GPS data at issue in Peterson case

CNN.com/Law center ^ | Tuesday, February 17, 2004

[runningbear]

GPS data at issue in Peterson case

Scott Peterson is charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son.

GPS data at issue in Peterson case

Judge to hear defense request to sequester jury

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Posted: 0544 GMT ( 1:44 PM HKT)

REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Scott Peterson's murder trial are due in court again Tuesday to argue whether information gathered from tracking Peterson's vehicles by satellite after his wife disappeared should be admitted as evidence.

Peterson, 31, is charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Their bodies washed up separately on the shore of San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

After Laci Peterson vanished in late December 2002, police in the couple's hometown of Modesto placed global positioning system devices on three vehicles used by Scott Peterson to track his whereabouts. GPS devices use satellite technology to pinpoint locations.

A prosecution witness testified last week that the GPS devices, despite briefly malfunctioning at least four times, accurately tracked Peterson to San Francisco Bay.

Peterson told police he was fishing in the bay December 24, 2002, the day his 27-year-old wife disappeared, and had launched his boat from the Berkeley Marina. The bodies washed ashore a few miles from the marina.

Prosecutors said the GPS evidence is circumstantial but indicates that .......

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Court considers introduction of GPS data

Article Last Updated: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 3:43:18 AM PST

Court considers introduction of GPS data

Modesto police used satellite device to track Scott Peterson

By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER

REDWOOD CITY -- Prosecutors in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial will continue arguing today that data from a satellite tracking device during the Modesto police's surveillance of Peterson should be allowed as evidence.

Not only could the data be important for the prosecution's case against Peterson, the debate being heard in the Redwood City courtroom will influence the future use of Global Positioning Systems, or GPS, by California law enforcement agencies.

"This is the first case where it's been challenged, and it will set the precedent one way or the other," said Michael Seigel, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Florida and a professor at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.

Seigel said GPS technology has been admitted as evidence in other states and in some federal cases because, to this point, it has not been challenged.

Police installed the tracking device on vehicles driven by Peterson after his wife disappeared and before his arrest. At a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors presented maps that showed Peterson's alleged visits to the Berkeley Marina in the days and weeks after Laci disappeared.

At this point only the prosecution and defense know how the evidence will be used, and both sides are under a gag order and cannot comment. But some legal experts have said the data might be used by prosecutors to show that Peterson returned to the marina to see if the bodies had floated to the surface.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos pointed out three separate glitches in the data and argued that the information should not be allowed as evidence because the technology is flawed.

The prosecution is expected to call as a witness today a representative from Orion Electronics, the manufacturer of the device used by Modesto police.

Geragos spent most of Wednesday's hearing grilling the prosecution's first witness, Peter Loomis, a staff scientist for Trimble Navigation, a maker of GPS technology.

While Loomis bolstered the prosecution's case by testifying that, despite the brief malfunctions, the devices are scientifically sound, Geragos had him on the defensive much of the day.

Other issues to be decided by Delucchi before jury selection begins include: .........

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GPS debate continues today in Peterson trial

GPS debate continues today in Peterson trial

By Michelle Durand, Daily Journal Staff

Judge Al Delucchi is expected to hear final testimony today about whether global positioning technology should be allowed as evidence in the Scott Peterson murder trial or if it is “fatally flawed” as the defense claims.

Delucchi’s decision, which will come after experts for both sides testify, will determine the admissibility of the tracking data. Prosecutors hope to use the data to show Peterson’s movements after police began eyeing him as a suspect in the disappearance of his pregnant 27-year-old wife, Laci, from the couple’s Modesto home.

If allowed, the evidence could be used to show that Peterson traveled to an area north of Fresno — the town where Peterson’s mistress lived — and to the Berkeley marina where the bodies of his wife and the couple’s fetus were eventually found. It would also be the first time the technology would be used in a California court.

If Delucchi agrees with defense attorney Mark Geragos, a jury will not hear about the tracking devices and what data was collected. Geragos argued last Wednesday that the systems are “fatally flawed” and lost track of his client two separate times. Geragos also wants prosecutors to tell the court where on Peterson’s vehicles the tracking devices were attached.

If the GPS ruling is given today, decisions will follow on whether to sequester the jury and if two separate juries are needed for the guilt and penalty phases. Prosecutors filed motions last week opposing Geragos’ request for both. The rulings must be completed before jury selection can begin in the capital murder trial. Delucchi has said he hopes to begin picking a jury within two weeks.

Other pre-trial motions remaining including the admissibility of dog tracking evidence and the testimony of a witness who was hypnotized.

If convicted of killing his wife and unborn son, 31-year-old Peterson faces........

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[Devil_Anse]

LOL, I don't think I was on in the evening, or if I was, it was after everyone else had gone to bed!

I read your story about the cat, though. Fascinating! I'm glad you were able to help the little tyke--and in return he was a good pet to you!

[Devil_Anse]

What?? Jackie P was a no-show? Hmmm! (Maybe she needs GPS to find the new courthouse?)

