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American Morning

Scott Peterson Will Stand Trial for Murder

Aired December 04, 2003 - 07:35   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Scott Peterson will stand trial for murder in the deaths of his wife Laci and their unborn child. But where and when he'll be tried are not yet clear. In court yesterday, Peterson reiterated his innocent plea. The judge set a tentative trial date for next month, but defense lawyers want the case moved out of Modesto.
Joining us this morning to talk a little bit about the case is reporter Gloria Gomez of KOVR-TV in Sacramento.

Nice to see you.

GLORIA GOMEZ, REPORTER, KOVR-TV: Nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for joining us.

Thank you very much.

Court date, January 26, but there are so many things that could happen between now and then that could move that court date.

What could happen?

GOMEZ: Oh, absolutely.

First of all, the defense is going to have a series of motions. They're going to want to exclude the wiretap evidence. They're going to want to exclude the dog evidence. They're going to want to exclude so many evidence that they're actually, each thing is going to take a hearing. And because of that, we haven't even talked about, you know, the jury selection. All of this will take months and months before we go to trial.

So we're thinking maybe six to seven months before we actually see any kind of trial.

O'BRIEN: So you think that date is just not going to happen?

GOMEZ: Oh, no. It's definitely going to be pushed back.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about what happened yesterday. The judge ordered that the prosecution return about $15,000 to Scott Peterson. They also ordered that the prosecution return the truck. I think the prosecution sounded fine about the money. They wanted to hang onto the truck. They said it had blood evidence in it.

So, two questions for you. One, is this as big of a victory for the defense as it's been sort of posited by lots of people? And, two, if they return the truck, does that mean they can't use it as evidence?

GOMEZ: Well, actually, it is a victory for the defense, because the prosecution contends, hey, listen, this is where Scott Peterson transported Laci from the home in Covina all the way to the warehouse. So, of course, to them, this is very important evidence. Obviously they're going to want to show the jury, have it impact on, look, this is the truck where Laci was transported, as opposed to having pictures. It doesn't have the same impact.

So for the defense, a big victory. For the prosecution, a very, very big defeat.

O'BRIEN: But because they have the pictures, they'll still be able to use it as evidence in the case?

GOMEZ: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Now, Mark Geragos wants a change of venue.

What does he have to prove to show that Scott Peterson can't get a fair trial in Modesto?

GOMEZ: Well, he has to show that the jury pool in Modesto is biased, that it's been obviously tainted by the huge exposure that this case has gotten. So if he can show the judge that there's just absolutely no way he could get a fair trial in Modesto, then it could possibly be moved to another county.

O'BRIEN: He's also moved to dismiss the case. And I thought the whole point of a preliminary hearing, which was so long, unusually long, was to bound the case over to trial. So you, it happened in the preliminary case. He went to trial.

On what grounds could they possibly dismiss now that they've moved the case forward?

GOMEZ: Well, actually, every defendant has a right to challenge that. So at this point they are just going to say hey, listen, Geragos is going to make his point that, you know, some, that all the evidence does not prove his client did it, and he's just going through the -- every motion that the defense possibly could take in this.

O'BRIEN: You're one of the few people who's interviewed Scott Peterson.

Give me a sense of how you found him and how you find him as you continue to cover this case closely.

GOMEZ: Well, I was very surprised from the beginning because he did not want to talk to the media. He wanted to focus on Laci. He told me that from the beginning. When I finally did sit down to interview him, he seemed very scripted. He knew exactly what he was going to say during the interview. And when I did throw him some questions he was unprepared for, that made him very uneasy. O'BRIEN: Gloria Gomez of KOVR.

It's nice to have you here, even though you're based out there.

GOMEZ: It's nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for coming in to New York to see us.

GOMEZ: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

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 December 4, 2003 - 07:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Scott Peterson will stand trial for murder in the deaths of his wife Laci and their unborn child. But where and when he'll be tried are not yet clear. In court yesterday, Peterson reiterated his innocent plea. The judge set a tentative trial date for next month, but defense lawyers want the case moved out of Modesto.
Joining us this morning to talk a little bit about the case is reporter Gloria Gomez of KOVR-TV in Sacramento.

Nice to see you.

GLORIA GOMEZ, REPORTER, KOVR-TV: Nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for joining us.

Thank you very much.

Court date, January 26, but there are so many things that could happen between now and then that could move that court date.

What could happen?

GOMEZ: Oh, absolutely.

First of all, the defense is going to have a series of motions. They're going to want to exclude the wiretap evidence. They're going to want to exclude the dog evidence. They're going to want to exclude so many evidence that they're actually, each thing is going to take a hearing. And because of that, we haven't even talked about, you know, the jury selection. All of this will take months and months before we go to trial.

So we're thinking maybe six to seven months before we actually see any kind of trial.

O'BRIEN: So you think that date is just not going to happen?

GOMEZ: Oh, no. It's definitely going to be pushed back.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about what happened yesterday. The judge ordered that the prosecution return about $15,000 to Scott Peterson. They also ordered that the prosecution return the truck. I think the prosecution sounded fine about the money. They wanted to hang onto the truck. They said it had blood evidence in it.

So, two questions for you. One, is this as big of a victory for the defense as it's been sort of posited by lots of people? And, two, if they return the truck, does that mean they can't use it as evidence?

GOMEZ: Well, actually, it is a victory for the defense, because the prosecution contends, hey, listen, this is where Scott Peterson transported Laci from the home in Covina all the way to the warehouse. So, of course, to them, this is very important evidence. Obviously they're going to want to show the jury, have it impact on, look, this is the truck where Laci was transported, as opposed to having pictures. It doesn't have the same impact.

So for the defense, a big victory. For the prosecution, a very, very big defeat.

O'BRIEN: But because they have the pictures, they'll still be able to use it as evidence in the case?

GOMEZ: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Now, Mark Geragos wants a change of venue.

What does he have to prove to show that Scott Peterson can't get a fair trial in Modesto?

GOMEZ: Well, he has to show that the jury pool in Modesto is biased, that it's been obviously tainted by the huge exposure that this case has gotten. So if he can show the judge that there's just absolutely no way he could get a fair trial in Modesto, then it could possibly be moved to another county.

O'BRIEN: He's also moved to dismiss the case. And I thought the whole point of a preliminary hearing, which was so long, unusually long, was to bound the case over to trial. So you, it happened in the preliminary case. He went to trial.

On what grounds could they possibly dismiss now that they've moved the case forward?

GOMEZ: Well, actually, every defendant has a right to challenge that. So at this point they are just going to say hey, listen, Geragos is going to make his point that, you know, some, that all the evidence does not prove his client did it, and he's just going through the -- every motion that the defense possibly could take in this.

O'BRIEN: You're one of the few people who's interviewed Scott Peterson.

Give me a sense of how you found him and how you find him as you continue to cover this case closely.

GOMEZ: Well, I was very surprised from the beginning because he did not want to talk to the media. He wanted to focus on Laci. He told me that from the beginning. When I finally did sit down to interview him, he seemed very scripted. He knew exactly what he was going to say during the interview. And when I did throw him some questions he was unprepared for, that made him very uneasy. O'BRIEN: Gloria Gomez of KOVR.

It's nice to have you here, even though you're based out there.

GOMEZ: It's nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for coming in to New York to see us.

GOMEZ: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com