Peterson Made Numerous Trips To Marina
POSTED: 9:55 a.m. PDT June 12, 2003
RICHMOND, Calif. -- Scott Peterson made numerous trips to the Berkeley Marina while a massive search was underway throughout Northern California -- including the waters of the San Francisco Bay -- for any sign of his pregnant wife, Laci, sources told KTVU on Thursday.
Video
Ted Rowlands Thursday Report On The Peterson Case
The revelation came on a day when Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger M. Beauchesne was expected to issue a ruling on whether or not search and arrests warrants and their associated documents in the capital murder case would remain sealed.
Several media outlets have petitioned the court, asking that the documents be released as is dictated by state law. However, attorneys on both sides of the case have asked for differing reasons that the court to keep the documents sealed.
Investigators were also to deliver copies of all wiretaps in the case to Scott Peterson's defense team. The wiretaps have been a source of contention in the case, particularly 69 intercepted calls between Peterson and his defense attorney, Kirk McAllister. There were also two calls between Peterson and a private investigator working for McAllister recorded.
On Tuesday, Peterson's defense team -- led by famed attorney Mark Geragos -- caused a stir by serving Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Wray Labine with a subpoena, seeking testimony about the handling of the wiretaps.
Court Executive Officer Mike Tozzi said he accepted the subpoena and that the judge would likely rely on legal advice from the state Administrative Office of the Courts before responding.
Labine allegedly issued the warrant allowing Scott Peterson's phones to be tapped from Jan.10 to April 18 -- a time when investigators maintained publicly that he was not a suspect in the case.
Meanwhile, news of Peterson's 90-mile journeys to the Bay Area broke on Thursday.
In April, the badly decomposed bodies of Laci and her unborn son who was to be named Conner, were recovered on the shoreline of a Richmond, Calif., regional park. Scott Peterson had told authorities that he had gone fishing at the nearby Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve -- the day Laci disappeared from the couple's Modesto home.
Prosecution sources told KTVU's Ted Rowlands that there "was absolutely no reason" for Peterson to be at the Marina. They claimed that the fertilizer salesman had been seen there on several occasions by witnesses and also was tracked or followed there by investigators.
Police investigators had attached a GPS tracking device to at least one of Peterson's vehicles during the months before his arrest on charges he killed his wife and her unborn child.
Defense sources have said that Peterson traveled to the Bay because police told him that they were searching there.
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Ted Rowlands has also been busy reporting the kidnapping of the San Jose 9 yr old last Friday.
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FROM CNN
Jeffrey Toobin: Wiretap strategy shaky
Peterson defense goes after judge who OK'd phone taps
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Toobin: Wiretap strategy shaky
Peterson defense goes after judge who OK'd phone taps
Thursday, June 12, 2003 Posted: 12:18 PM EDT (1618 GMT)
CNN) -- A hearing in the Laci Peterson murder case in two weeks will focus on the issue of the prosecution tapping suspect Scott Peterson's phone.
Defense lawyers have now subpoenaed the judge who gave the approval for those wiretaps, and they charge the judge violated rules governing a capital murder case.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin spoke Thursday with CNN anchor Bill Hemmer about the issue.
TOOBIN: Let's rip the defense in the Laci Peterson case again. What do you say?
HEMMER: How about it?
TOOBIN: What happened was, in California law, there is a provision that says if it's a death penalty case, you have to have a court reporter present at all times on all proceedings. A fair rule. No problem.
But these wiretaps were subpoenaed, took place -- they were approved by the judge in February -- before there was even an arrest in the case. So the judge had no reason to order a court reporter being there.
It was just an ordinary course-of-business wiretap. They didn't know it would be a death penalty case. They didn't even know there would be an arrest in the case. But because there is no transcript, they are subpoenaing the judge to get him to testify.
HEMMER: So, but under California law, can this be retroactive? Can you rework the rules or not?
TOOBIN: That's what the defense is trying to do. And in fairness to the defense, what they are doing is they are pushing in every way. The best defense is a good offense. We know that, all the time.
So they are trying to put the prosecution on trial, trying to call the judge to testify because there is no transcript of what he said.
HEMMER: So they want a piece of this judge, then?
TOOBIN: They want a piece of the judge. I mean, it takes -- I think it's interesting. You have Mark Geragos, who's a lawyer from Los Angeles who's not based there in Modesto [California]. I think a lawyer who was in Modesto might be a little hesitant to subpoena a judge because, after all, you live in that community. But Geragos says, no, let's go subpoena the judge, full speed ahead.
HEMMER: You almost said something. It takes what?
TOOBIN: It takes...
HEMMER: Guts?
TOOBIN: It takes guts. Yes, guts. It takes spirit, let's say. I don't know. There's a word I'm thinking of that I probably shouldn't use.
HEMMER: How aggressive a move is this for the defense? If you're Mark Geragos and you're trying to defend your guy and he's up for capital murder, don't you want to try and pull out all the stops you can?