Posted on 06/19/2003 5:31:38 AM PDT by runningbear
Investigator in Laci Peterson slaying says more calls were recorded
Investigator in Laci Peterson slaying says more calls were recorded
Copyright © 2003 AP Online
This story was published Wednesday, June 18th, 2003
By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - An investigator who wiretapped Scott Peterson's phones said in court papers filed Wednesday that he recently discovered 176 calls that were recorded without his knowledge.
The computer-recorded calls could present a new hurdle for prosecutors as they fight defense claims of prosecutorial misconduct over other taped conversations.
Prosecutors asked Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to review the newly discovered calls and decide whether police could listen to them for potential evidence in the case against Peterson, who is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
Steven Jacobson, an investigator for the prosecution, said the calls were discovered Friday by an expert from the software company that designed the wiretap system. The two men listened to about 10 seconds of one recording to confirm that it was of an actual conversation, but did not listen to the others, he said.
"We heard a person in a Southern drawl talking to Scott Peterson in what appeared to be a business-related call," Jacobson wrote in an affidavit.
Jacobson said he had never heard that call before, and added that he was familiar with 3,858 phone calls police logged on the fertilizer salesman's home and cellular phones.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted in the killings of his wife and unborn son. He was arrested after their remains washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos has asked that prosecutors be dismissed or the wiretaps tossed out because investigators listened to parts of conversations between Peterson and one of his lawyers. The eavesdropping violated attorney-client privilege, he said.
Prosecutors have said officers mistakenly listened to snippets of two of 69 conversations between Peterson and the lawyer, and one conversation with a private investigator.
Girolami has scheduled a June 26 hearing on the wiretap and other matters.
Both sides are barred by a gag order from commenting on the case. >{?
Meanwhile, the defense appealed a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case, saying their release would ignite a "media firestorm of misinformation." ......
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Peterson defense tries to stop a `firestorm of misinformation'
Posted on Wed, Jun. 18, 2003
Peterson defense tries to stop a `firestorm of misinformation'
By the Mercury News
Saying that it will will ignite a ``media firestorm of misinformation,'' Scott Peterson's attorneys are going to appeal a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case of his slain wife and unborn son.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos filed his appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Fresno to keep eight search warrants from being made public next month.
Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled last week in Stanislaus County Superior Court that the documents, which are expected to contain evidence and police theories in the case, should be unsealed July 8 after a previous appellate ruling expires.
That order, however, is now on hold as the court considers the appeal. Prosecutors and lawyers for California newspapers and broadcasters, who argued to release the documents, have a week to file responses.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested after the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.
Police used the search warrants to seize the fertilizer salesman's truck, boat and trailer, along with scores of items from the couple's home as they tried to solve the disappearance.
Geragos said in court papers that he wants Beauchesne's decision reversed and wants him removed from the case.
If the warrants are unsealed, Geragos said a ``media firestorm of misinformation will result'' and ``rumors and gossip will be rehashed immediately, incessantly and without recourse to Mr. Peterson receiving a fair trial.''
Geragos said prosecutors told him they want Beauchesne removed from the case, but prosecutors refused to comment, saying they would file their own court papers.
Beauchesne said there was no reason to keep the papers, which are usually made public 11 days after a search warrant has been served, secret because Peterson had been arrested. He also said the defense had not shown him evidence ......
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Peterson's lawyer files appeal to keep search warrants sealed
Article Last Updated: Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 4:18:41 AM PST
Peterson's lawyer files appeal to keep search warrants sealed
By FROM WIRE REPORTS
MODESTO -- Scott Peterson's defense is appealing a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case of his slain wife and unborn son, saying they will ignite a "media firestorm of misinformation."
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos filed his appeal Tuesday at the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno to keep eight search warrants from being made public next month.
Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled Thursday in Stanislaus County Superior Court that the documents, which are expected to contain evidence and police theories in the case, should be unsealed July 8 after a previous appellate ruling expires.
That order, however, is now on hold as the court considers the appeal. Prosecutors and lawyers for California newspapers and broadcasters, who argued to release the documents, have a week to file responses.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested after the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.
Police used the search warrants to seize the fertilizer salesman's truck, boat and trailer, along with scores of items from the couple's home as they tried to solve the disappearance.
Geragos said in court papers that he wants Beauchesne's decision reversed and wants him removed from the case.
If the warrants are unsealed, Geragos said a "media firestorm of misinformation will result" and "rumors and gossip will be rehashed immediately, incessantly and without recourse to Mr. Peterson receiving a fair trial."
Geragos said prosecutors told him they want Beauchesne removed from the case, but prosecutors refused to comment, saying they would file their own court papers.
Beauchesne said there was no reason to keep the papers, which .....
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Why Laci’s baby, Connor, is not an ‘it’
Commentary from the Savage Nation ;o)
Why Laci’s baby, Connor, is not an ‘it’
COMMENTARY
by Michael Savage
May 3 — “In my mind, I keep hearing Laci say to me, mom, please find me and Connor and bring us home. I am scared, and please don’t leave us out here all alone. I want to come home. Please don’t stop looking for us.” —Sharon Rocha
SHARON ROCHA said it for all of us. This is a woman whose heart is broken. But you notice she said for Connor and Laci? This is a woman who understands that a fetus at eight months is a person.
There’s a soul in there. And the ghouls in the abortion racket ought to be ashamed of themselves, particularly those of you who practice so-called late-term abortion, which is nothing more than infanticide.
Do we have the full screen of the Morris County NOW President, Mavra Stark, who said that there’s something about this that bothers me a little bit? Was it born or was it unborn? If it was unborn, she said, then I can’t see charging Peterson with a double murder.
Well, lady, let me tell you something, you need to get a life, and you need to get reeducated. If you think this is an “it,: I would invite you to watch that tape that I just played of the heartbroken grandparents over and over again. You will know it’s not an it, and maybe it will enlighten you to the fact that human life is precious, every human life is precious.
Should Laci’s unborn baby be called “it?” Absolutely not. Should Scott be tried for double homicide? Absolutely. Should the unborn be permitted to be ripped out of a womb and their skulls broken open and their brains sucked out in a procedure called late-born abortion? It was outlawed by Congress, if you remember, when Clinton was president. Both the House and the Senate said no to this gruesome, barbaric procedure.
Bill Clinton vetoed it. He catered to the abortion lobby. When this issue comes up again, I want you to make certain that your representative— I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican— you have got to do the right thing for humanity, just say no to late-term abortion. Is there anything we can agree upon, or does everything have to be agenda driven? How about something being ‘human driven’? How about putting human rights ahead of agenda? Is that ever going to happen in America?
(Excerpt) Read more at tri-cityherald.com ...
Have to put this out here, for all Californians and those who think that balancing any governmental budget is continuing to raise taxes is pure stupidity. That is why Ca is putting to the voters, once signatures are gathered, and it will be done, to recall Gov Davis!As I do my search for Laci stories, I come across this and listen to those whiners in the bill mills, of how we going to pay for this or that, because we need to tax me people to death. The current one, the Death tax, it is only for the 'rich' who benefit? Give me a break! Who is rich, and what is rich? They have no clue, those rascal democrats and RHINOS!!! ;o)
Dems to push for tax increases
Dems to push for tax increases
The Sacramento Bee
(Published Thursday, June 19, 2003, 4:40 AM)
SACRAMENTO -- Assembly Democrats plan to fan out across California beginning Monday -- seven days before the new fiscal year, and with no apparent budget deal on the horizon -- to drum up public support and pressure Republicans to agree to a spending plan with tax increases.
Declaring a logjam in negotiations at the Capitol, Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson said most of the 48 Assembly Democrats will travel to Democratic and Republican districts for three days to enlist help from local leaders, business groups and others to break it.
"Nothing is happening here," Wesson said. "We're going to go out to see if we can get allies throughout the state."
Republicans immediately criticized the Wesson effort and said they will stick to their anti-tax stance.
"The Legislature should be here, working around the clock, to meet the June 30 deadline," said Peter DeMarco, spokesman for Assembly Republican leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks. "People should expect nothing less."
Wesson said he "will be ready to come back to meet at any time" from the trip that comes during the last full week before the July 1 beginning of the new fiscal year.
