Bump and Update: The Judge is keeping the same jury and not moving the trial but he granted a one week continuance.

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The jury in the Scott Peterson trial is set to begin hearing evidence in the sentencing phase of the trial today. First the Judge will rule on a motion by Mark Geragos to have a new jury from outside of Redwood City empaneled to hear the case, due to the overwheming prejudice against Peterson, as evident from the whoops and cheers of the lynch mob that filled up the street around the courthouse when news of the verdict was announced.

I disagree with much of the coverage I've read and listened to--mostly from prosecution-oriented analysts and professors who have never defended a death case, let alone a high-profile one.

For an article that comes close to getting it right, in my view, check out this San Francisco Chronicle article, and in particular, the comments of Marcia Morrissey and Ellen Kreitzbert, two true experts in death defense.

Rita Cosby on Fox tonight did a segment on Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips who has been on San Quentin's death row for 23 years, during which time he has been nominated for a Nobel peace prize. She showed pictures of her visiting him some time back, and then aired a recent taped telephone conversation with him. What's up with this? A network showing humanity for death row prisoners?

Could there be an ulterior motive? Is it just a coincidence that San Quentin's death row is where Scott Peterson will go if the jury sentences him to death this week? She couldn't have been using Stanley Williams to keep viewers' interest in Scott Peterson at its pre-verdict pitch, could she? We hope not.

by TChris

Colbert King wants to know what should happen "when the criminal justice system renders an injustice itself -- one so egregious that it results in a tragic death and an irrevocable shattering of lives of family and friends?"

Washington D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin sentenced Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic, to 10 days in jail for simple possession of marijuana. She did so even though the prosecution didn't ask for jail and even though she knew that the jail couldn't accommodate Magbie's disability.

Magbie died in the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections.

Why she decided to incarcerate Magbie, totally dependent, unable to breathe reliably on his own -- and a first-time offender -- remains an unanswered question that court officials would just as soon see go away. It won't. It can't.

TalkLeft's background coverage of this case appears here and here.

The Washington Post has a really good article on phishing scams -- make sure you don't fall for one. [link via Orin at Volokh]

If you get an e-mail supposedly from paypal, you can tell immediately it's a phony if it is not addressed to you using your full name. Send it to spoof@paypal.com. They keep lists of them, and hopefully, have people trying to do something about it.

Is this a move to pressure Ken Lay into making a deal?

Federal prosecutors are investigating a stock sale by the wife of former Enron Corp. chairman Kenneth L. Lay just days before the Houston energy trader filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2001, according to lawyers involved in the probe.

At the center of the new inquiry is Linda P. Lay's sale of 500,000 Enron shares on behalf of the couple's family foundation on Nov. 28, 2001. The sales netted $1.2 million, which was used to cover pledges the foundation had made to local charities, said Michael Ramsey, the family's lawyer. He said prosecutors are examining whether Linda Lay traded on inside information -- namely, that Enron's merger with rival Dynegy Inc. was collapsing and that the company was about to declare bankruptcy and make its stock nearly worthless.

Rush Limbaugh just won a round and we're glad. It's a potential victory for patients' privacy rights. Congrats to Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, for convincing the Florida appeals court to allow the Florida Supreme Court to decide the issue.

The appeals court ruled a few months ago that it was ok for prosecutors to seize Rush's medical records without telling him first.

by TChris

Deborah Trautwine didn't mean to commit a crime when she paid for her purchase at a Pennsylvania Fashion Bug using a $200 bill bearing the picture of President Bush. According to her attorney, Trautwine didn't know that the bill wasn't actual legal tender.

Neither did the clerk, who gave Trautwine $100.58 in change.

The back of the phony bill depicted the White House with several signs erected on the front lawn, including those reading "We Like Broccoli" and "USA Deserves A Tax Cut."

Charges against Trautwine were dropped after she paid for her clothes with real currency.

The transcript of my live coverage of the verdict for the Washington Post is here.

I can't stand watching Amber Frey's lawyer Gloria Allred gloat on television although I like Gloria personally. She is not a prosecutor in the case yet she is now referring to the prosecution's plans for the death phase as "we." Amber Frey is the next Joan of Arc. Have to change the channel.

I do not believe the charges against Scott were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence was paltry at best. He was tarred by being a liar and a cheat. Scott Peterson was tried and convicted in the media, months before the trial started.

There was no murder weapon, no cause of death, no time of death, no identifiable crime scene, no witnesses. And a reconstituted jury that deliberated less than a full business day.

This jury as much said, "Someone killed her and there is no other explanation so it must have been Scott." Shameful. That is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Let the appeals begin. And may the jury spare his life.

Tune in to Hannity and Colmes tonight, where I will be outnumbered by about 5 to 2. Gloria Allred, former OJ cop Mark Fuhrman, and Lis Wiehl, among others. Lis has done a great job all day today reporting live from the courthouse. We don't agree on the case but she's a friend and a pleasure to watch.

TalkLeft has received 2,500 visitors in the last hour. One hour. It's amazing that so many people are obsessed with this case. It's also amazing that there are still hundreds of strangers outside the courthouse cheering. Shades of Rome and gladiator days. Very sick.

A verdict has been reached in the Scott Peterson case. It will be announced at 4 pm. I will be doing a live chat for the Washington Post immediately following the verdict. You can submit questions now. [Update: Transcript here.]

I'm also scheduled to be debating the verdict tonight on Fox News' Hannity and Colmes. Details and chat links to follow when available, this post will be updated and periodically bumped.

Now that it's a done deal, feel free to post your verdict predictions here. I'm still mulling mine over. The speed with which the jury returned its verdict after gaining its latest new alternate as a member may not bode well for the defense. Keep your eye on the background of the new foreman. I think he will be key.

Update: The cable news channels will carry a live audio feed of the verdict. There are no cameras in the courtroom.

Verdict Update here.

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The lawyer-doctor jury foreman was dismissed by the Judge today in the Scott Peterson trial. Sounds like he did some reseach on his own and imparted it to other members of the jury who ratted him out, but no one's talking yet and the juror is gagged.

This is the juror who went into deliberations with 19 notepads he filled up during the trial. He seemed particularly interested in DNA evidence during jury selection.

The new alternate has a connection to Scott and Laci Peterson:

His son-in-law now owns a restaurant that Scott and Laci Peterson themselves once owned.

The new foreman is juror no. 6, a firefighter and paramedic.

Juror No. 6, a man who works as a firefighter and paramedic, was elected as the new foreman. During the trial, he at times seemed uninterested in the proceedings. He was seen rolling his eyes on occasion, specifically during the playing of tape-recorded conversations between Peterson and his girlfriend, Amber Frey.

Update: On the Guilty Verdict. Here is a live chat with questions and answers.

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Bump and Update: A juror has been replaced with an alternate in the Scott Peterson trial.

The removed juror is juror #7, an Asian woman who works for Pacific Gas and Electric who described herself during jury selection as a crusader who would never buckle under from pressure from other jurors.

The alternate juror is Alternate No. 1, "the red-haired woman dubbed "Strawberry Shortcake" by trial watchers.

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Original Post:

Here's why the Scott Peterson jury likely will return a verdict today. The jurors arrived at the courthouse well-dressed. On prior days, they were dressed down in sweats and jeans. Just my opinion, of course.

Peterson jurors arrived at the Redwood City courthouse Tuesday well-dressed and several were seen hugging their bus driver as if to say good-bye.