Scott Peterson's lawyer argues for L.A. County trial

Teekie

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(CNN) -- In the latest exchange of legal arguments in the Scott Peterson case, defense attorney Mark Geragos argued that the best place for his client to obtain a fair trial is in Los Angeles County.


Using the 1970 murder trial of Charles Manson as a precedent, Geragos stated that "in a case of massive publicity Los Angeles County will necessarily always be the venue of choice since the adversities of publicity are offset by a trial being conducted in a populous metropolitan area."


More than 9 million people -- one-fourth of the state's population -- reside in Los Angeles County. Stanislaus County, where the case is currently centered, has a population of 500,000.


Peterson is charged with the murders of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son in December 2002. Their bodies washed up from the San Francisco Bay in April 2003.


Last week, the prosecution cited the same People v. Manson case as a reason not to move the trial out of Stanislaus County. Because Charles Manson did not receive a change of venue out of Los Angeles in spite of massive pretrial publicity, District Attorney James Brazelton argued, then Scott Peterson could also receive a fair trial in the county where his crime was allegedly committed.


Manson and five of his followers were convicted in 1971 of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the brutal killings of actress Sharon Tate and six others.


In his rebuttal argument filed in Modesto, California, on Tuesday, Geragos repeated his contention that Stanislaus County is too small and the citizens too involved in the case for the defendant to obtain a fair trial.


"Potential jurors in Los Angeles County or otherwise remote from Stanislaus County are far less likely to have had such an intimate involvement with this matter," Geragos wrote.


He also challenged the prosecution claim that he and his client were to blame for the massive amount of pretrial notoriety the case has received in the national media.


"The police orchestrated a press conference starring Amber Frey (Peterson's admitted lover) that was carried live on television in January, almost four full months before Scott was even arrested let alone arraigned in this matter. Before the current defense team was in place Modesto Police had held at least six televised press conferences," Geragos noted in the court papers.


Geragos also accused the prosecution of recently leaking a transcript of a police interview with Scott Peterson to a tabloid newspaper, in violation of a court order sealing the evidence. Only minutes after this allegation was entered into the official record, the prosecution filed its response with the court.


Deputy District Attorney David Harris wrote in his rebuttal: "It should be noted that the publication that received this document showed two photographs of the document both of which clearly hide the lower right corner of the document -- the place where the traditional discovery stamp is placed on documents released to the defense. Although the accusation could be made that it was the defense who leaked the document to fund the cost of this case, it does no good to speculate or make accusations without evidence."


The change of venue hearing is scheduled to be heard by Judge Al Girolami on Thursday. Jury selection for the trial is tentatively scheduled for January 26, pending the judge's decision on where the trial will be held.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/07/peterson.venue/index.html
 
They already have a movie coming out on TV about him!
 
It's actually a television-based movie. I saw the previews last week. It stars Dean Cain as Scott Peterson.
 
VamPyroX said:
It's actually a television-based movie. I saw the previews last week. It stars Dean Cain as Scott Peterson.
Interesting..do you know where it will air on and when? If they've said that info yet in previews..
 
Thanks Vam.. I got to watch it.. I love all true stories movies... I cant wait to see the movie Perfect Husband.. grrrr.. Scott! :lol:... But honestly I do believe he did murdered her and her unborn son... U can see all it all on tv in court.. have u seen him once cried? He showed that he has no feeling what happened to his wife and unborn child...
 
Cheri said:
Thanks Vam.. I got to watch it.. I love all true stories movies... I cant wait to see the movie Perfect Husband.. grrrr.. Scott! :lol:... But honestly I do believe he did murdered her and her unborn son... U can see all it all on tv in court.. have u seen him once cried? He showed that he has no feeling what happened to his wife and unborn child...
I agree with you. I think there's something fishy with him.

I also like watching true story shows. Not ALL, but many of them. It's interesting to see everything at once, than just a bunch of different parts through magazines, newspapers, and news. Unfortunately, I won't get the chance to watch this show. I don't have a television nor will I have the time to see it. The only thing I have time for is DVDs that I rent and buy.
 
I always watch a true story movie and i cant wait to watch assholeee guy who did murder his own wife and unborn son..... i am not going to buy his shitty stories.... excuse me for foul language ! make me so mad at him and he is something like a creepy and sicko !! he try to become inncent himself..... i knew he is bigggest :liar: !!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Peterson Case Jury Selection Is Scheduled
By KIM CURTIS, AP

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Feb. 24) - Potential jurors in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial will be questioned about whether they have ever had an extramarital affair or lost a child when selection begins next week.
A judge on Monday scheduled the opening stages of jury selection after lawyers outlined questions they plan to ask San Mateo County residents who report for duty next Monday.Updated: 08:39 AM EST
Peterson Case Jury Selection Is Scheduled
By KIM CURTIS, AP

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Feb. 24) - Potential jurors in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial will be questioned about whether they have ever had an extramarital affair or lost a child when selection begins next week.


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A judge on Monday scheduled the opening stages of jury selection after lawyers outlined questions they plan to ask San Mateo County residents who report for duty next Monday.

Potential jurors will be handed a questionnaire designed to probe their attitudes on everything from the death penalty to how much news they've absorbed about the case.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi said he will give prosecutors another chance to add questions Tuesday, but at 120 questions the form is nearly complete.

It may be tough to find 12 jurors and six alternates with limited exposure to a case that has already generated a made-for-television movie, and the questioning of jurors is expected to take weeks.

It was unclear how many jurors would be questioned in the first day, but a court spokeswoman said 400 potential jurors show up on a typical day to supply all the cases in the courthouse.Peterson's phones were tapped last year from Jan. 10 to Feb. 4 and again from April 15-18 - the latter period was when the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed up on a San Francisco Bay shore. Soon after, authorities arrested Scott Peterson on suspicion of killing them on the morning of Christmas Eve, 2002.

With both sides bound by a gag order, it's unclear exactly what evidence prosecutors plan to use from the wiretaps.



I can't Enclosed the Link cuz its an aol. Link.. Sorry!:(
 
July 8, 2004

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Prosecutors contend Scott Peterson stuffed his pregnant wife's body in the toolbox of his pickup truck before setting out to dump her body in San Francisco Bay, revealing for the first time how they believe he may have hauled the body nearly 100 miles without anyone noticing.

Prosecutors used a re-enactment of sorts to make their point, showing jurors pictures of a pregnant woman in the toolbox. Her measurements were nearly identical to those of Laci Peterson at the time she vanished.

One picture showed the woman -- at the time 38 weeks pregnant, 5-feet-2-inches tall and 157 pounds -- lying in the fetal position inside the toolbox. Another showed her on the floor of his boat, where she could barely be seen above the rim.

Prosecutors used the photographs of the woman, who works at the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office, to counter defense claims that someone would have seen Laci Peterson's body in the truck, or in the 14-foot boat as Peterson motored onto the bay.

Scott Peterson, facing two murder counts, is alleged to have killed his pregnant wife on or around Dec. 24, 2002. Prosecutors say he then dumped her body in the bay.

Defense lawyers say someone else abducted Laci Peterson near the couple's Modesto home as she walked her dog and dumped her body to frame Scott Peterson. Peterson has said he was fishing when his wife disappeared.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Geragos attacked the prosecution's photos as a ridiculous charade, insisting that a live person couldn't be used to mimic a dead body with any reliability.

Earlier in the day, jurors cringed as prosecutors displayed photographs of bone and tissue from the badly decomposed bodies of Peterson's wife and fetus.

Prosecutors guided two sheriff's deputies through graphic testimony about the poor condition of the remains -- testimony that drove Laci Peterson's mother and stepfather from the courtroom.

A string of marina workers also testified the skies were cloudy over San Francisco Bay the day of Scott Peterson's solo fishing trip and activity was light.

Peterson told police he returned home that afternoon and immediately washed his clothes because they were wet from rain. Police have testified they found that suspicious and said it didn't rain.

Sylvester Goosby, a marina maintenance worker, described the day as "drizzly" and said he saw no one at the boat launch ramp. On cross-examination, however, Goosby said "people drive in and out of the marina all the time," adding that some people live on their boats.

The trial is in recess until Monday so one of the attorneys in the case can attend a funeral. (AP)
 
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