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American Morning
Prosecutors to Ask Judge to Overturn Decision to Change Venue After Jury Survey Found Fraudulent in Peterson Case
Aired January 20, 2004 - 08:17 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: Ending weeks of speculation, a judge will likely decide later today where to hold the trial of Scott Peterson. But that has not stopped prosecutors who claim the judge was swayed by a bogus survey and who want the trial to stay just where it is.
Rusty Dornin is in Modesto for us this morning with more -- hey, Rusty, good morning.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, that's right, the deal seemed to be pretty much done two weeks ago when the judge said he wanted to move the trial elsewhere from Modesto. But that was before he found out about a falsified jury survey. Now, prosecutors want him to reconsider the possibility that Modesto might be a fine place for the Scott Peterson trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): It ain't over till it's over, and prosecutors in the Scott Peterson case want to change the judge's mind about changing the location and moving the case away from Modesto. They claim a fraudulent jury survey performed by students at Stanislaus State University should sway the judge to keep it here. Some students confessed to making up answers.
Prosecutors will ask the university professor, Steven Schoenthaler, who conducted the survey to take the stand and turn over the names and computer files. They also name a witness they say claims Schoenthaler produced fraudulent results in the past. Schoenthaler's attorney denied the charges and questioned whether any revelations about the Peterson survey would change things.
ERNIE SPOKES, SCHOENTHALER'S ATTORNEY: I don't know what kind of criminal investigation Mr. Paris thinks he's going on here, you know? First of all, we don't even know how much emphasis Judge Giralomi placed on this survey in making his decision.
DORNIN: Judge Girolami told the court two weeks ago the survey did influence his decision, but cited something else as the primary reason.
JUDGE AL GIROLAMI, STANISLAUS COUNTY SUPER COURT: In my over 30 years in this community, I have not seen anything like the publicity generated by this case. There have been over 8,000 articles listing defendant's, A, with over 150 locally since the homicides. DORNIN: Prosecutors say if the judge still wants to move it, they point to Sacramento County north of Modesto, which is not on the list. The list consists of four counties, three in the Bay Area and one in southern California. The trial is scheduled to begin next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: ... expecting that to happen. Geragos has a trial in Orange County, so we're just not sure it's going to be where and when that will be decided today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We will wait and see.
Rusty Dornin for us this morning from Modesto.
Thanks, Rusty.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Venue After Jury Survey Found Fraudulent in Peterson Case>
Aired January 20, 2004 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ending weeks of speculation, a judge will likely decide later today where to hold the trial of Scott Peterson. But that has not stopped prosecutors who claim the judge was swayed by a bogus survey and who want the trial to stay just where it is.
Rusty Dornin is in Modesto for us this morning with more -- hey, Rusty, good morning.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, that's right, the deal seemed to be pretty much done two weeks ago when the judge said he wanted to move the trial elsewhere from Modesto. But that was before he found out about a falsified jury survey. Now, prosecutors want him to reconsider the possibility that Modesto might be a fine place for the Scott Peterson trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): It ain't over till it's over, and prosecutors in the Scott Peterson case want to change the judge's mind about changing the location and moving the case away from Modesto. They claim a fraudulent jury survey performed by students at Stanislaus State University should sway the judge to keep it here. Some students confessed to making up answers.
Prosecutors will ask the university professor, Steven Schoenthaler, who conducted the survey to take the stand and turn over the names and computer files. They also name a witness they say claims Schoenthaler produced fraudulent results in the past. Schoenthaler's attorney denied the charges and questioned whether any revelations about the Peterson survey would change things.
ERNIE SPOKES, SCHOENTHALER'S ATTORNEY: I don't know what kind of criminal investigation Mr. Paris thinks he's going on here, you know? First of all, we don't even know how much emphasis Judge Giralomi placed on this survey in making his decision.
DORNIN: Judge Girolami told the court two weeks ago the survey did influence his decision, but cited something else as the primary reason.
JUDGE AL GIROLAMI, STANISLAUS COUNTY SUPER COURT: In my over 30 years in this community, I have not seen anything like the publicity generated by this case. There have been over 8,000 articles listing defendant's, A, with over 150 locally since the homicides. DORNIN: Prosecutors say if the judge still wants to move it, they point to Sacramento County north of Modesto, which is not on the list. The list consists of four counties, three in the Bay Area and one in southern California. The trial is scheduled to begin next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: ... expecting that to happen. Geragos has a trial in Orange County, so we're just not sure it's going to be where and when that will be decided today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We will wait and see.
Rusty Dornin for us this morning from Modesto.
Thanks, Rusty.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Venue After Jury Survey Found Fraudulent in Peterson Case>
