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LaciIsInnocent.com

May 20

A person calling herself -- or himself -- "Citizen Q," claims to have found a soiled blue tarp near the site of Laci Peterson's recovery back in February 2003. "Citizen Q," who has apparently been a frequent visitor to the website "ScottIsInnocent.com" -- finally decided to send the tarp to Judge Delucchi.

Scott Peterson's case, previously anticipated as a purely circumstantial affair, is now brimming over with evidence. Not evidence collected by the Modesto Police, but by kooky, cyber-private eyes and over-zealous chatroom sleuths. The tarp is one of several pieces of so-called evidence that have been mailed to Delucchi in the past few months.

Exactly who's sending the packages and what's been said in the letters is murky -- but the message is very clear: Laci Peterson cannot get a fair trial in San Mateo County.




"I'm satisfied we can get a fair and impartial jury in San Mateo."
-- Judge Al Girolami after rejecting a prosecution motion to stay in Modesto



Blame DA Brazelton, blame Fox News, blame John Q. Citizen. . . Blame whoever you want, but the Peterson media circus must come to an immediate end, and a realistic remedy must be sought.

Even as prospective jurors are in the courthouse hallway filling out forms, evidence of a case out of control is being rolled past them in bins by postal workers delivering the morning mail.

A defendant is presumed to be innocent and therefore has certain rights, but the same rules apply to the victim. Laci Peterson also has the right to a fair trial. That will not be possible in this climate.

"You could argue, 'where are you going to go anywhere?'
People are watching this coast to coast."
-- DA, John Goold

The DA's office has, on several occasions, acknowledged the overwhelming and nearly unprecedented, international publicity surrounding Laci Peterson's death. Dave Harris himself recently admitted on the record that San Mateo was saturated with the trial, but then somehow rationalized that no remedy could be found.

The prosecution's absurd argument was first trotted out in Judge Girolami's courtroom back in January -- basically -- Peterson is so notorious, he can't get a fair trial anywhere in California, so a change of venue is pointless.

The implication from the DA's office seems to be that it was Scott Peterson who went on local and national television and contributed to his own infamy. Video tapes from those interviews are in fact, going to be used as testimony against Peterson in court. The argument is, if he can't get a fair trial -- too bad -- it's his own fault.

But what about Laci Peterson's rights? Doesn't she deserve a fair trial? The DA, throwing up his hands and deciding to limp on in reversible error, is simply not acceptable.

When a remedy is needed,
a remedy must be sought.

Right beside Peterson's revealing TV appearances are the many enlightening interviews and press conferences from law enforcement. Apparently attempting to scare or fool Scott Peterson into a confession, police stood before the cameras and told lie after lie.

The steadfast refusal of Stanislaus lawyers to search for a fair jury is a direct result of lazy investigators who misused the media and then gave up before finding any actual evidence of Laci Peterson's murder.

Presently, coming to the Redwood City courthouse by special delivery is all the fictitious evidence Modesto investigators planted in the newspapers after Laci went missing. No doubt Judge Delucchi can expect even more letters and packages to arrive, filled with tarps, mops, concrete, pajamas, and other manifestations of make-believe proof.

By the time the MPD sent Amber Frey to perform for the news cameras, it was obvious Peterson was not going to be tried in Modesto. If the People have a solid case, and admit it doesn't matter which county they prosecute it in -- why continue fighting for saturated San Mateo?

Law enforcement's high-tech lies have backfired. Good. That's as it should be. Wiretaps and GPS are no substitute for witnesses and DNA. But the victim shouldn't suffer for the sins of lazy investigators and a greedy media.

Laci Peterson, her unborn son Connor, and yes -- her husband Scott, all deserve a fair trial. So does the wounded community of family, friends, in-laws, on-lookers and concerned citizens.

In all fairness, Judge Delucchi should forward all postal Peterson proof to the prosecutors, and shut down the circus in San Mateo.

"We can let the balloons out!"

May 17, 2004

Judge Alfred Delucchi shouted with glee and called for balloons over Redwood City! "We can let the balloons out," he squealed. The normally jovial judge thought he had just cause to be especially high in court early last week.

Despite defender Mark Geragos' repeated pleas into the record protesting that publicity prevented Scott Peterson from picking an impartial panel in Redwood City -- the judge managed to sieve 70 citizens from San Mateo's poisoned pool.

Delucchi was delighted and deliciously declared: "Everything we get from now on is gravy!"

