REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – The judge overseeing Scott Peterson’s murder trial has subpoenaed a few seconds of televised video footage showing a juror chatting briefly with Laci Peterson’s brother as they passed through a courthouse metal detector.
The footage in question showed Juror No. 5, an airport screener, saying “could lose today” to Brent Rocha on Thursday. It was unclear what he meant, or whether Rocha responded beyond flashing a brief smile.
Court was not in session Friday when Judge Alfred Delucchi asked for a copy of the video, and it was not immediately clear whether the court would find the actions inappropriate. The defense and the prosecution declined to comment on the question, which will be dealt with in court on Monday.
The same juror has been seen almost daily giving a nod and a slight smile to the defense table as he passes by on the way to the jury box. Earlier this week, he bumped into a podium as he passed by prosecutor Rick Distaso and defense lawyer Mark Geragos. Geragos simply smiled and looked away.
The footage was aired on national television, and several networks brought in legal experts to speculate on its potential impact. Several said such interaction is not unusual.
While Delucchi has instructed jurors not talk about the case with anyone outside of the jury room, his admonition does not necessarily cover conversations about other topics.
Peterson, 31, is accused of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then dumping her body from his small boat into San Francisco Bay. He told police he went fishing that morning and returned to an empty house.
In March, a juror in the Tyco corporate corruption trial in New York made what some interpreted as an “OK” signal to the defense. The judge declared a mistrial after the juror’s name was disclosed in the media and she reported receiving threats.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
