SAN FRANCISCO — Scott Peterson has filed the automatic appeal of his 2004 death sentence to the California Supreme Court, maintaining as he always has that he had nothing to do with the murders of his wife Laci and unborn son Conner.
Peterson’s attorney, death penalty lawyer Cliff Gardner, filed the 423-page document Thursday, eight years after a San Mateo County jury found the former fertilizer salesman guilty of suffocating Laci and dumping her in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.
Peterson has always maintained his innocence, and his appeal to the Supreme Court is no different. The appeal is expected to take months, or even years, to resolve.
Gardner claims that the overwhelming publicity Peterson’s trial received, incorrect evidentiary rulings, and other mistakes deprived him of a fair trial. Peterson was convicted in 2004 after a trial that his attorney argues surpassed the O.J. Simpson murder trial in terms of publicity.
The trial was ordered moved from Stanislaus County of the Petersons’ home to San Mateo County. Gardner argued the trial should have been moved yet again because of the crush of publicity in San Mateo County.
Beyond issues with publicity, Gardner said the judge automatically excluded prospective jurors who said they opposed the death penalty. Gardner argued that those jurors should have been questioned more about whether they could still decide the case fairly.
Associated Press