The painfully slow slog towards Peterson's speedy trial began more than two months ago. Most potential panelists were dismissed because they were either too busy or too biased -- or too both.

During a second change of venue hearing, Geragos formerly warned Delucchi (and any future appellate judges) that nearly unprecedented publicity and the distinct possibility of 'stealth jurors,' could put a stop to proceedings in mid-trial.

Geragos got no argument from the prosecution table. "This is a case that has got national attention. This is a case that has got international attention," Dave Harris agreed. But the prosecutor sees no point in a change of venue, and resigned to the Roman holiday, offered, "To move it to Los Angeles would make no difference."

Judge Delucchi disagreed about the damage done by the Modesto media storm. "Mr. Peterson is not particularly well-known in San Mateo County," he happily announced -- and instructed the lawyers to prepare for trial. By Friday however, all the air had leaked out of Al Delucchi's balloon party. The solid 70 had dwindled, deflated and dropped down to a point where the reality of Redwood City could no longer be denied.

Delucchi's gravy is suddenly very lumpy, now that he has asked for 300 more potential jurors to report to his courtroom. Opening statements -- which had been scheduled for May 17 -- have been held off until June 1.

Don't expect any balloons though. They're long gone.

pre-game or post-show?

May 4, 2004

Opening day in the Stanislaus Slam-Dunk has been delayed at least a week and Judge Delucchi now says he'll call in another 100 potential jurors.

Defense coach Geragos is pressing to have the game called off altogether. He wants the media drenched, double-murder moved to Los Angeles County, saying the agonizing jury selection process itself proves that the court cannot find a fair and impartial jury in San Mateo County.

Half of the potential jurors who have been interviewed in the two-month-long ramp up in Redwood City have said they presume Scott Peterson to be guilty of killing his wife and unborn son.

Odds are 50-50 there'll even BE a trial in San Mateo.

letter of the law

A letter was sent to Judge Al Delucchi by someone claiming to know who killed Scott Peterson's wife. The mail is most likey full of groundless conjecture and will be laughed out of court. After all, the mysterious postal prosecutor's only evidence is a single strand of hair.

innocence lost

April 24

Not unlike the bright, bustling, and often smelly parade down Main Street announcing that a circus has come to town, Scott Peterson's pre-trial phase is impossible to pass up.

Even those few folks in San Mateo who didn't line the streets to get an early glimpse of the show are, by now aware that something's about to happen. It's not just in the news -- it's in the air.

As far as I'm concerned -- all parades are too long -- but the Peterson preamble is so protracted, it's worn out its welcome on the way in. The trouble started when drum major for justice and joke lover Judge Delucchi led the invasion into Redwood City holding a big red banner that said, "No Photos, Please!"

When Delucchi judiciously removed cameras from the carnival, what was once a Slam-Dunk diversion quickly disappeared from view. (In its place are a pageant of other soap-selling side shows about Kobe Bryant's private parts, Janet Jackson's breasts and Howard Stern's morality.)

No channel change for Redwood citizens however, as down the boulevard came a procession of lawyers, reporters and assorted other clowns. Although broadly smiling and waving to the townsfolk -- they were often overheard complaining about them.

A marching band struck up a familiar tune, trumpeting future financial gain for the community, but occasionally rising above the bells and whistles were rude comments about Redwood City.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does the greedy media.

Without a continuous live-feed, drawn out previews of the Peterson coming attraction now seem to be promising to focus on a past distraction. The National Enquirer money machine about a Monster in Modesto is exposed as no different than last year's shocking revelations of Bigfoot sightings in rural Arkansas.

Those who had decided not to watch Scott Peterson's parade toward the death penalty were forced to tune in when they recognized their own friends and neighbors marching down the street, having joined the carneys along the road to the main event.

Overwhelmed by negative news and the snarled traffic reports of prejudiced prospective jurors, it had to have finally dawned on everybody in the county that San Mateo itself would be featured in the center ring. They had a title role in People vs. Peterson. They would also be judged -- and the trumped up pre-trial rumors of damning evidence against them was a bunch of lies.

San Mateo has pled Not Guilty. In their own defense, they point to the real culprit: the malevolent monster media.

Princess Diana

Even on its wicked way into town, the murder that led to a media frenzy has transformed into a media frenzy that may lead to murder.

The San Mateo citizens who'll one day sit on the Peterson jury are -- right now -- watching what no one else in America can see. Once impaneled, they'll maintain a unique perspective in that, while watching they'll know they're also BEING watched.

