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CNN Live Today
Look at Scott Peterson Case
Aired January 08, 2004 - 11:16 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to look a little more at the defense's chances to get this trial moved to L.A. Want to bring in Kendall Coffey in Miami. He;s a former federal prosecutor and a frequent contributor to us here at CNN on legal matters. Kendall, good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hey, good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Do you think this thing is moving south?
COFFEY: Probably not. There's certainly are a lot of legitimate concerns about the attitudes in Modesto.
And by the way, wouldn't the defense love to go to a big city like Los Angeles where there's a lot more skepticism sometimes about police? A lot of the defense strategy here is to really put the police investigation on trial, came it was a bungling effort that didn't find the real killer because they overly focused on Scott Peterson.
But the tough part of it is has the defense made a case that the numbers, the attitudes, the realities of Modesto are that much worse than some other place? And it appears that, based upon all the polling data that the judge is going to see, that sure, lots of people in Modesto have heard about the case, lots of people have opinions, but so do people everywhere in California, so do people everywhere in the country.
KAGAN: In reading about this this morning I thought it was interesting that Charles Manson and his legal trail kind of plays into this. And both sides can point to that to make their argument of why the trial should or should not be moved.
COFFEY: Really ironic, especially when you think that that really was a cult slaying, and we've heard a little bit about cult theory in the defense theories on Peterson, too.
What the Manson case held is mostly bad from the defense strategy because what they said, and they used the word "useless," that it would be useless to transfer a case for venue based on pretrial publicity if the pretrial publicity, however negative it might be, was basically dosed massively all around the state.
And that is very much the concern that the defense has to overcome, to show somehow that the Modesto community has a special emotional investment in the cause of Laci Peterson. KAGAN: But isn't it interesting that at the time -- so Charles Manson's defense attorneys at time made the push to get did moved out of L.A. County, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but based on the thinking that you had this huge pool of people. So anytime there's going to be a difficult case in California it would have to go to Los Angeles County.
COFFEY: Right. And to an extent that's what the defense is trying to argue. The prosecution responds, Wait a minute, Modesto isn't a 500-person cow town, it's a 500,000-person community. And you sure as heck are going to be able to find 12 people here who can be fair and give Scott Peterson real consideration of all the evidence.
KAGAN: And given California's budget woes, when the judge sits up there making the decision, does he take into account what it costs to move the trial?
COFFEY: Well, judges always consider not only the expense but the massive inconvenience to witnesses, to everybody involved in moving a case, especially a lot of miles.
And by the way, judges are also reluctant, Daryn, to say that their own community, the community that that judge is a part of, cannot be fair, that that community cannot produce 12 people who could fairly judge the guilt or innocence of Scott Peterson, something that many judges are going to be very reluctant to rule.
KAGAN: Either way, does this trial get started January 26?
COFFEY: Doesn't get started, Daryn, because there's almost surely going to be an appeal if the venue motion is denied. And there are just too many other significant evidence issues that weren't resolved at the preliminary hearing and need to be squared away before this trial can begin.
KAGAN: Kendall Coffey, thanks for your take. Appreciate it.
COFFEY: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 8, 2004 - 11:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to look a little more at the defense's chances to get this trial moved to L.A. Want to bring in Kendall Coffey in Miami. He;s a former federal prosecutor and a frequent contributor to us here at CNN on legal matters. Kendall, good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hey, good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Do you think this thing is moving south?
COFFEY: Probably not. There's certainly are a lot of legitimate concerns about the attitudes in Modesto.
And by the way, wouldn't the defense love to go to a big city like Los Angeles where there's a lot more skepticism sometimes about police? A lot of the defense strategy here is to really put the police investigation on trial, came it was a bungling effort that didn't find the real killer because they overly focused on Scott Peterson.
But the tough part of it is has the defense made a case that the numbers, the attitudes, the realities of Modesto are that much worse than some other place? And it appears that, based upon all the polling data that the judge is going to see, that sure, lots of people in Modesto have heard about the case, lots of people have opinions, but so do people everywhere in California, so do people everywhere in the country.
KAGAN: In reading about this this morning I thought it was interesting that Charles Manson and his legal trail kind of plays into this. And both sides can point to that to make their argument of why the trial should or should not be moved.
COFFEY: Really ironic, especially when you think that that really was a cult slaying, and we've heard a little bit about cult theory in the defense theories on Peterson, too.
What the Manson case held is mostly bad from the defense strategy because what they said, and they used the word "useless," that it would be useless to transfer a case for venue based on pretrial publicity if the pretrial publicity, however negative it might be, was basically dosed massively all around the state.
And that is very much the concern that the defense has to overcome, to show somehow that the Modesto community has a special emotional investment in the cause of Laci Peterson. KAGAN: But isn't it interesting that at the time -- so Charles Manson's defense attorneys at time made the push to get did moved out of L.A. County, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but based on the thinking that you had this huge pool of people. So anytime there's going to be a difficult case in California it would have to go to Los Angeles County.
COFFEY: Right. And to an extent that's what the defense is trying to argue. The prosecution responds, Wait a minute, Modesto isn't a 500-person cow town, it's a 500,000-person community. And you sure as heck are going to be able to find 12 people here who can be fair and give Scott Peterson real consideration of all the evidence.
KAGAN: And given California's budget woes, when the judge sits up there making the decision, does he take into account what it costs to move the trial?
COFFEY: Well, judges always consider not only the expense but the massive inconvenience to witnesses, to everybody involved in moving a case, especially a lot of miles.
And by the way, judges are also reluctant, Daryn, to say that their own community, the community that that judge is a part of, cannot be fair, that that community cannot produce 12 people who could fairly judge the guilt or innocence of Scott Peterson, something that many judges are going to be very reluctant to rule.
KAGAN: Either way, does this trial get started January 26?
COFFEY: Doesn't get started, Daryn, because there's almost surely going to be an appeal if the venue motion is denied. And there are just too many other significant evidence issues that weren't resolved at the preliminary hearing and need to be squared away before this trial can begin.
KAGAN: Kendall Coffey, thanks for your take. Appreciate it.
COFFEY: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
