 10 after prosecutors showed there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed and the wiretap would help them gather evidence they had not been able to find through normal means.
They discontinued the surveillance Feb. 4 after it no longer produced results.
A second wiretap was started April 15 after the remains of a woman and fetus, later proven to be Laci Peterson and her unborn son, washed ashore in San Francisco Bay near where Scott Peterson said he was fishing the day his wife vanished.
"It's not unusual to show a change in circumstance and put a wiretap back up," John Goold, a chief deputy prosecutor, said Thursday.
Among the thousands of calls captured in the wiretaps were 69 conversations Peterson had with his previous lawyer, Kirk McAllister, and three he had with private investigator Gary Ermoian. The defense claims police improperly listened to more than 50 privileged conversations with McAllister and one with Ermoian..........
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GOLF DATE IS HOLE IN SCOTT'S ALIBI: LACI'S SIS
Recap:
GOLF DATE IS HOLE IN SCOTT'S ALIBI: LACI'S SIS
By DAVID K. LI
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June 3, 2003 -- LOS ANGELES - Scott Peterson told a family member he planned to go golfing last Christmas Eve, possibly blowing his fishy alibi for the day his pregnant wife, Laci, vanished, it was reported yesterday.
The Modesto, Calif., fertilizer salesman and murder suspect has always maintained he went fishing in Berkeley on Dec. 24, the day Laci Peterson disappeared from their home.
But on Dec. 23, Scott Peterson told Laci's sister, Amy, that he had firm golf plans for the next day, according to the Fox News Channel.
Peterson went so far as to say he had a tee time Christmas Eve - and even offered to run an errand for his sister-in-law, who works in a Modesto beauty parlor, on the way home, Fox reported.
Peterson was arrested shortly after the decomposed remains of his wife and unborn son, Connor, washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April.
Peterson's lawyers insist their client is innocent and claim to have several leads on the real killer. They say they are now looking for a man named "Donnie."
Defense sources told Fox that "Donnie" could have ties to drugs, including methamphetamines, and may be the mystery man in a brown van reported in the neighborhood the day Laci disappeared.
Yesterday, the defense also called for sanctions against the Stanislaus County DA's office for tape-recording phone calls between Peterson and his lawyer, Kirk McAllister
The district attorney admitted last week to having tapes of two phone calls Peterson made to McAllister, and a judge ordered them turned over to the defense.
In court papers, lead defense lawyer Mark Geragos said the DA should be punished for the allegedly ethical lapse.......
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Peterson Wiretap Hearing Friday
Peterson Wiretap Hearing Friday
Friday, June 06, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. — The judge overseeing Scott Peterson's (search) murder trial will be asked Friday to dismiss the prosecutors assigned to the case and to toss out the results of two wiretaps that monitored thousands of Peterson's calls after the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci.
During the court-approved wiretaps, the first of which began two weeks after Laci Peterson (search) vanished when investigators thought they had exhausted normal evidence-gathering techniques, police logged 3,858 phone calls made to her husband, according to court papers.
Some of those conversations will be questioned by defense lawyers who claim prosecutors engaged in misconduct because police eavesdropped on protected conversations between Scott Peterson and his lawyer.
The hearing Friday will also cover requests by more than 20 reporters who want to listen to tapes of their own wiretapped conversations with Peterson. Most of those journalists want those calls blocked from evidence under a state law that protects reporters from revealing unpublished work.
Judge Al Girolami (search) will also consider issuing a gag order to prevent evidence leaks in the case and he may decide whether to release autopsy results of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. Prosecutors have said they support some form of a gag order, while defense lawyer Mark Geragos (search) said in court paper that he opposes any effort to curtail discussions about the case.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder for allegedly killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. The pregnant part-time teacher disappeared just before Christmas.
Prosecutors said in papers filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court (search) that detectives acted in good faith during the wiretaps. Any portions of conversations recorded between Peterson and his lawyer and a private investigator will not be used in court, Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said.
A judge approved the wiretap of Peterson's phone Jan. 10 after prosecutors showed there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed and the wiretap would help them gather evidence they had not been able to find through normal means.
They discontinued the surveillance Feb. 4 after it no longer produced results.
A second wiretap was started April 15 after the remains of a woman and fetus, later proven to be Laci Peterson and her unborn son, washed ashore in San Francisco Bay near where Scott Peterson said he was fishing the day his wife vanished.
"It's not unusual to show a change in circumstance and put a wiretap back up," John Goold, a chief deputy prosecutor, said Thursday.
Among the thousands of calls captured in the wiretaps were 69 conversations Peterson had with his previous lawyer, Kirk McAllister, and three he had with private investigator Gary Ermoian. The defense claims police improperly listened to more than 50 privileged conversations with McAllister and one with Ermoian.
But prosecutors said investigators ................