No doubt, magic man Mark Geragos will have a receptive audience when he displays his argument of an outlandish media feeding frenzy followed by a completely circumstantial case based on old episodes of "Good Morning America."

"Presumption of Innocence" isn't a courtroom TV-drama soundbite -- it's a fundamental principle of the US Justice system and a guide for police, prosecutors, the press, and the public. It must be upheld at every turn, insisted upon and fiercely defended, for when we take away the accused's presumption of innocence -- we rob the victim of it as well.

DA Chris Darden holding a
photo of Nicole Simpson

With so precious little evidence uncovered by police, when the REAL show opens in Redwood, assistant district attorney Rick Distaso will be far removed from the audience, high above, walking a circumstantial tightrope. His only safety net will be the presumption that Laci Peterson is innocent and therefore her behavior is a given.

Laci Peterson is to be trusted beyond a reasonable doubt. We know where she would have been and what she would have been doing at the time she went missing.

No one will testify that Laci was anything but a bright, happy, loving and concerned mother-to-be. No one will say she was involved with drugs or dangerous gangs. No witness will swear Laci Peterson had a miserable marriage or a shady husband, or that she expressed a single doubt about the father of her baby.

Either Mrs. Scott Peterson is to be fully trusted or not at all. Removing the safety net of assumed innocence to gain a conviction against Scott Peterson, means the tiniest misstep from Mr. Distaso will be fatal to the case.

If the Peterson trial exposes the circus its preliminary parade has, I anticipate a huge loss -- not just for prosecutors and law enforcement, but for caring people in Modesto and around the country, and for the memory of Laci Peterson -- forever lost to the dispute of a Not Guilty verdict in a failed search for the truth.

April 18, 2004

They were certain they'd find her in the San Francisco Bay.

Some 90 miles from her Modesto home, there was no logical reason to think Laci Peterson had been anywhere near the bay, but that's where police looked when the young, pregnant woman went missing. It was when Scott Peterson reported his Christmas Eve fishing trip to the Berkeley Marina that detectives first had the hunch -- he had gone there to dump his wife's body.

While it's true that clues sniffed up by bloodhounds raised suspicions about the Marina, those leads were as murky as dubious witness accounts of Laci Peterson walking her dog in the neighborhood park.

Police began a series of searches in the waters near the Berkeley Marina on December 28, 2002.

You don't look for a live person in the San Francisco Bay. Less than a week after Laci Peterson went missing, investigators had obviously surmised that, not only was Scott Peterson connected to his wife's kidnapping -- he had already killed her.

Glaringly contrary to their press conference pretensions -- from Day One, the Modesto Police were engaged in a homicide investigation, not a missing person case. Detectives had decided that Laci Peterson was dead, that she had been murdered on Christmas Eve, and that her body had been dumped in the bay.


Why were they so sure? Four things:

The mop. Police didn't know what it meant but it indicated cleaning. The pick-up. That gun and unopened package of fishing lures in the front seat was hinky as hell. The warehouse. Detectives were spooked by the dark visit to Peterson's workshop and the blood stains they spotted in his boat.

And no doubt, investigators saw the ghost of Chandra Levy that Christmas night.

They were positive on December 25 that Laci Peterson was in the bay. She had to be. Endeavors turned up nothing and yet they went back time and again. The intensive search for Laci Peterson -- one of the largest on record -- was mostly a search of the area around the Berkeley Marina.

It went on for months but Laci's body was never recovered.


Scott Peterson was taken into custody on April 18, 2003. His arrest came a few days after word spread that the remains of a woman and a male fetus had washed ashore at the San Francisco Bay.

On May 22, 2003 -- police went back to search the bay again.

Opening statements are scheduled for May 17, 2004. Prosecutors will mention nothing to jurors about guns, mops, bloody boat stains, or the ghost of Chandra Levy.

May 22, 2002

A defendant in California is guaranteed his or her criminal trial will begin within 60 days of a preliminary hearing. Scott Peterson's "eye-opening" preliminary ended some five months ago on November 18. Peterson, who was denied bail, has never waived his right to a speedy trial.

wait of the evidence

"We know what the results will be. The van has been cleared."
-- David Harris

The district attorney's office remains convinced that the brown van seen in Laci Peterson's neighborhood around the time she went missing is not connected to her murder. At one point prosecutors said stains found in the vehicle were barbeque sauce and not worth testing.

Responding to news that they've changed their mind and will examine the van, the DA's office said they were only conducting DNA tests on the ketchup in anticipation of the defense's strategy.

