On Day 3 Of Scott Peterson Hearing Witness Bolsters Defense's Case
REDWOOD CITY (KPIX) -- Some court observers believe day 3 of the hearings to determine whether convicted murderer Scott Peterson will get a new trial, was a win for the defense.
Peterson was back in the San Mateo County Courtroom on Tuesday, as his defense team continued their push to prove juror Richelle Nice lied on her questionnaire, was biased against him, and denied him of a fair trial.
The focal point of cross-examination before Judge Anne-Christine Massullo was Nice's demeanor in the jury deliberation room.
Peterson's attorney, Pat Harris, got right to the point with the witness on the stand - juror number one, Greg Beratlis.
He asked Beratlis to describe her demeanor as she entered the jury deliberation room.
Beratlis responded, saying Nice walked into the deliberation room and immediately expressed her opinion that Peterson should be found guilty. He also described her as emotional, exhausted, and seemed like she was bringing attention to herself.
When it was prosecutor Dave Harris's turn to question Beratlis, he asked him if they were serving on a jury for a case about two murders, and if anyone else was emotional, to which Beratlis replied, yes.
"Today, the defense got a slight win, because they got a juror to come in who was a part of the deliberations and say that Ms. Nice appeared somewhat outside of the box," said Steven Clark, a former prosecutor and legal analyst. "This juror testimony went along with the defense narrative, that the failure to disclose this information in her questionnaire suggested that she didn't give Scott Peterson the benefit of the doubt and shouldn't have been on the jury. But, I think the prosecution did a good job of rehabilitating that narrative and saying it really didn't play a role in the outcome of this case."
After the proceedings wrapped up on Tuesday, Peterson's attorney, Pat Harris, told KPIX 5 he is not commenting.
"Really, the key for the court is, did Ms. Nice do something that deprived Scott Peterson of a fair trial?" Clark said.
There were originally supposed to be two more days of hearings this week. However, they've been pushed to March 24-25. The judge will have up to 90 days after the hearings conclude to determine whether Peterson gets a retrial or not.
