Scott Peterson’s case is returning to Stanislaus Superior Court Friday for the first time since national publicity resulted in a transfer to San Mateo County before his murder trial began 16 years ago.
What exactly will be discussed at the hearing is not yet clear; the California Supreme Court in two separate rulings recently overturned Peterson’s death sentence and ordered that allegations of prejudicial misconduct by a juror be heard by a Judge in San Mateo Superior Court.
“If I had to speculate my guess is that the prosecution will ask the court to allow them additional time to make the decision on whether to retry the penalty phase based on what is going on in San Mateo,” said Pat Harris, who served as co-counsel to Mark Geragos during Peterson’s trial.
He said he was awaiting additional documents to be sent to him from the court regarding the hearing.
District Attorney Birgit Fladager would not say Tuesday whether she’s made a decision to retry Peterson’s penalty phase.
Scott Peterson’s sister-in-law Janey Peterson said by phone, “Clearly it wouldn’t make sense to retry the penalty phase when the entire conviction could be overturned in a few months.”
Friday’s hearing is scheduled before Judge Nancy Leo.
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT OVERTURNED DEATH SENTENCE
The California Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion in August overturned Peterson’s death sentence on the grounds that the trial judge in San Mateo, Al Delucchi, wrongly excluded 13 potential jurors who stated they were opposed to the death penalty because he didn’t first determine whether they could put their beliefs aside and follow the law. Delucchi died in 2008.
In the same opinion, which was made in response to Scott Peterson’s automatic appeal, the court upheld his 2004 conviction for killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and the couple’s unborn son, Conner.
But last week the court made a ruling in Peterson’s petition for habeas corpus, which could lead to his conviction being overturned.
The court ruled that a San Mateo Superior Court Judge must decide whether prejudicial misconduct by a juror occurred when she failed to disclose that she’d been a the victim of a crime and obtained a restraining order against the perpetrator.
Whether the two separate issues of Peterson’s sentence and the juror misconduct will continue in two different Superior Courts is undetermined.
“Bottom line for our family is we have been wanting to get back into the courtroom to have this case heard again, whether it be for the penalty phase or a new trial we are grateful to present the new evidence we have,” Janey Peterson said.
WILL PETERSON APPEAR IN PERSON, REMOTELY?
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Stanislaus Superior Court has been live-streaming many of its hearings to maintain both social distancing guidelines and the public’s right to access. Many incarcerated inmates are also appearing remotely from jail or prison.
Court officials could not immediately be reached for comment about whether Peterson’s hearing would be live-streamed or if he would appear in person or remotely. He remains in custody in San Quentin state prison.
When oral arguments were given before the California Supreme Court in Peterson’s automatic appeal they were done over video conference and Peterson did not take part.
Harris said he will represent Peterson on matters related to his sentence and attorney Cliff Gardner will appear on matters related to the juror misconduct.
No hearing has been scheduled yet in San Mateo Superior Court, according to its website.
Fladager said either she or Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris will appear on both matters. Both worked on the original prosecution team.
While Pat Harris said he will represent Peterson, Fladager said the issue of whether Peterson will need a public defender will be discussed at Friday’s hearing.
Laci Peterson was about 8 months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002 from her Modesto home.
A few months later her body and that of her unborn son were found along the shore of the San Francisco Bay, less than two miles from where Peterson said he fished on the day of Laci’s disappearance.
Peterson’s defenders have pointed out that the police widely publicized his Dec. 24 alibi.
, Erin Tracy, October 20, 2020
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
