August 5
CALIFORNIA:
Peterson trial delayed while defense investigates new evidence
Scott Peterson's murder trial will be delayed until early next week so the
defense can investigate recently discovered evidence, the judge announced
Thursday after a closed-door session with the lawyers.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos said outside court that the evidence is
"potentially exculpatory" and was "reluctantly" turned over by the
prosecution. No details about the evidence were announced.
Trial testimony is expected to resume on Tuesday.
The announcement about the trial delay came after Judge Alfred Delucchi
consulted with defense and prosecution lawyers in his chambers Thursday
morning.
A separate evidence debate led to a shouting match between attorneys
Wednesday afternoon after jurors were removed from the courtroom.
Geragos loudly complained that prosecutors had failed to inform the
defense about a problem with the testimony of a woman who said Peterson
seemed "nonchalant" as he searched through photos of his missing wife. The
problem was that on the eve of her testimony, the woman failed to identify
any of the photos she later testified about.
"How many times am I going to have to get discovery by cross-examination?"
Geragos shouted.
The judge, clearly angry, upbraided the apologetic prosecutor, Rick
Distaso, and struck the woman's testimony from the record.
Prosecutors allege Peterson killed his wife, Laci, in their Modesto home
on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then drove to the bay and dumped her weighted
body from a small boat he had purchased just weeks earlier. The badly
decomposed remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore
in April 2003, not far from where Peterson said he went on a solo fishing
trip the day she vanished.
(source: Associated Press)
