Posted on 07/26/2004 5:26:27 AM PDT by runningbear
Scott Peterson murder trial resumes today
Scott Peterson murder trial resumes today
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. Testimony resumes today in Scott Peterson's murder trial.
It's expected to include prosecution forensics experts. Last week, Peterson's lawyer attacked the prosecution's central piece of physical evidence -- hair that detectives say they found on pliers on Peterson's boat.
Detectives had said they collected a single strand of hair from the boat prosecutors allege Scott Peterson used to dump his wife's body. Months after the death, officials opened the evidence envelope and found two strands rather than one. Peterson's lawyer says the discovery shows sloppy police work.
Scott Peterson's demeanor has shifted often during the case -- from serious when pictures of his wife and unborn son's body are shown to jovial with relatives and his lawyers.......
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Prosecution now fighting uphill battle
Scott's lawyers made some key defense moves last week against District Attorney's case
Article Last Updated: Monday, July 26, 2004 - 3:49:44 AM PST
Prosecution now fighting uphill battle
Scott's lawyers made some key defense moves last week against District Attorney's case
By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER
REDWOOD CITY -- Last week, prosecutors in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial painted the Modesto man's actions after his pregnant wife's disappearance as callous and presented their only piece of physical evidence -- but by week's end they appeared to have lost ground in their quest for a conviction.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos employed a number of successful tactics -- magnifying mistakes made by Modesto detectives in their investigation and consistently finding more convincing explanations for behavior that detectives deemed suspicious.
For example, prosecutors thought it suspicious that Peterson had stuffed wedding photographs into a wastebasket. They also pointed out that he had blocked his home's front window by propping two mattresses against them.
Geragos made short work of these claims, pointing out that the items in the "wastebasket" were stored there when Peterson moved his belongings out of his warehouse into a storage facility.
Geragos also explained that the mattresses were covering the windows in an effort to block the eyes of "looky-loos" and the media, and he showed jurors a picture of news crews and onlookers crowding the street in front of the window.
The defense also raised doubts about the prosecution's only piece of physical evidence -- a hair found in Peterson's fishing boat that the District Attorney believes is Laci Peterson's.
Tests have not identified the hair as Laci's.......
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Snip it:
"Before they broke for a Bush reelection ad and the Laci Peterson murder trial, the two were half-step away from redefining citizenship as excluding Democrats.".......
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Will assailing character work?
Posted on Mon, Jul. 26, 2004
Will assailing character work?
DEPICTION OF DEFENDANT PLAYS GROWING ROLE FOR PROSECUTION
By Julia Prodis Sulek
Mercury News
The first day defense lawyer Mark Geragos addressed the jury, he left them with a powerful message: ``Scott Peterson,'' he said, ``is stone cold innocent.'' But in recent weeks prosecutors have introduced key witnesses and a troubling video that try to portray Peterson as just plain stone cold.
Given the lack of physical evidence -- and the shrewd cross-examination by Geragos -- assailing Peterson's character is becoming an increasingly important part of the prosecution's strategy to convict the fertilizer salesman accused of murdering his wife and their unborn child.
But is depicting Peterson as suspicious, callous -- even sinister -- enough to convince a jury that he's a murderer? Legal experts say probably not, but if jurors can be convinced that Peterson was not just a garden variety unfaithful husband, but a diabolical one, they might view Geragos' attacks on prosecution evidence more skeptically.
Over the past few weeks, the prosecution has introduced two pieces of evidence aimed at giving jurors that perception. One was the testimony of Shawn Sibley -- the best friend of Peterson's mistress -- who said that Peterson was able to ``sob hysterically'' in the course of lying about having ``lost'' his wife even before Laci Peterson disappeared. The other was Peterson's TV interview with Diane Sawyer aired in 2003, played for the judge and soon to be seen by the jury. In it, Peterson said his marriage was ``glorious'' but then seemed to stammer and ramble in his denial about being involved in his wife's disappearance.
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(Excerpt) Read more at kron4.com ...
Pinging.......
Pinging.......
Pinging.......
Hopefully, the jurors will be able to see past the lawyers to see the facts.
Having the most effective lawyer is not indicative of guilt or innocense. The reason there are 12 jurors is so that the games lawyers play are not the last word. If it were not like that, it would take a simple scoreboard.
innocence
Just wanted to make sure you didn't miss a minute of it.
Frustrated by Peterson prosecutors
Scott Peterson and Mark Geragos in January.
THE BEE
Last Updated: July 26, 2004, 04:27:26 AM PDT
I watch the briefing of the Peterson case daily and I am frustrated. What is going on with the prosecution? Did prosecutors not investigate their theory? It sickens me to think Scott Peterson will probably get away with this. Between the police and the prosecution, it's looking pretty bad.
Stop worrying ..........
Letter to the editor
While I was on vacation I saw the news coverage about Lori Hacking.
I guess that's what everyone will obsess over when the Peterson case wraps up.
I think these folks can multi-task.
Yes, we can. We're multi-talented... ;o)
I guess that's what everyone will obsess over when the Peterson case wraps up.
The Mark Hacking case won't last long enough for us to obsess over.
Mark will admit he did it, and plea insanity.
I think there is far more info to come. For anyone interested, check out websleuths.com. This guy is one of the most stone cold killers in American criminal history. It appears he talked Laci into pawning inherited jewelery to secretly finance his dates with Amber. Plus, the transcription of his first phone call with Amber after the disappearance is one of the spookiest things you've ever read. I think the prosecution will paint a picture of who this guy is, a guy that publicly stated that he never wanted to have children because it would cramp his lifestyle,a guy that hoped Laci was going to infertile b/c of only one ovary, I guy that lived two lives ever since he was married, and continually lied to Laci and his paramours, a guy that stated he knew how to kill someone and dispose of their body in the ocean so that it would never be found.
Good morning. Thanks for the ping. I've been mostly lurking recently, but I'm still here!!
I have heard that they expect this trial to last 6 months. Do you think that is an inordinate amount of time to spend on this trial? It does worry me that they cannot make their case any quicker than that time. I worry that the jury will say, look, there is so much evidence, and right now, it is one person's word against another, and there is no smoking gun. I would be worried that a juror could find that after 6 months, and no lead cinch pipe case, the prosecution had not made their case. A lot of people said the same in the OJ case, the prosecution buried them in evidence, but did not present it in a cogent and concise manner.
Back to my other thought, this guy Peterson is as bad or worse than any fictional tv or movie character you have ever seen. I think he would have killed anyone that got between him and his pathway to the lifestyle he wanted to live. I am convinced that if Laci's mom had walked in on him, that he would have killed her too. He is a psycho, in the true sense. I think he thinks all of his actions are justified if it goes toward gratifying him. He is a super dangerous person. The only difference b/w Peterson and Manson at this point is volume.
Thanks for the update Liz!
"KCBS reporter Bob Melrose at the courthouse in Redwood City says the judge and attorneys in the case spent a portion of this morning in chambers, but testimony began for the day at about 10am."
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