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Science Will be Center Stage When Scott Peterson's Preliminary Hearing Resumes
Aired October 30, 2003 - 08:12 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Science will again be center stage when Scott Peterson's preliminary hearing resumes this morning in Modesto, California. The prosecution and defense clashed over DNA evidence during day one of the hearing. It may determine whether Scott Peterson should stand trial for murder in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn child.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was in the courtroom yesterday. He'll be there again today -- Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
O'BRIEN: DNA evidence, that is a bit surprising to me, that that sort of evidence would be that crucial. It is, after all, a boat that was jointly owned by Laci Peterson. To find her hair there, is that shocking evidence?
TOOBIN: Well, the -- that certainly will be the defense argument, that if her hair is there, so what? It was her boat. The specific hair that was at issue mostly in the trial yesterday was a hair that was found on a pliers in the boat. The prosecution theory apparently is that Scott Peterson hit Laci with the pliers and then dumped her body in the water. That seems to be the implication of the evidence we're going to see.
But in terms of the specifics of what the argument was yesterday, the government is using a relatively unusual DNA technique, not the DNA that's familiar in courtrooms, blood and semen. This is DNA called mitochondrial DNA, generally only used for hair. It's less proved. It's less exact. And the defense has been arguing, Mark Geragos, the lawyer, has been arguing the technology is unreliable and the chain of custody was not followed properly.
So that's what the focus of the evidence was yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Is it still, in this day and age, possible to put enough doubt in a jury's mind about the science of DNA?
TOOBIN: You know, problem not, Miles. I don't think so. I think DNA is so widely accepted. But I think the argument that generally works best in courtrooms is the one that was used most famously in the O.J. Simpson case, which is garbage in, garbage out. That if the procedures are not followed properly, if the samples were not maintained properly, those arguments always do work pretty well, especially when you consider these items are just so small. You're talking about one or two hairs. When they are moved around the country, it is possible for juries to think, you know, I'm not even sure this is really the hair that was found in the boat.
O'BRIEN: Now, Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, tried to fight to keep Gloria Allred out, who represents Amber Frey. What's the beef there? And as it turns out, I read that Gloria Allred actually fell asleep when she finally got in the courtroom, so that's kind of interesting, too.
What's going on there?
TOOBIN: You know, Mark Geragos, Gloria Allred, when publicity junkies clash, that's really the theme of this particular fight. She represents Amber Frey, who was the other woman in the case. She is legitimately a lawyer involved in the case. But she's, of course, a talking head who's appeared many times on talk shows. She's a featured guest in many of the cable shows that are covering this case. She wants to be in the courtroom. I'm not really sure why.
Geragos and Allred really, obviously, can't stand each other. Usually witnesses are not supposed to be in the courtroom when the others testify. But I have to say, I think it was an extremely trivial, if rather entertaining, sideshow. And I expect the conflict between the two of them will continue.
O'BRIEN: All right, and just quickly, how long do you think this hearing is going to last? A week or so?
TOOBIN: A lot longer than we expected. I think probably well more than a week, maybe closer to two.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jeff Toobin, I guess you're going to be hunkering down there in Modesto.
Thanks very much for your time.
TOOBIN: Could be.
See you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Preliminary Hearing Resumes>
Aired October 30, 2003 - 08:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Science will again be center stage when Scott Peterson's preliminary hearing resumes this morning in Modesto, California. The prosecution and defense clashed over DNA evidence during day one of the hearing. It may determine whether Scott Peterson should stand trial for murder in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn child.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was in the courtroom yesterday. He'll be there again today -- Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
O'BRIEN: DNA evidence, that is a bit surprising to me, that that sort of evidence would be that crucial. It is, after all, a boat that was jointly owned by Laci Peterson. To find her hair there, is that shocking evidence?
TOOBIN: Well, the -- that certainly will be the defense argument, that if her hair is there, so what? It was her boat. The specific hair that was at issue mostly in the trial yesterday was a hair that was found on a pliers in the boat. The prosecution theory apparently is that Scott Peterson hit Laci with the pliers and then dumped her body in the water. That seems to be the implication of the evidence we're going to see.
But in terms of the specifics of what the argument was yesterday, the government is using a relatively unusual DNA technique, not the DNA that's familiar in courtrooms, blood and semen. This is DNA called mitochondrial DNA, generally only used for hair. It's less proved. It's less exact. And the defense has been arguing, Mark Geragos, the lawyer, has been arguing the technology is unreliable and the chain of custody was not followed properly.
So that's what the focus of the evidence was yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Is it still, in this day and age, possible to put enough doubt in a jury's mind about the science of DNA?
TOOBIN: You know, problem not, Miles. I don't think so. I think DNA is so widely accepted. But I think the argument that generally works best in courtrooms is the one that was used most famously in the O.J. Simpson case, which is garbage in, garbage out. That if the procedures are not followed properly, if the samples were not maintained properly, those arguments always do work pretty well, especially when you consider these items are just so small. You're talking about one or two hairs. When they are moved around the country, it is possible for juries to think, you know, I'm not even sure this is really the hair that was found in the boat.
O'BRIEN: Now, Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, tried to fight to keep Gloria Allred out, who represents Amber Frey. What's the beef there? And as it turns out, I read that Gloria Allred actually fell asleep when she finally got in the courtroom, so that's kind of interesting, too.
What's going on there?
TOOBIN: You know, Mark Geragos, Gloria Allred, when publicity junkies clash, that's really the theme of this particular fight. She represents Amber Frey, who was the other woman in the case. She is legitimately a lawyer involved in the case. But she's, of course, a talking head who's appeared many times on talk shows. She's a featured guest in many of the cable shows that are covering this case. She wants to be in the courtroom. I'm not really sure why.
Geragos and Allred really, obviously, can't stand each other. Usually witnesses are not supposed to be in the courtroom when the others testify. But I have to say, I think it was an extremely trivial, if rather entertaining, sideshow. And I expect the conflict between the two of them will continue.
O'BRIEN: All right, and just quickly, how long do you think this hearing is going to last? A week or so?
TOOBIN: A lot longer than we expected. I think probably well more than a week, maybe closer to two.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jeff Toobin, I guess you're going to be hunkering down there in Modesto.
Thanks very much for your time.
TOOBIN: Could be.
See you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Preliminary Hearing Resumes>