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WITNESS IN PETERSON TRIAL REPORTEDLY RAPED BY CULT
WITNESS IN PETERSON TRIAL REPORTEDLY RAPED BY CULT
(06-05-2003) - Scott Peterson's defense team has been touting a mystery woman as a key to proving that he's innocent of killing his wife and son. So far the woman's identity is still unknown to the prosecution, but they are taking a closer look at defense claims that a satanic cult kidnapped and killed Laci.
Who is this mystery woman with vital information on the Peterson case and what do we know about her? According to prosecutors, not much.
It appears the defense team may be keeping their star witness a good distance from the prosecution.
Chief Deputy DA, John Gould says he’s asked repeatedly to meet with this woman, but the defense team has yet to bring her forward.
According to the woman, the week before Laci disappeared, she was a victim of a satanic assault by a group driving around in a brown van.
But prosecutors say this mystery woman never filed a police report, and after checking that van thoroughly, investigators never found evidence of a rape.
The woman’s attackers told her they would commit a killing on December 24. And the defense believes the groups next victim was Laci Peterson.
After police tracked down the van on Friday, they sent it to a crime ........................
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Peterson Defense Wants Wiretaps Nixed
Peterson Defense Wants Wiretaps Nixed
MODESTO, Calif. (AP)--The judge overseeing Scott Peterson's murder trial will be asked Friday to dismiss the prosecutors assigned to the case and to toss out the results of two wiretaps that monitored thousands of Peterson's calls after the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci.
During the court-approved wiretaps, the first of which began two weeks after Laci Peterson vanished when investigators thought they had exhausted normal evidence-gathering techniques, police logged 3,858 phone calls made to her husband, according to court papers.
Some of those conversations will be questioned by defense lawyers who claim prosecutors engaged in misconduct because police eavesdropped on protected conversations between Scott Peterson and his lawyer.
The hearing Friday will also cover requests by more than 20 reporters who want to listen to tapes of their own wiretapped conversations with Peterson. Most of those journalists want those calls blocked from evidence under a state law that protects reporters from revealing unpublished work.
Judge Al Girolami will also consider issuing a gag order to prevent evidence leaks in the case and he may decide whether to release autopsy results of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. Prosecutors have said they support some form of a gag order, while defense lawyer Mark Geragos said in court paper that he opposes any effort to curtail discussions about the case.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder for allegedly killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. The pregnant part-time teacher disappeared just before Christmas.
Prosecutors said in papers filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court that detectives acted in good faith during the wiretaps. Any portions of conversations recorded between Peterson and his lawyer and a private investigator will not be used in court, Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said....................
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TV can't resist woman in distress
TV can't resist woman in distress
By Tara Weiss | National Correspondent
Posted June 6, 2003
Flip on any of the network morning shows or a 24-hour cable news channel during prime time, and chances are someone is discussing the Laci Peterson slaying.
The coverage has reached such a fever pitch that the judge in the case is considering a gag order that would prevent each side's attorney from speaking to the news media.
But open a daily newspaper outside the San Francisco area -- the victim lived in Modesto, Calif. -- and chances are the story isn't mentioned at all.
The Laci Peterson story is a case study in the difference between how print and electronic media treat stories of women in peril.
On television, the women speak from the grave in home videos and touching snapshots. TV news anchors dissect each detail and vie to interview family members.
In print, though, most of the developments in these stories are dealt with in short news briefs.
The case is particularly enticing for the morning news shows and cable, although People magazine has featured Peterson on its cover, as have the New York tabloids........
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The media: often bitten, still not shy
Richard Jewell
June 6, 2003
TELEVISION / HOWARD ROSENBERG
The media: often bitten, still not shy
By Howard Rosenberg
TV's Beavises and Butt-heads are at it again. So why bother trying Eric Robert Rudolph? Waste of time and money.
You sense in the urgency of this week's TV coverage bouncing back and forth myopically between the Laci Peterson case and Rudolph that he is surely guilty of those bombings in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta for which he is charged, most famously the blast in Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
And piling on, Court TV tonight reruns its "Eric Rudolph: Man Most Wanted" special that "examines the forces that may have driven him to violence" that authorities charge included a 1998 fatal abortion clinic attack in Birmingham.
A reputed menacing zealot, Rudolph was a fugitive for years before his capture Saturday in the forested mountains of North Carolina. And some obsessive media types are staying up nights wondering if anyone helped Rudolph slip through the dragnet that had targeted him for five years.
He may be guilty. He probably is guilty. Bet the farm on this guy being guilty. Yet ...
Remember Richard Jewell?
Cable's rambunctious all-news channels don't, apparently, as they fit Rudolph with a noose like one they tightened around murder victim Laci Peterson's husband, Scott, before he hired an attorney able to spin media opinion to his advantage......................
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
Your husband used to work with a guy that committed a murder?! Oh, my!
