| Cameras Banned, Trial Delayed In Peterson Case February 2, 2004 Cameras won't be allowed in the courtroom during Scott Peterson's double-murder trial, a judge ruled Monday during a brief hearing that ended with another delay in the case. Peterson told Judge Alfred A. Delucchi he accepted as "a regrettable necessity" a request to postpone the trial's start by at least a week because his attorney is defending another murder suspect. Neither the prosecution nor the defense was willing to speculate when jury selection, the first phase of the trial, would now begin. Monday's hearing marked Peterson's first court appearance in this bedroom community south of San Francisco since the case was moved from his hometown of Modesto. The day saw little of the frenzy that the sensational case has consistently generated. During the 20-minute hearing, the judge was unmoved by media lawyers who argued that the public has a right to see images of the proceedings once the trial of the former fertilizer salesman charged with killing his pregnant wife and unborn son gets underway. "Jurors get antsy when there's cameras in the court. Witnesses get antsy," Delucchi said. "The print media is welcome. This is not going to be a secret trial." Rochelle Wilcox, a lawyer for CBS and other television networks, argued the public needs to see what happens in the courtroom. "This case touches people because it involved a regular family," she said. Attorney Karl Olson, who represented newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times and San Jose Mercury News, then told the judge that trial coverage would improve with photographs -- just as front-page pictures enhanced stories about the Super Bowl. The judge berated Olson: "This isn't the Super Bowl." Prosecutors agreed with Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, who argued that in-court cameras would only make the trial "a bigger zoo than it already is." After the hearing, Olson said he would talk to his clients about an appeal. Though the Peterson trial has generated international interest, the expected media melee on Monday was more an orderly procession into the courtroom, where just 10 of the 25 seats available to local citizens were filled. All but two were taken by reporters who had been unable to reserve a spot. County officials have asked television stations to pay $51,000 to reserve one of 16 sidewalk spaces outside the courthouse for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last six months. Pelted by a dark rain, just two television tents were up Monday morning as lawyers assembled in the courtroom. San Mateo County Sheriff's spokeswoman Bronwyn Hogan guessed that broadcasters may have been scared off by the high price tag. "I think the charge issues need to be resolved," she said. Also left hanging Monday were requests by Geragos to survey potential jurors and eventually sequester the chosen panel. Geragos wants to begin handing out preliminary questionnaires to a jury pool soon, while prosecutors would rather wait until all other pretrial matters are handled. Geragos suggested he may be forced to ask for another change of venue if a jury can't be found in San Mateo County. "This could be a way station," he told the judge. Both issues will likely be addressed at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 9. Peterson, 31, could face the death penalty if he's convicted of two counts of murder for the deaths of Laci Peterson and the couple's unborn son. In April, the remains of mother and child washed ashore along San Francisco Bay, two miles from the spot where Scott Peterson said he was fishing on Christmas Eve 2002, when his wife vanished. On Monday, Scott Peterson wore a light gray suit in court. As he walked in, the noticeably thinner defendant smiled at his parents and other relatives. The parents of Laci Peterson and about a dozen other family members also attended. Delucchi postponed Peterson's trial because Geragos is due in a Los Angeles court Tuesday to defend Brett Williams, who is accused of killing his former wife. He said the trial is expected to last about a week. Geragos, who also is defending pop star Michael Jackson against child sex abuse charges, has said the judge in the Williams case will not delay the trial. Geragos also dropped his prior insistence that another judge handle the Peterson trial. Outside court, he told reporters he now thinks Delucchi, a retired Alameda County judge, "is even handed, is fair and that's all we're asking for." THREE VIDEOS HOME INDEX COURT DATES LACI SCOTT EVIDENCE-NEWS SCOTT'S ALBUM |
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| LACI & CONNER My heart goes out to you all. Laci and Conner will for ever hold a special place in my heart... Sandra Kim - California - Guestbook |
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