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From the court pressrelease link:

"Court Doc Online

Posted on Wednesday, November 12 2003 at 5:25 PM PST ----

Court begins at 9:30 am (PST) on Thursday, November 13th in Department 2 of Superior Court. This will be the 9th day of the Scott Peterson Preliminary Hearing. Media members with seating credentials must be seated in the courtroom by 9:15 am.

A court "Minute Order" for 11/12/03 hearing now online. Click on "Court Docs" to view the PDF file.

Notice Posted on Wednesday, November 12 2003 at 10:17 AM PST

A large perimeter trench was dug on the media parking lot across from the courthouse. There is now limited parking for live trucks/vans ONLY. The entrance has been moved. You now enter this lot on H Street between 10th and 11th Streets.

DO NOT PARK YOUR PRIVATE CARS ON THIS LOT. There is adequate public parking at the parking structure on 11th Street beween I and J Street.

All courtroom seating credentials issued at the beginning of the Scott Peterson Preliminary Hearing will remain valid for the duration. Please do not discard your numbered pass even though it's passed the expiration date -- as it will not be replaced and you will forfeit your designation.

Court is scheduled for Weds, Thurs and Friday of this week. Depending on the pace of the hearing, it could extend into the following week.

Peterson Trial Notes

http://www.modestobee.com/local/story/7731223p-8633376c.html
Last Updated: November 13, 2003, 06:43:47 AM PST

DAY 8 SUMMARY

Amber Frey may have started taping telephone conversations with Scott Peterson as soon as Dec. 16, a courtroom exchange revealed. Frey began cooperating with police Dec. 30. Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini testified that she said she didn't tape her chats with Peterson before then. Defense attorney Kirk McAllister suggested that was "a lie," and asked Brocchini if he had heard that she began recording Dec. 16 -- a week before Laci Peterson disappeared. Brocchini said no.
Laci Peterson's mother and brother, Sharon and Brent Rocha, cooperated with police in their phone calls with Scott Peterson, Brocchini said.

FBI expert Bruce Budowle said a computer used to analyze DNA from a hair found attached to pliers in Scott Peterson's boat malfunctioned four times during testing of the hair, but the glitches did not affect the results.

Drug enforcement agents installed an 8mm surveillance camera Jan. 3 to monitor Scott Peterson's movements, and authorities have three roughly one-hour recordings of that activity, prosecutor Rick Distaso said.
Brocchini said he didn't know whether the camera captured a neighbor breaking into the Petersons' home Jan. 18 and leaving with Laci Peterson's wedding dress and other items.

UPCOMING

Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini is scheduled to take the stand again today.

Modesto police Detective Ray Bennett is expected to follow Brocchini.

SEEN AND HEARD

Surveillance videos of the Peterson home, whose existence was revealed last Thursday, were placed on a Modesto police detective's desk while on vacation, defense attorney Mark Geragos said, citing police reports obtained Wednesday. The videos sat there for three months before the officer decided to view them, Geragos said.

Scott Peterson, wearing a gray suit, appeared to look over transcripts of testimony as Geragos questioned the FBI's DNA expert, Bruce Budowle.

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Geragos said the defense team wants to know where the surveillance tapes are and why investigators did not mention them before. He would not comment on whether the tapes were an indication of a larger pattern of suspect evidence handling by police.
"This is a capital case. A capital case means they want to put my client to death," Geragos said. "They have to be held to a rigorous standard."

QUOTES

'What we've got here is nothing better than a shell game in a capital case. The FBI is now saying, "Go pound sand."'

-- lead defense attorney Mark Geragos, frustrated that authorities withheld information about a surveillance camera aimed at the Peterson home

'You were trying to poison his mind against Scott Peterson'

-- defense attorney Kirk McAllister, to Detective Al Brocchini when the investigator acknowledged urging a friend of Scott Peterson's to read false information in The Bee regarding an insurance policy on Laci Peterson

'I tried to talk to to every one of Scott and Laci's friends in an attempt to find out what happened to Laci, yes, I did.'

'Were you willing to lie to them?'

-- Brocchini and McAllister, respectively.

Judge Al Girolami directed Brocchini not to answer the last question.

When did Peterson tapes begin?

By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS

http://www.modestobee.com/local/story/7730974p-8633208c.html
Last Updated: November 13, 2003, 06:43:47 AM PST

Scott Peterson's girlfriend may have secretly begun taping their telephone calls a week before his pregnant wife disappeared, a defense attorney suggested Wednesday in a courtroom revelation.
Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey previously said she began cooperating with police Dec. 30 after learning of Peterson's marital status in media reports about his wife, who was reported missing Christmas Eve.

Frey told Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini that she didn't tape her chats with Peterson before then, the detective testified Wednesday at Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges.

Modesto defense attorney Kirk McAllister suggested that was "a lie," and asked Brocchini if he had heard that Frey began recording Dec. 16. The detective said he had not.

Frey, 28, who has yet to testify, has said she didn't know Peterson was married when they met last Nov. 20. Brocchini testified last week that Peterson, now 31, told her about Dec. 9 that he had "lost his wife."

Brocchini said he gave Frey a tape recorder Dec. 30 and bought equipment at a Radio Shack store to help her with taping. Investigators hoped Peterson would not realize she was cooperating with them, the detective said.

"(Peterson) wasn't talking about Laci" in chats with Frey, Brocchini testified. "He was talking about himself," including a faked trip to Europe in late December, the detective said.

Authorities believe the fertil- izer salesman murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, Dec. 23 or 24. The bodies of mother and child were recovered in mid-April. Prosecutors are seeking the death pen- alty.

In another development Wednesday, authorities acknowledged having withheld from Peterson's defense camp three roughly one-hour recordings made by a surveillance camera mounted Jan. 3 on a pole across the street from his La Loma-area home.

Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos of Los Angeles called the lapse "a monumental problem" and referred to "a rogue element out there." But prosecutor Rick Distaso said tapes would be turned over to Geragos late Wednesday or early today, and Judge Al Girolami said he is satisfied with that promise.

"What we've got here is nothing better than a shell game in a capital case," Geragos fumed in frustration at having been denied the material. "The FBI is now saying, 'Go pound sand.'"

Agents from a local drug enforcement agency, who handle wiretaps and surveillance in Stanislaus County, installed the 8mm surveillance camera to monitor Peterson's movements from a nearby van, Distaso said. Brocchini said the camera alerted investigators, who could then follow Peterson.

The defense wants copies of the recordings in case they contain information that could exonerate Peterson, and shed light on a Jan. 18 burglary of his home by a neighbor.

Brocchini testified that he does not know whether the camera captured Kimberly Ann McGregor breaking into the Co-vena Avenue home. Sources have said she drank alcohol and took Laci Peterson's wedding dress, although it was later returned and no charges were filed.

Regarding taped phone conversations, Brocchini said he and other detectives coached Frey on what to say to Peterson. Responding to questions from McAllister, Brocchini acknowledged urging Frey to paint herself as a possible suspect, in the event that Peterson would admit guilt to deflect blame from her.

McAllister asked Brocchini about another tack, with Frey suggesting to Peterson that "maybe there was an accident, something happened and you (Peterson) panicked." The detective responded: "It could have happened. I don't remember it."

Laci Peterson's mother and brother, Sharon and Brent Rocha, also cooperated with authorities in their phone calls with Scott Peterson, Brocchini said.

A state Department of Justice officer sat in on some strategy meetings, Brocchini said. He said she is "not a psychologist," but he did not pin down her position and McAllister moved on.

Brocchini also acknowledged urging a friend of Peterson to read information in The Bee, regarding an insurance policy on Laci Peterson, that later turned out to be inaccurate. But the detective said he didn't know the information was false at the time.

"You were trying to poison his mind against Scott Peterson," McAllister charged.

A member of Laci Peterson's family had provided the information to The Bee, saying Scott Peterson had taken out a $250,000 policy on his wife in the summer of 2002. He actually had obtained the policy in June 2001, court documents show.

The inaccurate report was printed Jan. 17 -- the day before the burglary at Peterson's home.

Brocchini said he questioned as many friends of both Petersons as he could find. McAllister asked if Brocchini were willing to lie to them, but Girolami agreed with a prosecutor's objection and the detective did not answer.

Brocchini is expected to return to the witness stand today.

(snip)

Warehouse probe put in spotlight

By JOHN COTÉ
and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS

http://www.modestobee.com/local/story/7730973p-8633206c.html
Last Updated: November 13, 2003, 06:43:47 AM PST

Detective Al Brocchini, who is set to take the stand again today, appears to be at the center of a defense strategy aimed at showing the Modesto police investigation into Laci Peterson's death was sloppy and marked by mishandled evidence.
Earlier defense questioning of police witnesses appeared to suggest that Brocchini had the opportunity to plant or tamper with evidence. The defense since has steered clear of that option while cross-examining Broc- chini.

The warehouse where Scott Peterson stored chemicals and products used in his work as a fertilizer salesman has been a major focus of testimony in Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges.

The warehouse could again feature prominently today as Brocchini takes the stand for the third time.

A prosecution theory suggests that Peterson killed his pregnant wife, Laci, in their Covena Avenue home late Dec. 23 or

early Dec. 24 and took her body to his warehouse, where he picked up an aluminum fishing boat purchased two weeks ear- lier and transported her body to San Francisco Bay.

(snip)