Peterson, prosecutors square off over moving trial
By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
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Scott Peterson
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(Court TV) -- A sign arching over the main thoroughfare of Modesto, California, proclaims the agricultural city home to "Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health." On Thursday, a judge sitting just a few blocks away will decide whether the community can also boast fair and impartial jurors.
Modesto's most infamous resident, Scott Peterson, claims that it can't -- at least not in his case. He is demanding that his double-murder trial be moved far away because of what he contends is demonizing press coverage that has poisoned the pool of potential jurors against him.
His lawyers -- armed with stacks of newspaper articles, polls and anecdotes of their own unpleasant encounters with the citizenry -- will face off with prosecutors, who oppose relocation, Thursday morning at a special hearing before Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami.
The judge, who will preside over the case wherever it is held, must determine whether there is a "reasonable likelihood" that Peterson cannot get a fair trial in Stanislaus County. If that likelihood exists, the judge will move the trial to another California county.
No one disputes that the Christmastime disappearance of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci, and his subsequent arrest generated massive media coverage across the country. But Peterson's lawyers maintain that the prejudicial effect of the coverage was "felt most acutely" in Modesto, where "the local media has already served as a judge, jury and executioner in this case."
Prosecutors, however, argue that because the media response was national, the coverage in Modesto was no different than in any other community. Therefore, the opinions of Modestans are no different than the opinions of people from Los Angeles, Sacramento or any other place that has People magazine and cable news.
"The defendant has also not shown that moving his case will enable a jury to be chosen that has not heard all of the same pretrial publicity that a Stanislaus County jury has heard," prosecutor Dave Harris wrote in court papers filed last week.
He said the case was "indistinguishable" from that of murderer Charles Manson. A judge denied a change of venue in that case, saying the national publicity surrounding the "Helter Skelter" killer made the motion moot.
Both sides are touting surveys to advance their cases. A defense poll indicates that 39 percent of potential jurors in Stanislaus County believe Peterson is guilty. On the other hand, the prosecutors' survey claims 80 percent of potential jurors said they could keep an open mind about the case.
The prosecution also polled potential jurors in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties and found their answers were identical to respondents in Modesto.
The judge can also consider whether the size of the county will affect Peterson's chances of getting unbiased jurors. His lead attorney, Mark Geragos, whose practice is based in Los Angeles, a county of 10 million, calls Stanislaus County's 481,000 residents "a small rural community."
Prosecutors have taken umbrage at that description, pointing out that Modesto is the 15th-largest city in the nation's largest state.
If the judge leaves the trial in Modesto, it will begin January 26. If he moves it, the proceeding will be delayed weeks or months while the sides choose a new venue.