[Devil_Anse]

We can add "fatally flawed" to the list of phrases we wish we'd never have to hear again, such as "rush to judgment" and "bring closure".

[Devil_Anse]

Yeah, I'd love to be behind him in line while boarding, and say, "WHAT?? But... you can't fly on this thing... it uses GPS!!!"

[Devil_Anse]

Oh, well. So they can't question Demepwolf on that subject, but at least they can still elicit testimony ABOUT Dempewolf, from other witnesses who may have seen HER.

Maybe they can make Dempewolf an exhibit? "Mr. So-and-So, please view State's Exhibit 1... did you see her on that date?"

But seriously, folks, I've seen where they would have a person walk up to the gate of the courtroom, and just stand there, and witnesses would confirm or deny if that was the person they'd seen... this was in situations where the person who walked in was NOT a defendant.

[Canadian Outrage]

Praise the Lord!! I thought it would be. For crying outloud if it's good enough for NASA and all the Airlines, it's good enough to track Snott Peterson. I think ALL the evidence is coming in except maybe a portion of the Kristen whatherrname who was hypnotized. All I really want to hear about or from Kristin is what she was wearing and what Snott said to her and what she "saw" him loading into the back of his truck.

[Canadian Outrage]

I wonder if what Kristin had to say was anything very startling. I also wonder, as did Julie, whether they took a statement from her when she was NOT hypnotized. And can you believe the ignorant attitude of Sr. Peterson? I think these people may be in for a shock. One witness is excluded and "his kid is gonna walk"??? Yeah he'll walk alright, straight to the Death Chamber I hope. I wonder what wasn't done correctly. Dev do you think there is "another way" to get some of her evidence in?

[Axenolith]

Since this was apparently an installed device, merely finding it would allow the possibility of downloading the generated file and uploading it after modifications of the location data.

[drjulie]

"I wonder if what Kristin had to say was anything very startling."

It's hard to tell at this point if this was a major screw up by LE. I don't know what they were trying to find out or what she might have said. As Dev said - maybe they could just bring her in the courtroom and ask the witness (the guy with one glass eye!) if this could be the woman he saw on the 24th walking in the park. It could be that there was something else though that would explain Lee's exuburance - like she saw Scott doing something when she was out walking. Those Petersons have a way with words, don't they? Geez - they need to have their mouths taped shut.

[runningbear]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>""It's going to be a blowout," Lee told reporters. "My kid's going to walk out.""<<<<<<<

Amazing of the outlook that, IF Scott was so innocent, then why is he held still in jail!!!

Only the jurors will have their say on this creep! ;o)

[Devil_Anse]

Maybe. I think the only significance of Kristin is that she was also pregnant, and she also walked a dog in the area, and she resembled Laci.

They've got to start tying all this stuff together now. I know we don't WANT Scott to get off for this, but what we WANT and what we think might be possible are two different things. IMO, it is possible to despise Scott and his family, to believe he did it and therefore want him to get the worst penalty possible, but still be worried that maybe there will be one juror who needs more forensic evidence b/f they will convict. I mean, most people don't even know that the words said by witnesses on the witness stand are evidence. To most people, nothing is "evidence" unless it is in a test tube or on a slide in a lab. This is erroneous, of course, but that is how any jurors anywhere will probably be thinking.

[Devil_Anse]

And as the converse of what I just said in the other post, it should be possible to love Scott (for example, as a father) and to root for his cause, but still to understand in one's heart that THERE IS NO OTHER PLAUSIBLE SUSPECT FOR THIS MURDER, no one else known who had the motive, means, and opportunity all coming together. Nobody that we've ever heard of! Zip, zero, nada.

[The Red Zone]

Peterson’s defense is seeking to sequester jurors and empanel separate juries, arguing both rare steps are necessary for the Modesto man to receive a fair trial after being “demonized” by the media. Prosecutors oppose both requests.

Why would prosecution oppose sequestration of the jury in this media-saturated case? That is asking for integrity questions that could tie the state up in years of appeals.

[Velveeta]

Maybe the prosecution can ask Dempewolf to wear black pants and a white shirt on the day she testifies. If she resembles Laci, that would be "nuff said".

[Velveeta]

The judge needs to change "gag order" to "muzzle order" for the Petersons.

[Jackie-O]

Link to thread on "Laci and Connor's Law"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1071813/posts

[Canadian Outrage]

Dev I did read that the San Mateo area is more upscale has residents that are more highly educated than some other areaas. That is encouraging to me in that they will likely understand what is being said on the witness stand as opposed to the Simpson Jury who couldn't even remember the name of the person sitting next to them.

[Canadian Outrage]

Sequestration would likely "exclude" a lot of good jurors. Some people cannot take 4 to 6 months off work and still have employment to come back to.

[Canadian Outrage]

No kidding: These Petersons NEVER shut their traps. It needs to be done for them. I would like to see them barred from the Courtroom.

[Canadian Outrage]

I just read that Jackie. IF Connor had been born on December 23rd he would have lived. So what was he? These PRO-death liberals make me sick!