Anticipation, Anticipation is makin' me late It's keepin' me waiting

"It's Alice in Wonderland. It's not involved but we'll test it anyway?
Their theory about this case is ludicrous."
-- Mark Geragos

I saw what you did

and I know who you are

April 15, 2004

After announcing that he had mysteriously uncovered a stealth juror, Geragos the Great reached into his hat and produced another one! This time the covert operative was a 33-year-old, twice divorced woman who spent her nights on the internet chatting about Scott Peterson's guilt and bragging of her plans to sneak onto the jury.

Luckily, some do-gooder was eavesdropping on the conversation and exposed the secret crime to authorities.

A stealth transcript of the damning chat reportedly reads, "Anyone with half a brain could out the answers that the defense was looking for."

The Spin Wizard followed his second stealth act with an amazing finale. Geragos put San Mateo County District Attorney, Jim Fox on a slab and cut him in half. Complaining that the hidden criminals in Redwood City's juror pool are escaping perjury charges, Geragos referred to Mr. Fox as "this piece of crap who masquerades as a DA."

Despite his immediate apology, Judge Delucchi gave Geragos the hook. "You're an attorney, you're an officer of the court," the jurist warned. "There's no reason to use that language."

Delucchi wasn't much happier with the performance of the wicked witch of the web: "It appears to the court that she's dissembling."

Meanwhile, prosecutors Distaso and Harris have completely disappeared.

"If somebody DID lie, it may very well be a crime."
-- Jim Fox, March 31

"I've only been district attorney for twenty-one years and we have never prosecuted a juror for perjury so I guess you can say it's rare."
-- Jim Fox, April 13

When it absolutely, positively
HAS to be there overnight

stealth furor

April 14, 2004

No one knows what information defense attorneys requested or why the documents have not been turned over, but one thing is very, very clear -- the normally even-tempered Judge Delucchi is furious.

"If they don't show up with the information ... they'll be taken into custody," Delucchi announced, revealing the dark side to his delightful demeanor. "It might be worth a phone call to tell them that's exactly what's going to happen."

Scott Peterson's legal team had issued subpoenas to specific officials at Federal Express, UPS, and other companies. For whatever reasons, those subpoenas were ignored. Delucchi demanded they over-night the documents or they'll be standing in the chow line next to Scott Peterson by lunchtime tomorrow.

The judge's ill-humor is probably the result of the painfully slow process to find 70 people out of the 700,000 in San Mateo County, who DON'T think Scott Peterson is "guilty as hell."

Prospective juror #29308 isn't helping.

"Anyone who would defend a wife-killer and a child molester deserves to lose."
-- retired secretary, grandmother, and stealth juror #29308, about Mark Geragos

stealthier than thou

The elderly woman accused of lying to get on the Peterson panel last month -- finally got what was due her. Following a short meeting with attorneys this morning, Judge Delucchi ordered the stealth grandma out of the jury pool.

High profile defender, Mark Geragos got the low-down weeks before juror #29308 actually surfaced in court.

In a theme familiar to the Peterson case, Geragos was secretly tipped off about the woman by a man who overheard her blabbing to friends during a bus trip to Reno. Listening in on the woman's private conversation -- the un-named man reported she boasted about plans to lie her way onto the jury and make sure Scott Peterson would "get what's due him."

The little old lady liar could well face criminal charges for perjury. Perhaps not -- the case against her is, after all, purely circumstantial.

In any event, this so-called stealth juror's alleged attempt to undermine the legal process and deny Peterson what the constitution says he's DUE, will hereafter be referenced as proof of the bizarre and uniquely tainted jury pool in San Mateo.

stealth prosecution

On, about, or around May 17, Scott Peterson's speedy trial is scheduled to start. Delucchi is yelling from the bench and Geragos is screaming foul. In a case literally flooded with slam-dunk leaks -- the DA's dream team has gone strangely missing.

Last month, prosecutors Distaso and Harris went in to Redwood City like lions. ("If the marriage truly was glorious, why would the defendant seek an adulterous relationship with Amber Frey?" . . . "How can you have a murder case with no bodies?")

Now -- teetering between the critical opening statements and a complete change of venue -- the silence of the lambs is deafening.

New Yorker cartoon noted by Judge Delucchi:

justice in wonderland

April 9

Normally, during jury selection in a murder trial, prosecutors seek out "law and order" types, which is perhaps why Judge Al Delucchi was so surprised by Rick Distaso this week.

