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High-profile attorney will defend Scott Peterson
MODESTO, California (CNN) -- A prominent Los Angeles lawyer who has represented celebrities and served as a television commentator in the coverage of Laci Peterson's murder said Friday he would defend her accused husband. Mark Geragos will replace the team of public defenders assigned to Scott Peterson, the attorney said at a court hearing Friday in Stanislaus County, California. Scott Peterson's family hired Geragos. "Scott looks forward to finding out who did this," Geragos said following Friday's hearing. Geragos said he plans to review 30,000 pages of police reports by a May 19 pretrial hearing and said he would probably seek bail for Peterson, who has been held in a solitary jail cell since his arrest on April 18. A bail hearing scheduled for next week has been delayed, and Peterson's next court appearance will be on Monday. "Do I think he (Scott Peterson) can get a fair trial," Geragos rhetorically repeated a reporter's question following Friday's hearing. "I've been in this for only one day. Give me until Monday and I'll make those feelings known." Geragos has handled high-profile cases in the past. Most recently, he represented Hollywood actress Winona Ryder on shoplifting charges. He also defended Susan McDougal, the former partner in the Arkansas Whitewater land deal with President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Last year, he represented former Rep. Gary Condit after he was romantically linked to Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy, who grew up in Modesto and disappeared in Washington in May 2001. Geragos said earlier this week on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he had met with Peterson and his parents. Geragos has been a regular guest commentator on CNN. "I was tremendously impressed by Scott," he said. Peterson is in a Stanislaus County, California, jail, awaiting trial on two counts of murder for the deaths of his wife, Laci, and his unborn son, who was due to be born in February. The 30-year-old Peterson was arrested in mid-April. Peterson has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a special circumstance that could qualify him for the death penalty if convicted. District Attorney Jim Brazelton has said that he would seek the death penalty against Scott Peterson if he were convicted. Geragos may seek delay, change in venue
Scott Peterson said his wife disappeared from their Modesto home last Christmas Eve after he departed on a solo fishing trip. The bodies of his wife and baby washed up earlier in April near the Berkeley Marina in the San Francisco Bay, where Peterson said he had launched his boat. He was arrested days later. Earlier this week Geragos said he believes in Peterson. "I don't think there's any doubt that I believe in him and in a case like this, that's always a helpful thing." Last month on CNN, however, Geragos said police had enough evidence to arrest Peterson and that defending the accused husband would be difficult because the bodies of the victims were found so close to the place where the Peterson placed his alibi, the marina. "That is devastating, in terms of why they've arrested him so quickly," Geragos said in an April 18 appearance on "Larry King Live" show. "In fact ... my feeling was as soon as these bodies washed ashore, the fact that he -- that it was a mile or two miles away -- meant to me that he was going to be arrested any moment." CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Geragos must seek a delay for the beginning of the trial and get the trial moved out of Modesto, where media coverage has been intense. "He's got to let passions cool, a year at least until this trial goes forward," Toobin said During Friday's hearing, Judge Aldo Girolami granted Geragos' request that Peterson not have to appear in court in a red jail jump suit, bound in handcuffs, shackles and waist chains -- an image that has appeared on television and in tabloid newspapers. "It's like seeing a poster of some sort of monster," Geragos said. In a quick proceeding, Geragos also expressed concern about search warrants that have been sealed since Peterson's boat and truck were confiscated. Meanwhile, thousands are expected at a memorial service Sunday for Laci Peterson, on the day that would have marked her 28th birthday. The Stanislaus County sheriff denied Scott Peterson's request to attend, said spokesman Kelly Huston. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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