| Scott Peterson's attorney: from detractor to defender By Julia Prodis Sulek Mercury News FULL STORY-August 31, 2003 Mark Geragos was still a regular on CNN's "Larry King Live,'' a celebrity lawyer playfully sparring with his fellow pundits about the case against Scott Peterson, when the mob formed outside the Modesto jail. The crowd of 200 reached out to pound their fists on the hood of the passing police car that carriedthe bleached-blond Peterson to be booked for allegedly killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. "Murderer!'' they yelled. "Burn in hell!'' Geragos was appalled. He also felt a tinge of guilt. He knew his on-air comments -- particularly his assertion that there was some "pretty compelling evidence'' against Peterson --had helped fuel this lynch-mob mentality. So when Peterson's parents called imploring him to take the case anyway, and convinced him their son was innocent, he agreed. With a Sept. 9 preliminary hearing fast approaching, the Los Angeles attorney is taking on the most notorious case of his life. And, thanks in part to himself and his TV buddies, he is defending a client already convicted in the court of public opinion. The question now is whether Geragos can win in the court of law, save his client, and in some small way ease his own conscience.The stakes are high. Peterson, if convicted, faces the death penalty. And some legal experts say Geragos' TV comments will surely come back to haunt him. But Peterson's parents, who watched Geragos on "Larry King Live'' almost nightly, have faith in him -- despite the doubt he once expressed in their son."For me, it showed that it changed his mind once he knew the true facts, and it can change anyone's mind,'' Peterson's mother, Jackie, said in a telephone interview from her Solano Beach home "It's not about his ego. He really wants to correct an injustice. I truly believe that.'' He wasted no time in trying. He refashioned Peterson from a criminal in red jumpsuit and shackles to bereaved widower in suit and tie. Off came the new bleached beard that made Peterson look like he was trying to disguise himself. And a defense theory was launched: A satanic cult could have murdered Laci and her unborn son, Conner. "This case is an enormous challenge,'' Geragos, 45, said in a recent interview with the Mercury News in his penthouse office in Los Angeles. But Geragos has a history of winning cases considered impossible to win, as well as an unabashed enjoyment of media attention. The proof adorns the reception area of his office. In a specially designed, architecturally lit alcove, nearly two dozen newspaper articles about Geragos are framed on the wall. Geragos also has handled about 50 murder cases over the years and none of his clients has received the death penalty or life without parole. Ten have ended in acquittals or dismissals, he said. But it was the McDougal case -- which like the Peterson case had been called a "slam dunk'' for the prosecution -- that was a turning point for Geragos. After the stunning victory in 1999 in which his quick wit, likable nature and bulldog cross-examination style were showcased on TV news, Geragos was courted by the hottest cable talk shows: "Larry King Live'' "Burden of Proof'' with Greta Van Susteren, and the now defunct "Rivera Live'' with Geraldo Rivera -- to be their newest talking head. His law practice, which had been a small family firm with his father, Paul, his brother, Matt, and a part-time lawyer, swelled to a dozen attorneys. They moved from their cramped office to the penthouse of a downtown high-rise twice the size. Geragos was destined for a high-profile future in law, his brother says."He's always been very vocal, somebody that people get behind and follow. In school he was on student government and always liked the limelight,'' Matt Geragos said. ``It naturally fits him.'' Their father instilled in them a love of the law, said Matt Geragos, enticing his young boys with doughnuts at the courthouse where they would watch their father. The family was also active in the Armenian church. The archbishop became a close family friend and Mark, an altar boy, would often engage him in deep conversations, his brother recalls. Although accepted to Stanford,Geragos would go on to study religion and theology at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He toyed with the idea of becoming a priest, but decided his life was meant for the law. Last winter, Geragos was a fixture on the cable talk shows when Laci Peterson's Christmas Eve disappearance became the subject of nightly speculation. Although he kept neutral about Scott Peterson's possible involvement early on, when the bodies washed up a few miles from where Peterson said he had been fishing, Geragos' tenor changed. "The most damning piece of circumstantial evidence comes out of his own mouth and his own hands, when he hands to police that receipt from the very location where, two miles away, she's found, '' Geragos said last spring. "I mean, that is just a devastating thing.'' And, he said on the day of the arrest, reports that investigators found that Peterson had researched on his home computer the bay's tides and currents the day his wife disappeared is "some pretty compelling evidence. '' Nonetheless, Peterson's parents considered Geragos, for the most part, fair and open-minded. "We didn't know anything about him as a lawyer. We just saw him on TV,'' Jackie Peterson said. "He wasn't anxious to attack. He often cautioned other people on the panel and reminded them this was a human life and not to rush to guilty when they don't know the facts.'' When Geragos started to shift his comments, however, Jackie Peterson called his law firm to set him straight. Then they asked him to take the case. After meeting with Peterson in jail, Geragos did. Some will say he did it for the publicity, but his friend and prominent defense lawyer Harland Braun says no. "What good is the publicity if it's negative?'' Braun asked. "He gets less publicity now because he's no longer on Larry King because he can't comment on the Peterson case.'' Geragos left the TV circuit when he took the case, but a gag order is hindering his defense strategy. "I'm a big believer that you have to respond and respond quickly to anything that's out there, especially if it's not true,'' he said.On TV as in the courtroom, Geragos comes across as smooth but not slick, impressive but not a showoff. "He's pretty dogged and articulate and goes right to the jugular and has a sense where the other side's weaknesses are,'' said Braun said. Gloria Allred, who represents Peterson's former girlfriend Amber Frey, considers him "very Hollywood.'' "I always feel in a murder case, my tendency is to think that juries like to see a professional approach, but I could be wrong,'' Allred said. "Maybe they will like the more flamboyant, flame-throwing approach. It didn't work in Beverly Hills with Winona Ryder.'' Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazleton isn't impressed with his opponent's approach either, having accused the defense of throwing up "phony baloney stuff'' in a Modesto Bee article. While the trial location is uncertain, the preliminary hearing will be in Modesto. More than two dozen TV trucks are expected to line up outside the courthouse each day and transfer their footage to Larry King and other media outlets. And each night, even without their old friend Geragos, the commentators will take their seats. HOME INDEX SCOTT LACI AMBER DEFENSE/PROSECUTION ALIBI-WITNESS LIST EVIDENCE-NEWS WIRETAPS AUTOPSY LARRY KING TRANSCRIPTS TRIAL NEWS MAGAZINES |
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| LACI & CONNER FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS |