Murder witnesses emerging

Geragos briefly mentioned that four new witnesses have approached prosecutors offering information that could exonerate Peterson. Prosecutors argued that they are trying "as fast as we can" to analyze the new evidence and pass it on to Geragos.

Delucchi admonished prosecutors for their tardiness and threatened to set an arbitrary start date if both sides aren't prepared when pre-trial motions and jury selection are done.

"We can't do this piecemeal. We've got to be ready for trial when the time comes," Delucchi said.

Delucchi said he did not want to delay the capital murder case any more than necessary and was "bothered" that he still had to referee the exchange of evidence between the two sides.

Geragos said if he didn't receive the evidence soon he would have to ask for a continuance - which he did not want - and would likely be tied up for an indefinite time with his other ongoing trials.

The threat of a delayed trial did not sit well with Delucchi who said he would not cut Geragos loose indefinitely.

"You ain't going anywhere," Delucchi said, jokingly adding that "possession is nine-tenths of the law."

The spirited exchange kicked off another day of pre-trial motions regarding police wire taps on Peterson's phone. Geragos is trying to have the conversations tossed out, claiming that during more than 3,000 calls police also listened in on privileged talks between Peterson and his first attorney, Kirk McAllister.

Police tapped Peterson's phone between Jan. 10 and Feb. 4, 2003 and April 15 through April 18, 2003. Inspector Steven Jacobson of the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office gave the court a crash-course in wiretapping procedures yesterday morning. By law, calls between Peterson and his attorneys are considered off-limits. Monitors must also fade out if there is no information exchanged that seems pertinent to an investigation.

Jacobson reported on the taps to the authorizing judge every three days but no court reporter was used to transcribe the exchanges. The only other witness was prosecutor Rick Distaso, leading Geragos to demand multiple times that he be called to testify. Delucchi declined the request.

Delucchi did not rule on the wiretap motion yesterday and will continue the issue this morning.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.