Peterson proceedings continued until June

Two rulings by the California Supreme Court in 2020 returned the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo is presiding over both proceedings and she conducted the status conferences.

The first conference was held in proceedings arising from the appeal in Peterson’s criminal case, where the California Supreme Court granted Peterson a retrial of the penalty phase of his original murder conviction. The high court granted relief because it found that the trial judge excluded jurors who were personally opposed to the death penalty without first determining if they would nevertheless follow the law as the trial judge instructed.

During the status conference, Massullo approved a continuance to June 28 for a further status report and also calendared that date for a hearing on expected discovery issues. In addition, she agreed to rule promptly on the appointment of attorney Pat Harris as Peterson’s counsel in the matter.

The second conference came on Peterson’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a legal procedure used to challenge a conviction after trial. In that matter, the California Supreme Court had instructed the trial court to consider Peterson’s claim that his conviction should be set aside because of juror misconduct.

In this status conference, the court granted Peterson’s counsel a 60-day extension to continue to investigate an issue involving one of the jurors at the initial trial after his counsel said that COVID-19 protocols had prevented in-person investigation of the matter.

The court pressed Peterson’s counsel in the habeas case to complete its investigation. The judge signaled her desire to hold any needed evidentiary hearing in 2021. She set June 21 as a further status conference.

Peterson, whose trial attracted worldwide attention, appeared at the status conferences by Zoom.

Proof at trial showed that Peterson was having an affair while his wife Laci was pregnant. The prosecutors presented evidence that Peterson killed his wife shortly before Christmas 2002 and then took her body out on his boat into the San Francisco Bay and dumped her, weighted down by concrete blocks, in the deep waters of the Bay.

In April 2003, Laci’s decomposed and partially dismembered corpse was discovered in the Bay. The fetus was also discovered roughly a mile away. DNA tests confirmed Laci’s identity.

The trial was originally planned for Stanislaus County where Peterson lived, but the venue was changed to San Mateo County on account of extensive pre-trial publicity.

The jury convicted Peterson in November 2004. The penalty phase of the trial was held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, 2004 and the jury returned a verdict of death. The trial court imposed the sentence in March 2005.

Peterson has maintained his innocence through the years he has been confined at San Quentin.