Posted on 07/25/2003 5:24:34 AM PDT by runningbear
Defense Gets Permission To Examine Laci Peterson's Body
Defense Gets Permission To Examine Laci Peterson's Body
POSTED: 5:37 p.m. PDT July 24, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson's defense team Thursday was given permission by a Stanislaus County judge to have its experts examine the remains of his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son.
Judge Al Girolami ordered the Contra Costa Coungty coroner to allow the defense experts access to the bodies which have yet to be released since they were found on the shore of a San Francisco Bayside park on April 13 and 14. Prosecutors said such an order was not unusual and did not fight it.
The decision came during a week in which the Peterson defense team made headlines by filing court papers that stated they had received evidence within the past week that "totally exonerates" the Modesto fertilizer salesman in the murder of Laci and the couple's unborn son.
The declaration came in papers filed with Girolami asking him to close the courtroom during the murder case's upcoming Sept. 9 preliminary hearing.
In that filing, Geragos wrote:
"Specifically, within the case week, the defense is in receipt of discovery that is not only exculpatory, but which the defense contends totally exonerates Mr. Peterson. The defense further believes this exonerating evidence will likely be introduced during the preliminary hearing."
He further wrote:
"The evidence, which demonstrates Mr. Petersons' innocence, also provides evidence of the true killer or killers modus operandi and provides clues as to the method of and circumstances surrounding the killing."
The defense team told the court that if the preliminary hearing was not closed, it would inhibit the prosecution and defense from ascertaining the identity of the real killer.
With a gag order in effect, it was unlikely that either the defense or prosecution would comment further on the revelation made in the court filing.
John Goold, spokesman for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office, told the Associated Press Tuesday that he hadn't seen the Geragos court filing, but said, "In my experience it's very difficult to close a preliminary hearing."
That filing was hidden within the defense team's response to a Court TV petition asking the court for permission to televise all future proceedings in Scott Peterson capital murder case. An Aug. 14 date has been set for a hearing on the Court TV petition.
Weeks earlier, the prosecution and Rocha family filed their petition to the court. However, Geragos waited until the 12th hour to file his petition just as the due date expired on Monday.
In the defense filing, Geragos' team claim that the cameras should be banned from the Sept. 9 preliminary hearing to insure that an impartial jury could be impaneled to hear the case.
Also on Tuesday. Peterson's former mistress, Amber Frey, filed a petition with the court asking that the hearings not be televised. In the document, her attorney Gloria Allred, did not give any reasons to support the request.
In the earlier filing, Laci's family made an impassioned plea in a letter attached to the prosecution's filing to ban television cameras from future proceedings.
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Peterson's defense to examine bodies of Laci Peterson, unborn boy
Peterson's defense to examine bodies of Laci Peterson, unborn boy
Thursday, July 24, 2003
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(07-24) 18:05 PDT MODESTO, Calif. (AP) --
Scott Peterson's defense team plans to conduct an examination of the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son following a court order issued Thursday by a Modesto judge.
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ordered the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office to allow defense experts designated by Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos to examine the bodies.
Jimmy Lee, spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, said, "The only statement we're making is that we have received the court order and we intend on complying with it." Lee said he didn't know when the exam might occur.
The court order was also signed by Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso, who is prosecuting Peterson, the 30-year-old fertilizer salesman accused of killing his wife and unborn son late last year.
District Attorney spokesman John Goold said the defense request to inspect remains is not unusual in a murder case.
A telephone call to Geragos from The Associated Press was not returned. But Geragos and others involved in the case are under orders from Girolami not to comment.
An autopsy report in May indicated a significant cut on the baby's body and plastic tape wrapped around the neck. Geragos has suggested a satanic cult committed the murders.
Prosecutors expect to outline their case against Peterson at a Sept. 9 preliminary..........
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Order Permitting Defense Experts to Examine the Remains of Laci Peterson and Baby Conner Peterson
Stipulation to Continue Hearing on Suppression Motion; Order
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(Excerpt) Read more at ktvu.com ...
Rally This Saturday, July 26, 2003
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
State Capitol Building – Sacramento, California
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Defense can examine Peterson bodies
By BLAIR CRADDOCK
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: July 25, 2003, 09:11:21 AM PDT
The Contra Costa County coroner's office must allow Scott Peterson's defense team to have its own experts examine the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ruled Thursday.
Also on Thursday, both sides in the case asked the judge to postpone a scheduled hearing from Aug. 15 to Sept. 9.
Scott Peterson faces charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and unborn son, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty.
Peterson's lawyers, Mark Geragos and Kirk McAllister, contend he is innocent and that the true killers are still at large.
Girolami has issued a gag order that prohibits prosecutors and the defense team from discussing the case.
An expert with no ties to the case said the reason for defense experts to examine a body generally is to gather evidence about the cause of death.
"On this (case), I think the cause of death would be the only thing that's germane," said Ken Sewell, a forensic scientist with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Laci Peterson's body, and that of her unborn child, washed up separately in April on the shore of the San Francisco Bay near Richmond and Port Isabel. Both bodies were reportedly badly decomposed.
The Contra Costa County coroner's office performed autopsies on the bodies. In April, officials with the coroner's office said neither revealed an obvious cause of death.
Coroner's office will comply
Autopsy reports were completed in May, but have not been publicly released. Girolami ordered the Contra Costa County coroner's office to withhold the results from the public, claiming it could make a fair trial more difficult.
The Contra Costa County coroner's office has received a copy of Girolami's order and will comply with it, an official there said.
The prosecution's evidence against Scott Peterson is due to be presented Sept. 9 at a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to hold him for trial.
Ordinarily, a preliminary hearing is a public proceeding, but in this case, Peterson's defense lawyers have asked that it be closed. Girolami has not made a decision on that request.
Defense lawyers also are seeking an order to suppress some of the prosecution's evidence.
A hearing on that request is scheduled for Aug. 15, but could be delayed. On Thursday, Peterson's defense lawyers and Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso both signed a paper asking
Girolami to change the date of that hearing to Sept. 9.
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Sounds like MG doesn't really have strong case, to suppress evidence?
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