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American Morning
Judge Will Hear Arguments Later Today in Case Against Scott Peterson
Aired August 14, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back in this country right now, in California, a judge will hear arguments later today in the case against Scott Peterson, charged with murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner. The critical issue today is whether or not to allow cameras in the courtroom when a preliminary hearing gets under way on the ninth of September.
Jeff Toobin stops by in a moment. Many thoughts on this with Jeff.
But first, David Mattingly is in Modesto for us today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four months to the day since the discovery of her body on the shores of San Francisco Bay, many details of Laci Peterson's murder remain tightly sealed by the court. Her husband Scott maintains his innocence, in jail and charged with the murders of Laci and their unborn child.
On Monday, his defense team, hiring the services of two high profile experts, reexamined the bodies.
MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was as smooth and performed as well as could be under the circumstances. Other than that, there's not much else that I can say because of the protective or gag order.
MATTINGLY: Peterson's defense lawyers continue to pursue the theory that Laci was abducted near her Modesto, California home and murdered by a satanic cult while her husband was fishing on Christmas Eve. Everyone is headed back to court Thursday to find out if cameras will be allowed in the courtroom in September when prosecutors present the evidence they've collected against Peterson in a preliminary hearing.
Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, has already appealed to the judge, trying to keep the trial off the air. In a letter delivered in June, Laci's parents pleaded please don't let their memories of Laci be destroyed by televising the ugliness of the trial.
Only the attorneys for a variety of media outlets will argue for openness, openness in a case where key emotionally charged moments have already played out in front of the camera -- the emergence of the girlfriend Amber Frey, the arrest of the blonde and bearded Scott Peterson and the tearful comments from Laci's mother. SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER: In my mind I keep hearing Laci say to me, "Mom, please find me and Conner and bring us home. I'm scared."
MATTINGLY: In the meantime, Laci's bright smile still beams from her now familiar photographs, silent but compelling reminders of the life that was taken and evidence of the storybook life she and her husband seemed to be living.
David Mattingly, CNN, Modesto, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We should point out the closing is extremely rare of a preliminary hearing, especially in California.
Will the judge listen now to the defense and the victim's family and keep the media out of the courtroom?
Let's talk more about that with our legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, who stops by here on AMERICAN MORNING -- good to see you again.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
HEMMER: So the fundamental issue is whether or not the public has a right to the trial, to see it, versus Scott Peterson's right to a fair trial.
TOOBIN: Which is often the case in these media arguments in criminal law, in criminal cases. It's a really remarkable argument from the defense here. They're asking for two things. One is to keep cameras out of the courtroom, which is pretty familiar. But the other is to close the courtroom altogether, no public, no media, no one.
That is an extremely unlikely argument to win. The Supreme Court addressed that argument in 1986 and basically since then the media has never been kept out of a criminal case. It's not impossible, but that's pretty unlikely.
They're probably asking for the full loaf, keep everybody out, in the hope that they'll get half a loaf in cameras will be kept out.
HEMMER: OK, so make an argument for me. What's the national interest for putting a camera in a courtroom at only the preliminary stage?
TOOBIN: Well, the argument is that cameras -- that courtrooms are public places and California has a set of rules for whether cameras should be admitted or not. And if you look at the factors, this case, there won't be any disruption by the cameras. There's no additional publicity that this case will get particularly from cameras in the courtroom that it won't get otherwise. The camera provides accurate information as opposed to the rumors and leaks that you get otherwise.
HEMMER: OK, I buy all that... TOOBIN: Those are the arguments in favor of the access.
HEMMER: So do it locally. Why do it nationally?
TOOBIN: Well, you can't really distribute a picture and determine where it goes. That's up to the media. Once it gets out of the courtroom...
HEMMER: That tells me Jeff Toobin's got a plane ticket to California in early September.
TOOBIN: I'm afraid it could happen, yes.
HEMMER: Quite likely.
Listen, there's a motivation on the part of Mark Geragos, as you pointed out here. We also saw some interesting pictures this past week that go to the whole thought about this cult ritual that may have taken place and the defense contends this is one theory which may account for the death of Laci and her unborn son.
TOOBIN: A very interesting story in the "Modesto Bee," a real scoop for the local paper. They have, they learned that the defense is looking into this community of people, artists in the San Francisco Bay who have paintings, very odd, disturbing, violent paintings that they keep near the Bay there. And they have conducted experiments where they have, the defense has, where they have -- there's a photograph from the there. There's Sarah Wacht (ph), a pathologist, and Henry Lee and one of the defense lawyers there looking at the evidence. And they have actually put in the San Francisco Bay these sort of body like things to see where they would float, to see if they would go where the bodies were discovered here.
The artists themselves have been interviewed and they've said this is all ridiculous, we have nothing to do with killing anybody, this is just art. But it just shows how they are pushing this cult theory in front of, you know, to try to explain the deaths.
HEMMER: Your thoughts on whether or not this judge, cameras in or out?
TOOBIN: I think cameras in, but he's done this peculiar thing. He has allowed cameras in but he hasn't allowed live pictures to go out. He has sort of said...
HEMMER: Is that a taped proceeding?
TOOBIN: ... that he'd keep it on embargo, sort of put it on tape and only release the tape after the hearings are over. That's what he's done so far. I think he may do that again.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff.
September 9.
TOOBIN: See you there, Modesto. HEMMER: You're going to send us a postcard.
