Former Peterson case juror speaks out
Falconer says judge kicked him off jury for being a 'distraction'
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- One day after he was dismissed from the jury in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial, Justin Falconer said jurors should be separated from everyone at the courthouse to avoid interaction.
He told CNN's "American Morning," however, that he didn't think the Peterson jurors should be sequestered.
San Mateo, California, Superior Court Judge Alfred A. Delucchi gave no reason for removing the No. 5 juror Wednesday, but according to Falconer, the judge told him he was a "distraction" in the case.
Delucchi admonished the jury not to speculate on why Falconer, 28, was excused and warned them not to talk among themselves. The judge denied a defense request for a mistrial.
Last Thursday, a television camera recorded Falconer talking to the brother of murder victim Laci Peterson, Scott's wife, while they were passing through courthouse security.
According to Falconer, he told Brent Rocha, "I was in the picture with the news. I told them, 'I'm ruining the shot for the news tonight. You're not going to be on the news tonight."
Media who heard the audio said it sounded like, "You're going to lose tonight."
"It got blown all out of proportion," Falconer said. He blamed the media, in part, saying that the coverage -- outside the courtroom -- affected everyone in the trial.
Monday, the judge ruled that nothing improper had occurred. It was unclear what had changed between then and Wednesday.
Falconer said when jurors leave the courtroom, they are thrown in with other people. For instance, while they eat lunch, they see the case lawyers, family members and members of the public.
It's a small courthouse, it's easy to see other people, and there is a tendency to say hello and be cordial, the airport screener said.
Falconer has given numerous interviews to the media, and said he was not persuaded at the time of his dismissal that Peterson was guilty of killing his wife and unborn son.
"You have to have a little bit of sympathy for the guy," he said, referring to Peterson. "He's lost his wife, he's lost his son, his family. His whole life is upside down."
Falconer was replaced by the first alternate juror, a man who is both a lawyer and doctor.
Falconer's words should concern the prosecution, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin said.
"First of all, it's really inappropriate to make up your mind in any way based on so little evidence that has been presented so far," Toobin said. "So I think he's really kind of overstating what he could possibly say.
"But I do think it's also a wake-up call for the prosecution that this case has been was not brought before jurors in a very dramatic way."
Peterson is accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son on or around Christmas Eve 2002. Her body and that of the son were found washed up from San Francisco Bay.