A prospective juror told the court she was a 9-1-1 operator with a husband and a father that were both policemen. After some questioning, Distaso insisted she be excused. He felt the woman was prejudiced because she'd already decided that -- until proven guilty -- Scott Peterson was innocent . . .

The moment is not unlike that scene in Alice in Wonderland when the red-faced Queen of Hearts demands, "Sentence first -- verdict afterwards!"



DISTASO: Basically, she's prejudged his innocence.

DELUCCHI: You can't prejudge innocence. He's presumed innocent.

GERAGOS: Do you realize where we've come to? The first person who's expressed a presumption of innocence, the prosecution wants to dismiss for cause!



After rejecting the assistant DA's bizarre arguments, the Judge gently reminded Rick Distaso that it is HE who has the burden of proof -- not the citizens of San Mateo -- and that prospective jurors have absolutely no reason to believe Scott Peterson is guilty of anything.

But in some odd, twisted way -- I almost see Distaso's point. . .

A juror with personal knowledge about law enforcement would likely find it very strange to sit through a murder trial where most of the testimony is coming from the mouths of police and most of the evidence is coming from the mouths of the prosecutors. Such a juror is certain to decide, as Alice did, "You're nothing but a pack of cards!"

Distaso apparently woke up to reality when Delucchi noted the mad hat defense attorney Geragos was wearing. "I'm not sure that Mr. Geragos is going to accept this juror when it comes down to it," the judge wisely cracked.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

"It's all of the things adding up to show that Scott Peterson wanted out of this marriage and he took it into his own hands, didn't do a divorce because he didn't want alimony, he didn't want a family, and he had not only the affair with Amber Frey but with other women, as well."
-- Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom,
former Victoria's Secret model and Court-TV star
married to San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom

Harper's Bazaar dubbed the
couple, "The New Kennedys."

Voir dire

"to speak the truth"

"Laci and Conner's Law has nothing to do with abortion."
Sharon Rocha

Wit and Wisdom

In Camera

March 22, 2004

Light-hearted Al Delucchi's robe must've felt considerably heavier as he slipped it on for Monday morning's court session. The quick-witted judge had seen his speedy trial brought to a slow crawl.

Using under-the-radar spinwizards and other alternate means of communication, defense tactician and media magician, Mark Geragos had managed to pull the plug on Peterson jury-picking proceedings without making a single motion.

It happened in an instant! Just long enough to hear a few "boos" from an audience of prospective jurors. A flash of news! Then . . .

. . . producing an appellate issue out of thin air, Mr. Geragos brought the whole show to a standstill for weeks -- while misdirecting attention to the DA's table.

Presumably waiting for Delucchi to decide whether prosecutors could use Scott Peterson's talky media interviews as evidence -- ventriloquist Geragos used talky media dummies to put out word that the talky media had poisoned the jury pool.

He never moved his lips, and yet the groups of prospective jurors suddenly started acting friendlier toward the defendant. Presto, Change-O!

Simultaneously speaking off camera, in camera and on camera -- Mark Geragos was loud and clear: the media is the message.

The specter of Sam Sheppard was raised by one talking head on one network and suddenly all the heads were talking about Sheppard -- and then somebody mumbled the magic words, "Roman holiday."

Sitting just feet away from the King of Pop's power lawyer this morning, no doubt Rick Distaso's necktie felt a lot tighter, having just listened to two weeks of complaints about a Media Circus. Moonlighting on the Moonwalker, Geragos focused in on the Peterson case and somehow transformed a gag order into a one-way radio, daily broadcasting every defense announcement from ominous juror statistics to change of venue motions.

When the smoke and mirrors cleared for court, the stage was empty.

Delucchi deftly decided the only issue before him and ruled Scott Peterson's televised testimony -- given during a media feeding frenzy -- may be screened for the jury and displayed as evidence. With scenes from a Roman holiday playing in the background, the jovial jurist quipped that the defendant's TV spots might show "consciousness of guilt" and "state of mind," adding -- "The court finds the probative value outweighs any prejudicial value."

Only time will tell if Mark Geragos out-witted the wise-cracking Judge or if Delucchi's wisdom gives the last laugh to humorless straight man, Rick Distaso.

Written across the back of an
excused potential juror's T-shirt:

"Don't Hunt What You Can't Kill"


                                                 

"Clearly they are spliced and diced."
-- Geragos on Peterson's edited TV interviews

The Scott Peterson Investigation

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