Prosecutors Remove Judge In
Laci Peterson Murder Case
Attorneys Argue Judge Is Biased
POSTED: 11:10 am PST
January 21, 2004
UPDATED: 7:55 pm PST January 22, 2004
MODESTO, Calif. -- Prosecutors exercised their ability
Thursday to remove the judge from Scott Peterson's trial
in the killings of his wife and unborn son, saying he
was biased against them.
Judge Richard Arnason, an 82-year-old retired judge with
a reputation for his fatherly demeanor that has won him
hugs from felons and letters from prisoners, was
challenged by prosecutors in a maneuver that
automatically guarantees his removal -- and a delay in
the case.
Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso filed the
challenge in Stanislaus County Superior Court the day
after Arnason was appointed to oversee the high-profile
trial when it is moved to San Mateo County.
In a 56-word declaration, Distaso said Arnason "is
prejudiced against the interest of the party, so that I
believe I cannot have a fair and impartial hearing."
Prosecutors refused to elaborate on their reason for
removing the judge, said a receptionist in the
Stanislaus County District Attorney's office. Peterson's
defense lawyer did not immediately return calls seeking
comment.
The peremptory challenge did not require that
prosecutors show cause and automatically removes the
judge from the case. Each side in the case gets one
challenge.
The tactical move will postpone the case that was
scheduled to start Monday because it will take a few
days to find a new judge, said Lynn Holton, spokeswoman
for the state's court administration.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George said it
would take until next week to find another judge
qualified to handle the case, Holton said.
A hearing is scheduled Friday in Modesto to discuss the
transfer to a courthouse in Redwood City and future
court dates.
Arnason was selected Wednesday by George, in part
because of his experience handling major trials. Court
officials opted for a retired judge to hear the
six-month case to avoid slowing down other trials.
Peterson, 31, faces the death penalty if convicted of
two counts of murder for allegedly killing his pregnant
wife, Laci, just before Christmas 2002 and dumping her
body in San Francisco Bay. In April, her remains and
those of the fetus washed ashore two miles from where
her husband said he was fishing on Christmas Eve when
she vanished.
The case is being moved after a Modesto judge ruled
Peterson could not easily get a fair trial in his dead
wife's hometown, where extensive publicity elevated Laci
Peterson to a celebrity and earned the former fertilizer
salesman notoriety.
Arnason had presided over several prominent cases,
including the politically charged trial of black
militant Angela Davis, which he took after five other
judges either withdrew or were disqualified.
The black radical ultimately was acquitted of murder and
conspiracy in a 1970 Marin County courthouse escape
attempt by detainees that resulted in the deaths of four
people, including a judge.
Attorney Howard Moore Jr., who represented Davis in the
case, said he was surprised by the Stanislaus County
prosecutor's move. A day earlier, he had praised the
selection of Arnason and said both sides would get a
fair shake from the seasoned jurist.
"Anytime the prosecution can't go with any judge in the
house it says something about their case," Moore said.
Arnason also handled Hells Angels murder trials and the
case of a woman whose 13-year-old daughter weighed 680
pounds when she died of congestive heart failure in
1996.
A bailiff in the Contra Costa County courtroom where
Arnason is presiding over a trial said the judge would
not comment about his removal from the Peterson case.
The challenge by prosecutors Thursday was not the first
time they've had a judge removed in the case.
Before Peterson's arrest in April, another prosecutor
used a similar motion to remove Judge Al Girolami from
deciding whether to unseal search warrants used in the
investigation.
Despite being removed from that aspect of the case,
Girolami was on track to be the trial judge until he
ordered the transfer Tuesday and said he would not make
the trip to San Mateo County Superior Court.
Holton said the prosecutor's removal of the judge in the
search warrant case did not count as their one challenge
because it was a different matter.
Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, said he believes jury
selection will begin the third week of February.
Peterson's lawyers argued that he had been demonized in
the Modesto area, citing vandalism of his house, crowds
yelling "Murderer!" outside the jail and T-shirts sold
with Peterson's likeness and the motto: "Modesto, a
killer place to live." Blood drives have been held in
honor of Laci Peterson and 3,000 people attended her
internationally televised memorial service.