Convicted Killer Scott Peterson To Appear In Court Friday
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Convicted killer Scott Peterson is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
The hearing is scheduled to take place at 8:30 a.m. in the Stanislaus County Court, a court spokesperson tells CBS13. According to the court, the purpose of the hearing is to see if Peterson needs a public defender or if he has his own attorneys.
Peterson will appear remotely from San Quentin State Prison.
Peterson's convictions for the 2002 murders of wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son, Connor, could be overturned if a judge rules that there was prejudicial misconduct.
RELATED: California Supreme Court Upholds Conviction, Overturns Scott Peterson's Death Penalty Sentence
At issue is whether juror Richelle Nice withheld information about her past and whether it was intentional. The State Supreme Court found that Nice didn't tell the court she was the victim of a crime while pregnant, and had filed a restraining order against her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.
Peterson's former Defense Attorney Lara Yeretsian said, "Had we known some of that information, she would've been challenged for cause."
She believes Nice intentionally hid that information from the court.
"She was the typical stealth juror who went under the radar and none of us picked up on it," she said.
The San Mateo Superior Court will now consider whether there was jury misconduct.
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If the judge decides there was, the conviction can be overturned and there could be the possibility of a new trial. But any decision could be appealed.
Mike Belmessieri said, an original juror in the case, said he stands by the decision the jury made, 16 years ago, and now can't imagine putting Laci's family through another trial.
"A Christmas Eve doesn't go by that I don't think about this. I can't imagine the hell it is for her family," he said.
On Christmas Eve 2002, Peterson dumped Laci and their unborn son Connor's bodies into the San Francisco Bay where they surfaced months later.
