'Craziest Thing I've Ever Heard': Legal Expert Weighs In As Scott Peterson Could Testify In Kristin Smart Case
SAN LUIS OBISPO (CBS13) — A courtroom conundrum could bring two of California's most notorious criminal cases into the same courtroom.
CBS13 talked with Sacramento attorney Mark Reichel for some legal perspective on the surprising move by Paul Flores' defense team. The attorney of the main suspect in the disappearance of Kristin Smart is planning to call convicted killer Scott Peterson to testify at an upcoming preliminary hearing.
"Well, remember it's not a jury trial just yet and it seems like a distraction—but it's a strange distraction," said Reichel.
Lawyers for Flores say Peterson and Smart knew each other while they both attended Cal Poly more than two decades ago. At one point, investigators were looking at Peterson as a potential suspect in Smart's disappearance, but they could never find a connection.
"This is without a doubt the craziest thing I've ever heard," Reichel said on the defense team's decision.
Peterson is serving time for the murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn child. A state Supreme Court overturned his death penalty last year, but the conviction still stands, so his attorneys are now working on getting a new trial altogether to prove his innocence.
"His lawyers are going to be really short and brief with him, 'Look, we're trying to get you free on your original case. This is not the time to say something that we're all going to regret.' So I'm sure they're going to say to him, 'You're not saying a word,' " said Reichel.
Legal experts point out that Flores' defense team has yet to provide any evidence linking Peterson to Smart's disappearance. Flores argues that Peterson knew Smart and was even at the same party as Smart before she went missing.
His preliminary hearing is now set to resume on Monday.
