Drew Peterson's Trial *SECOND WEEK*

CarolinaMoon said:

In Session Judge: “We’re in a situation again here where the State believes the court should take into account more than the law... the State has refused on multiple occasions to answer the Court’s questions as to whether or not Judge White’s rulings can be ignored; all they do is dance around that issue... Judge White made a series of rulings in this case that the State asked him to make. Now the consequences of those rulings are before this Court... the volume of their argument is unpersuasive. The defense, however, says that Judge White’s rulings are based in stone... Judge White made those findings during the hearsay ruling, using a lower standard of proof... and he made the decision that these statements should not be admissible... the application of the due process application is a higher standard, a higher burden for the defendant to meet. The questions becomes, do these rulings reach the level of a due process unreliability. While I recognize how unique this is... in this particular situation, I do not believe that I’m bound by Judge Whites’ rulings... it has not been demonstrated to me that the witness’ statements are unreliable, and the defense’s motion to deny them is denied.”

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Cubby said:

After the trial is over, I am curious to see if these two ISP witnesses will be punished in any way. Protocal was clearly out the window with this investigation.... and this carelessness contributed to a second victim. That can not be ignored.

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Leila said:

And with this statement by the judge, I think this is a pivotal point in this trial! It would appear that Burmila is going to allow testimony that Judge White had disallowed, so the defense is now going to have to fight to have testimony not allowed.

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katydid23 said:

I am worried about this jury. I think there are 7 men and 5 women. I hope the men aren't laughing along with the defense and the judge. It seems that the giggles from the jury have been at the expense of the state so far.

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ohiogirl said:

In Session “When he said it was an accident, you were still investigating?” “Yes.” “So you still had an open mind?” “I didn’t close the door completely... I was still conducting the investigation, with that sixth sense you said I should have.” At this last comment, there is a chuckle throughout the courtroom.

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Leila said:

I've had my grandson here visiting for the past five days and haven't been able to participate in the board discussions, but have been able to scan the trial thread and be up to speed with what's happening.

The testimony yesterday from ISP Officer Deel was very concerning! He was to investigate Kathleen's death, yet all he really did was to do a cursory walk through of Kathleen's house and make observations - the glass of orange juice, the mug of water in the microwave, and a condom in the wastebasket, yet not follow through with any sort of dusting for fingerprints or testing. He failed to follow through on anything. If this was an accident and Kathleen had prepared to take a bath, where was the clothing that the removed prior to getting in the tub? In the absence of not finding clothing in a pile on the bathroom floor, bedroom floor, or in a clothes hamper, that should have raised some questions. He chose to ignore the obvious. I hope the prosecution raises these questions to the jury in their closing arguments.

I'm a bit more optimistic after today's testimony. Judge Burmila allowing testimony from a witness Judge White, deemed unreliable, was a complete surprise. He's favored the defense from the beginning, but today he swung in favor of the prosecution on this one witness, and his statement that he didn't need to follow Judge White's rulings is also optimistic.

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Cubby said:

giggles from the jury? I'm almost exclusively reading here (no sound on the computer and no tv), but I am not seeing that the jury is actually giggling.

Where are you seeing info about "giggles" from the jury?

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Judge Edward Burmila handed prosecutors the legal victory by allowing Anderson’s hearsay testimony. At first, the judge seemed to signal he would bar it, prompting an angry James Glasgow, the Will County state’s attorney, to raise his voice.

“This evidence should have life!” the normally monotone chief prosecutor shouted. The jury was not in the room.

With no physical evidence at their disposal, hearsay statements like Anderson’s are at the heart of the prosecution’s presentation to jurors. Without them, most legal experts say the state stands virtually no chance of a conviction.

Burmila, who once lost a political race to Glasgow, criticized the prosecution for poorly addressing the complex legalities surrounding hearsay, but surprised many — even eliciting gasps — by allowing then testimony.

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“Because your life is more important than hers?” Lopez said, drawing a loud groan from the courtroom gallery and a quick objection from Glasgow.

At another point in his questioning, Lopez paused briefly to turn back and wink at a solemn-looking Peterson. The former Bolingbrook cop’s serious expression didn’t change. His attorneys acknowledged later he was unhappy Judge Edward Burmila let the testimony into the trial, though.

“He’s upset like any other defendant would be,” Lopez said. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to deal with what we have.”

Lopez said the judge’s ruling was no big deal. But Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow called it historic.

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CarolinaMoon said:

IMHO, the defense is playing a very dangerous game here. They have brought witness after witness to the edge of the allowable testimony and made them look foolish because they can't say that their motivation for coming forward in 2007 was Stacy's disappearance.

They've worked hard to crack that door open, but not enough to let that testimony in at trial. Lopez played a similar trick on Anna Doman when he purpously added the words, "and make it look like an accident." The next morning he was all over MSM saying it wasn't a mistake, he was out to show Doman was blah, blah, blah.

I don't know if it worked, but I see now, in the clear light of morning, that it was this tactic that allowed the judge to rule on Kristin Anderson's previously "unreliable" testimony. She became reliable because she buttressed Lopez' slip. So, we now have TWO witnesses saying Kathleen was in fear of her life. In addition, Anderson was able to add the hearsay testimony of the "SWAT" invasion and threat that never would have come in. This testimony also included the fact that Peterson was able to break into her well-fortified house undetected.

Also, in trying to impeach the witnesses, the defense is also allowing more testimony as to the well below-grade investigation.

There have also been a great deal of testimony concerning Drew's manipulation of the investigation. A lot of what came in yesterday, especially the part about the "interview" with Stacy, should be adding up in an intelligent person's head.

I hold out no great hopes in this case, but I do see some light shining in through the proverbial door.

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21merc7 said:

I agree. They are walking a fine line. I am hoping a witness, just takes one, will be chatty and slip it out there. The Judge will tell them to disregard it, but they can't. Does anyone think the jurors already know? I didn't keep up and don't know if the jurors are all local.

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CarolinaMoon said:

Yes, they are local. They came from the original jury pool from 3? years ago.

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luvmygarden said:

In their investigation after Kathleens death I don't remember ever hearing they found a knife under her mattress. If it was there and they didn't even look? Or did Drew find it and remove it? Drew ran that investigation the way he wanted it to go, it is so obvious. Although the investigation was lame the fact is Drew is the one who needed to get rid of his wife not the investigators so he is ultimately responsible for his fate.
I doubt the wool is going to pulled over this juries eyes AND ears. I hope Drew is holding his breath listening to the witnesses and maybe he won't get another breath. This man is evil. Oh I wish they could find Stacy.

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CarolinaMoon said:

Drew Peterson murder trial filled with drama, including a key ruling, shouts, tears

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...b0f3d2-e1ba-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/...ial-gets-heated-as-prosecutor-judge-spar.html

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