| Peterson Judge Dismisses Chatty Juror JUSTIN FALCONER ~ JUROR #5 DISMISSED JUNE 23, 2004 The judge in Scott Peterson's murder trial removed one of the 12 jurors Wednesday and denied a defense motion for a mistrial. "You're not to listen to, watch or read any media reports of this trial," Judge Alfred A. Delucchi admonished the panel before selecting an alternate to take the juror's place. Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, demanded a mistrial. "I've got a client who is on trial for his life," he said, saying media coverage has tainted the case. "I think it's an outrage what is going on." Delucchi denied his mistrial request. Outside court, the ousted juror identified himself as Justin Falconer, 28, an airport screener. The judge didn't specify why he dismissed Falconer, though the former juror told reporters Delucchi suggested he was removed because he had become a "distraction." That was an apparent reference to an incident last week in which Falconer briefly exchanged words with Laci Peterson's brother at the courthouse's metal detector. Falconer appeared to have ducked trouble when Delucchi concluded he did nothing wrong by joking with Brent Rocha that he was blocking television cameras from getting an unobstructed shot -- a story Rocha corroborated. According to a transcript of a closed-door meeting with judge, however, Falconer also said he discussed with his girlfriend media coverage of that interaction. After talking with the juror and Rocha in his chambers, the judge declared Monday that "there was no misconduct" and the juror could remain on the case. That all changed Wednesday. Freed to talk discuss the trial, Falconer said he thought prosecutors were doing a poor job. Peterson, 31, would "be innocent, because the prosecution hasn't given us any reason to believe otherwise so far," he said. Falconer wouldn't comment on what other jurors were saying about the case. The development came just before Geragos launched into a caustic cross- examination of the detective who first investigated Laci Peterson's disappearance. Prosecutors allege that Peterson, a former fertilizer salesman who was arrested in San Diego for the killings, murdered his pregnant wife in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then dumped her body into San Francisco Bay. Defense lawyers assert that someone abducted her, then framed her husband after hearing his widely publicized alibi. After a few minutes of the cross examination of Detective Allen Brocchini, the judge recessed for lunch so that "everybody can calm down." It wasn't immediately clear why the juror had been dismissed, though according to a transcript of a closed-door meeting with judge, Juror No. 5 admitted to discussing the media coverage of the case with his girlfriend. Outside court, the ousted juror identified himself as Justin Falconer, 28, an airport screener. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST JURORS |
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