| Celebrity Attorneys Square Off In Peterson Case June 14, 2003 Mark Geragos, the famed defense attorney representing Scott Peterson, filed court papers late Friday asking Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to lift his gag order on the double murder case and charge attorney Gloria Allred with contempt of court, according to a published report. Geragos claims that Allred -- who is representing Amber Frey, Peterson's former mistress and a potential key witness in the case against Scott -- violated the judge's gag order within hours after it was imposed on Thursday afternoon by appearing on Fox News Network's 'On The Record With Greta Van Susteren.' On the show, Allred said that the court order only extended to Frey as a potential witness and not to her. She discussed several issues in the case including a ruling Thursday by Judge Roger Beauchesne. According to the Modesto Bee, Geragos disagrees and says in his court filing that her appearance was "mocking the authority of this court." In response, Allred called the action an "attempt to silence" her. "I think this is an attempt to silence me," Allred said in a faxed statement to the Modesto Bee responding to the defense allegations. "The protective order makes no reference to me, and Mark Geragos knows that." Citing numerous leaks in the case, Girolami issued the gag order late Thursday. Girolami wrote in his decision that "although the Court is extremely concerned with the due process and fair trial rights in this case, it is also keenly aware of the public's right of access to the proceedings herein and the right of free speech of the participants." "However, after balancing these rights, and in order to protect against the disruption of the proper administration of justice, the Court finds that good cause exists for the issuance of a pre-trial protective order." Among the individuals the judge was critical of was State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who commented that the case was a 'slam dunk' when he announced the autopsy report that identified the badly decomposed bodies of a woman and a fetus recovered from a San Francisco Bay shoreline as those of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner. "The nature of the publicity is especially troubling as it often involves leaks of information that could be considered favorable for one side or the other," the judge wrote. ******* Peterson defense claims contempt of court Published: June 13, 2003 Scott Peterson’s defense attorneys asked a judge Friday to rescind his gag order in the double murder case and to hold a contempt of court hearing for celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. Defense attorney Mark Geragos alleged in the paperwork filed Friday that Allred, "mocking the authority of this court," violated the gag order by appearing Thursday night on a national cable talk show. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami issued the order earlier Thursday, telling attorneys and investigators and essentially anyone connected to the case not to talk publicly about most elements of it. HOME INDEX TRIAL INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS DEFENSE-PROSECUTION EVIDENCE -WARRANTS & STORIES LACI'S FAMILY SCOTT'S FAMILY WIRETAPS AMBER ALIBI-WITNESS LIST |
| LACI & CONNER FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |