High-Priced Lawyer For Laci's Husband

Less than two weeks after Scott Peterson said he could not afford a lawyer, a prominent Los Angeles defense attorney said Friday he would defend the fertilizer salesman accused of murdering his wife and unborn son.

Mark Geragos, a frequent television commentator in the Laci Peterson disappearance, will represent Peterson in a case that could bring the death penalty.

"The court will allow the public defender to be relieved in this matter and Mr. Mark Geragos will be allowed to make a general appearance," said Judge Aldo Girolami.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent in Stanislaus County Superior Court to two counts of murder and a special circumstance of multiple murder that could trigger his execution. He has been held without bail.

The body of Laci Peterson, 27, and her unborn son washed ashore last month in San Francisco Bay near where Scott Peterson claimed he was fishing Christmas Eve, the day he last saw his wife.

The case gained international attention as hundreds of people searched for months across California for the expectant mother who was eight months pregnant. A reward for her rescue reached $500,000.

Scott Peterson joined some of the searches, but eventually dropped out and said he was taking his own search to Southern California. His in-laws stood by him until he acknowledged he had an extramarital affair with a Fresno woman and then tried to sell his wife's car.

Geragos said he had been hired by Peterson's family. He will replace two public defenders who were assigned to represent Peterson at his April 21 arraignment when he said he couldn't afford a lawyer.

During the short hearing, Geragos said he would waive a bail hearing that had been scheduled Tuesday. He also asked that Peterson not have to appear in court in a red jail jump suit, bound in handcuffs, shackles and waist chains, an image that has been printed on the cover of tabloid newspapers and broadcast on TV.

"Poster-sized pictures of him labeled as a monster is not conducive to a fair trial," Geragos said.

Girolami said Peterson could wear his own clothes at future hearings.

Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Geragos was asked if he thought Peterson could get a fair trial.

"I've been into this for one day. Wait until Monday and I'll make all those decisions," he said.

Geragos has handled numerous high-profile cases in the past. Most recently, he represented Hollywood actress Winona Ryder on shoplifting charges. He also defended Susan McDougal, the former partner in the Arkansas Whitewater land deal with President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Last year, he represented former Rep. Gary Condit, D-Ceres, after he was romantically linked to Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy, who disappeared in May 2001.

Geragos has been a fixture on cable TV shows since Laci Peterson vanished, venturing far enough to say that police had enough to arrest Peterson and saying that he needed a good lawyer.

Peterson initially retained Modesto criminal defense attorney Kirk McAllister, but was assigned a public defender after he said he couldn't afford a private attorney.

Peterson has been held in a solitary cell in Stanislaus County Jail since April 18 when police arrested him in San Diego, where his parents live.

Officers closed in on him before the identification of the bodies was final because they feared he would flee to Mexico. At the time, he was driving a Mercedes Benz, carrying $10,000 in cash and had grown a beard and dyed his hair.

Geragos said he plans to review 30,000 pages of police reports by a May 19 pretrial hearing and said he would probably seek bail after learning more about the case.

"You have a hearing on whether or not to unseal the warrants, both the arrest warrant and the search warrant affidavits, and you have another hearing to decide whether or not, or take a position, if you will, on whether this judge is going to hear this case," he told reporters.

"Scott is doing well and looking forward to proving his innocence," Geragos said. "And Scott looks forward to finding out who did this to Laci and his unborn child."

Thousands are expected at a memorial service Sunday for Laci Peterson, on the day that would have marked her 28th birthday.

Peterson's body and her unborn son are still being held by the Contra Costa County Coroner's office for tests to determine the cause of death.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff denied Scott Peterson's request to attend the memorial service, said spokesman Kelly Huston.