Budget negotiations have been stalled for several days as Republicans continue to refuse to consider tax increases to help fill a budget shortfall expected to reach $38 billion. GOP officials, who blame Democratic Gov. Davis and the majority Democrats for the state's fiscal woes, say they will not supply the votes needed to approve a budget with tax increases.
Democrats, meanwhile, say that trying to balance the budget without tax increases will devastate state services.
More tapped Peterson phone calls found
More tapped Peterson phone calls found
By Brian Melley
Associated Press
(Published Thursday, June 19, 2003, 5:17 AM)
SACRAMENTO -- An investigator who wiretapped Scott Peterson's phones said in court papers filed Wednesday that he recently discovered 176 calls that were recorded without his knowledge.
The computer-recorded calls could present a new hurdle for prosecutors as they fight defense claims of misconduct over other taped conversations.
Prosecutors asked Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to review the newly discovered calls and decide whether police could listen to them for potential evidence in the case against Peterson, who is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
Steven Jacobson, an investigator for the prosecution, said the calls were discovered Friday by an expert from the software company that designed the wiretap system. The two men listened to about 10 seconds of one recording to confirm that it was of an actual conversation, but did not listen to the others, he said.
"We heard a person in a Southern drawl talking to Scott Peterson in what appeared to be a business-related call," Jacobson wrote in an affidavit.
Jacobson said he had never heard that call before, and added that he was familiar with 3,858 phone calls police logged on the fertilizer salesman's home and cellular phones.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted in the killings of his wife and unborn son. He was arrested after their remains washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos has asked that prosecutors be dismissed or the wiretaps tossed out because investigators listened .....
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Update from the Stanislaus Court info site:
New Documents Added
Posted on Wednesday, June 18 2003 at 5:07 PM PST ----
An additional document was added to the Web site late Wednesday afternoon.
1. Request for Court Review of Wiretap Recordings Recovered From Audio Buffer
2. Gloria Allred to Defendant's Motion to Set OSC RE: Contempt of Court
More wiretap portions revealed
More wiretap portions revealed
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: June 19, 2003, 05:44:24 AM PDT
Authorities admitted in court documents Wednesday that they may have unknowingly recorded portions of up to 176 more telephone calls to and from Scott Peterson. Already under fire for recording portions of three calls between Peterson and his defense team, and now unsure what the new recordings might contain, investigators asked for a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge's guidance on what to do next.
The recordings, on two compact discs, are locked away in the meantime.
Two prominent attorneys recognized as wiretap experts said the startling discovery could pose big problems for prosecutors if they want to use wiretap evidence in the murder case. Peterson is charged in the slayings of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner, and could get the death penalty if found guilty.
"The defense is going to have a field day with this," said Raymond Perini, a veteran New York attorney who monitored dozens of wiretaps as a Long Island prosecutor.
Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos previously alleged "grave prosecutorial misconduct" in the interception of parts of 71 calls between Peterson and his defense team. Prosecutors claim that they inadvertently recorded portions of three of those calls, and shut off the recording as soon as they realized the nature of the calls.
According to court documents, wiretap expert Kevin Clements of Lincoln, Neb., discovered the new recordings Friday while helping an investigator "with some technical problems."
"It's a complex business," Clements said Wednesday evening in a telephone interview. Asked if authorities elsewhere have overlooked conversations recorded by wiretaps, he said, "I wouldn't say it's necessarily unique to this case. I can't cite cases for you, but it's not an uncommon thing."
Clements declined to comment further, citing a gag order in the high-profile Peterson case.
The wiretap problem arose from a "peculiarity" in AT&T Wireless technology, Clements wrote in one of the court documents. The apparent defect allows recording of calls without notifying agents who are doing the monitoring, Clements explained.
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An FYI Story for all ebayers: scam alert ((I know there are several Peterson threads freepers))...'o)
I heard on LKL and Greta that the Prosecution has asked for the July date to be pushed back and the Defense agreed.
I don't get it. I thought they had authority to tap all his phones. Was there a time frame set on the tapping, and these 176 came before or after the dates set forth on the tapping order? Why did the investigator say the were recorded without his knowledge?
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