TOOBIN: That's right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Scott Peterson>
Aired August 14, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back in this country right now, in California, a judge will hear arguments later today in the case against Scott Peterson, charged with murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner. The critical issue today is whether or not to allow cameras in the courtroom when a preliminary hearing gets under way on the ninth of September.
Jeff Toobin stops by in a moment. Many thoughts on this with Jeff.
But first, David Mattingly is in Modesto for us today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four months to the day since the discovery of her body on the shores of San Francisco Bay, many details of Laci Peterson's murder remain tightly sealed by the court. Her husband Scott maintains his innocence, in jail and charged with the murders of Laci and their unborn child.
On Monday, his defense team, hiring the services of two high profile experts, reexamined the bodies.
MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was as smooth and performed as well as could be under the circumstances. Other than that, there's not much else that I can say because of the protective or gag order.
MATTINGLY: Peterson's defense lawyers continue to pursue the theory that Laci was abducted near her Modesto, California home and murdered by a satanic cult while her husband was fishing on Christmas Eve. Everyone is headed back to court Thursday to find out if cameras will be allowed in the courtroom in September when prosecutors present the evidence they've collected against Peterson in a preliminary hearing.
Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, has already appealed to the judge, trying to keep the trial off the air. In a letter delivered in June, Laci's parents pleaded please don't let their memories of Laci be destroyed by televising the ugliness of the trial.
Only the attorneys for a variety of media outlets will argue for openness, openness in a case where key emotionally charged moments have already played out in front of the camera -- the emergence of the girlfriend Amber Frey, the arrest of the blonde and bearded Scott Peterson and the tearful comments from Laci's mother. SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER: In my mind I keep hearing Laci say to me, "Mom, please find me and Conner and bring us home. I'm scared."
MATTINGLY: In the meantime, Laci's bright smile still beams from her now familiar photographs, silent but compelling reminders of the life that was taken and evidence of the storybook life she and her husband seemed to be living.
David Mattingly, CNN, Modesto, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We should point out the closing is extremely rare of a preliminary hearing, especially in California.
Will the judge listen now to the defense and the victim's family and keep the media out of the courtroom?
Let's talk more about that with our legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, who stops by here on AMERICAN MORNING -- good to see you again.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
HEMMER: So the fundamental issue is whether or not the public has a right to the trial, to see it, versus Scott Peterson's right to a fair trial.
TOOBIN: Which is often the case in these media arguments in criminal law, in criminal cases. It's a really remarkable argument from the defense here. They're asking for two things. One is to keep cameras out of the courtroom, which is pretty familiar. But the other is to close the courtroom altogether, no public, no media, no one.
That is an extremely unlikely argument to win. The Supreme Court addressed that argument in 1986 and basically since then the media has never been kept out of a criminal case. It's not impossible, but that's pretty unlikely.
They're probably asking for the full loaf, keep everybody out, in the hope that they'll get half a loaf in cameras will be kept out.
HEMMER: OK, so make an argument for me. What's the national interest for putting a camera in a courtroom at only the preliminary stage?
TOOBIN: Well, the argument is that cameras -- that courtrooms are public places and California has a set of rules for whether cameras should be admitted or not. And if you look at the factors, this case, there won't be any disruption by the cameras. There's no additional publicity that this case will get particularly from cameras in the courtroom that it won't get otherwise. The camera provides accurate information as opposed to the rumors and leaks that you get otherwise.
HEMMER: OK, I buy all that... TOOBIN: Those are the arguments in favor of the access.
HEMMER: So do it locally. Why do it nationally?
TOOBIN: Well, you can't really distribute a picture and determine where it goes. That's up to the media. Once it gets out of the courtroom...
HEMMER: That tells me Jeff Toobin's got a plane ticket to California in early September.
TOOBIN: I'm afraid it could happen, yes.
HEMMER: Quite likely.
Listen, there's a motivation on the part of Mark Geragos, as you pointed out here. We also saw some interesting pictures this past week that go to the whole thought about this cult ritual that may have taken place and the defense contends this is one theory which may account for the death of Laci and her unborn son.
TOOBIN: A very interesting story in the "Modesto Bee," a real scoop for the local paper. They have, they learned that the defense is looking into this community of people, artists in the San Francisco Bay who have paintings, very odd, disturbing, violent paintings that they keep near the Bay there. And they have conducted experiments where they have, the defense has, where they have -- there's a photograph from the there. There's Sarah Wacht (ph), a pathologist, and Henry Lee and one of the defense lawyers there looking at the evidence. And they have actually put in the San Francisco Bay these sort of body like things to see where they would float, to see if they would go where the bodies were discovered here.
The artists themselves have been interviewed and they've said this is all ridiculous, we have nothing to do with killing anybody, this is just art. But it just shows how they are pushing this cult theory in front of, you know, to try to explain the deaths.
HEMMER: Your thoughts on whether or not this judge, cameras in or out?
TOOBIN: I think cameras in, but he's done this peculiar thing. He has allowed cameras in but he hasn't allowed live pictures to go out. He has sort of said...
HEMMER: Is that a taped proceeding?
TOOBIN: ... that he'd keep it on embargo, sort of put it on tape and only release the tape after the hearings are over. That's what he's done so far. I think he may do that again.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff.
September 9.
TOOBIN: See you there, Modesto. HEMMER: You're going to send us a postcard.
TOOBIN: That's right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Scott Peterson>