I used to live in another state and got Court TV live all the time. Their format was totally different with trials all the time and taking phone calls during court recesses, and then evening updates for those of us working during the day. I watched Menendez on that channel and various other trials over the years. Now when I do get it they have way too many commercials and I can't stand it. I do appreciate freeper reports on what's being said, though. Also, some reporters on news channels have come from CTV like Greg Jarrett on Fox and the awful Terry Moran with ABC.
Is THAT where he came from???
I did too! Hehehe
Judge Rejects Prosecution Request to Unseal Peterson Autopsy Results
Source: kcbs
Publication date: 2003-06-06
(KCBS/AP) - The judge in the Laci Peterson murder case has ruled that the autopsy results on Peterson and her unborn son Conner will remain sealed. He also declined to issue a gag order on the lawyers involved.
KCBS reporter Bob Melrose said the Stanislaus County judge did grant the release of the death certificates, but all contact information for witnesses and family members will be blacked out.
Prosecutors had asked last week that the autopsy results be unsealed after news leaks of the autopsy results. Among the details reported were that 1 1/2 loops of plastic were around the fetus' neck.
Analysts said the autopsy results could be used to bolster a defense argument that Peterson was kidnapped by a satanic cult.
Peterson's husband, 30-year old Scott Peterson, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder for allegedly killing his wife and son.
The defense also asked that the judge dismiss the prosecutors assigned to the case and throw out wiretapped phone calls.
During the court-approved wiretaps, the first of which began two weeks after Laci Peterson vanished when investigators thought they had exhausted normal evidence-gathering techniques, police logged 3,858 phone calls made to her husband, according to court papers.
They discontinued the surveillance Feb. 4 after it no longer produced results.
A second wiretap was started April 15 after the remains of a woman and fetus, later proven to be Laci Peterson and her unborn son, washed ashore in San Francisco Bay near where Scott Peterson said he was fishing the day his wife vanished.
Some of those conversations will be questioned by defense lawyers, who claim police eavesdropped on protected conversations between Scott Peterson and his lawyer.
The judge gave the defense more time to make its case in that situation and plans to rule on the motion later this month.
Prosecutors said in papers filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court that detectives acted in good faith during the wiretaps. Any portions of conversations recorded between Peterson and his lawyer and a private investigator will not be used in court, Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said.
Prosecutors said they haven't heard tapes of the calls and don't know what was said, but that police said nothing substantial was overheard.
The judge also rejected requests by reporters to listen to wiretaps of phone calls they made to Scott Peterson.
Attorneys representing 22 reporters had asked to review to tapes of their calls to Peterson so they could determine if they might be barred from becoming evidence.
The lawyers said those conversations were protected under the California Shield Law, which protects reporters from turning over unpublished work. They claimed the wiretaps are the same as journalists' notes.
But Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said he did not think journalists were entitled to any privilege protecting their phone calls. He did, however, delay for 10 days the release of the tapes.
June 6, 2003 hearing results
Posted on Friday, June 6 2003 at 12:03 PM PST ----
Information provided by Michael A. Tozzi, Executive Officer, Superior Court:
A hearing was held this morning in Department 2 of the Superior Court, Judge Al Girolami presiding on the following issues:
1. Discovery matters
2. Defense motion re sanctions
3. Access to the audio tapes of the wiretaps
4. The autopsy report and its release
5. Protective Order
As to Number 1: Due to the fact that defense had not received all of the necessary materials, no hearing was held on Defense motions for sanctions.
As to Number 2 & 3: A hearing date of June 26, 2003 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 2 was set on access of the audio wiretaps to the media. A portion of the June 26, 2003 hearing will be held In-Camera. The Court ordered audio and wiretap information regarding attorney-client contact to be turned over to the Defense and to the Prosecution but not to the media. The Order for the discovery was to be implemented on or before June 17, 2003 at noon. The Defense was also ordered to file a motion on or before June 23, 2003 if the Defense was opposed to media access to the 69 tapes.
As to Number 3: The Court ordered that the order given on May 30, 2003 was to remain in full force and effect. In other words, the autopsy report remains sealed.
The Court ordered the Contra Costa County Sheriff/Coroner to turn over all information regarding the autopsy report to the District Attorney and to the Defense saying, “Withhold nothing”. The Court also allowed the release of the two death certificates which can be made public.
As to Number 4: The Court heard comments of counsel and took the matter under submission.
The dates of July 9, 2003 for Further Pretrial and Media Coverage, and July 16, 2003 remain calendared although there was some discussion regarding a possible reset of the July 16, 2003 date.
A copy of the Minute Order regarding today’s hearing will be placed on this website late this afternoon.
Is THAT where he came from???
Oh, yes. And whenever some absurd defense strategy would be employed Terry would dutifully report it as if it had as much weight as rational evidence.
LOL! You remind me of STCKHORSE (sp)
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