9:50 a.m. Savio's body found in 'pristine' bathtub

Savio's neighbor, Thomas Pontarelli, said Peterson was angry with him for helping Savio and he felt uncomfortable being caught in the middle.

...Updates at Link
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 8497.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Breaking news.... defence call for a mistrial (with prejudice)... which means it can't be tried again.

Court in recesss for an hour and a half

Peterson trial updates: Judge considering mistrial

Noon 'State's argument makes absolutely no sense'
Judge Edward Burmilla was visibly upset as he talked about the defense motion for a mistrial.
"The state's argument makes absolutely no sense to the court whatsoever," said Burmila, waving his arm as he addressed the prosecution team.
"To say they want to put a witness on to say the defendant did something that intimidated him, but then say they couldn’t prove it," meant jurors would be left with the impression that either Peterson threatened the witness -- despite the lack of evidence -- or that the witness, Thomas Pontarelli, was completely unbelievable.

See link for updates
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 8497.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Although I agree that Drew Peterson is despicable.... it does seem that he has been largely already found guilty in the media and by the Blog/forum Mob.

I don't have a detailed knowledge of the evidence.. but it seems to be weak? And the prosecution seem to be pushing at least to the limit of what they can get away with... perhaps this time over-stepping the mark.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Judge is leaning towards NOT granting mistrial.... instead striking all of this witness's testimony.

Defence given time to consider and present more argument.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Defence have requested an adjournment...

Adjured until 9am tomorrow

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

'The ball is in the judge's court'

The normally press friendly defense team left by a side door after the trial recessed this afternoon, touching off a minor stampede by reporters who had staked out the attorneys' usual exit.
Trailed by a crush of reporters, Joel Brodsky, walking with co-counsel Steve Greenberg, said the defense would spend the evening doing research about whether to pursue a mistrial. He would not comment on whether Peterson's trial could continue.
"The ball is always in the judge's court," he said.
The defense moved for a mistrial after Thomas Pontarelli, under questioning from prosecutors, said he once found a .38-caliber bullet in his driveway and believed Peterson planted it there to intimidate him. Pontarelli was a neighbor of Savio.
Assistant state’s attorney Kathleen Patton admitted under angry questioning from Judge Edward Burmila that there was no proof Peterson had left the bullet on the driveway. With jurors out of the room, the judge blasted prosecutors for working in the testimony. He called it a new “low.”
Instead of ruling immediately on the mistrial motion, the judge granted a request to let Peterson's lawyers think through the matter until Thursday morning. Burmila has suggested that, instead of a calling a mistrial, the testimony of Pontarelli be stricken from the record.


Prosecutor 'confident' trial will resume

As he left the courthouse, State's Atty. James Glasgow said he did not believe there would be a mistrial.
"It's a complicated case," he said. "We're confident the trial will resume tomorrow."


....more at link
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 8497.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Prosecution definitely seems to have overstepped today..Hopefully they will learn from their mistake and continue forward and get this guy!

It looks to me like the Defence could push for a mistrial... and get it, but "without prejudice"... meaning we start all over again.

They have to weigh up doing that with sticking with this trial.. which is not going that badly for them. It would in effect be supporting the judge.. and so perhaps in a small way push him to look favourably on the defence's side (He is clearly pissed off with the prosecution today at least)

I did hear one talking head opining about the possibility of Dismissing the jury (who could be said to be tainted now).. and proceeding with the judge being the sole decider... I guess that is an option?

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Peterson judge offers alternative to mistrial
By Graham Winch
updated 3:29 PM EDT, Wed August 01, 2012



•Drew Peterson is on trial for death of third wife, Kathleen Savio
•Tom Pontarelli says he was one of people who found Savio dead in tub
•Late Wednesday morning, the defense team asked for a mistrial

Judge Edward Burmila has offered an alternative to a mistrial in the Drew Peterson murder trial.
“In this particular instance, there’s no doubt in my mind that the testimony they presented was a low blow, and should not have been presented to this jury. However, courts are also loathe to grant mistrials... in this particular instance, in the court’s mind, there’s another sanction, which would be to strike, in total, the testimony of that witness [Tom Pontarelli]," said Burmila.
Court is now adjourned until Thursday morning, so attorneys can research whether this alternative will be an adequate solution to testimony that the Judge says was improperly introduced at trial Wednesday.
Peterson’s defense team asked Burmila for a mistrial after Pontarelli, Peterson's neighbor, testified about finding a .38 bullet in his driveway.
Pontarelli said the bullet was placed there by Peterson in an attempt to intimidate him. Defense attorney Steve Greenberg said it is a highly prejudicial prior bad act that is not admissible at trial.

...more at link
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/08/01 ... pt=hln10_1

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

TRIAL DAY 3 (8-02-12)

STATE OF IL. VS. DREW PETERSON


Trial Day Starts in Joliet Il. - Thursday, August 2, 2012 9:00AM CT

Days will be ....Tuesday Through Friday, every week until it goes to jury!!!

There will be no camera's in courtroom unfortunately so we will have to rely on twitter for information as to what is going on in courtroom & also Updates from several outlets.

TRIAL UPDATES: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5576.story

LIVESTREAMING FOR TRU TV
http://superusvox.com/index.php/specialty/trutv



TWITTER LINKS:

IN SESSIONS.
http://twitter.com/InSession

Joseph Hosey (reporter)
Joseph Hosey@ShorewdILPatch
http://twitter.com/ShorewdILPatch

Tweets for Drew Peterson case
https://twitter.com/#!/search/drew%20...+peterson+case

Jon Seidel
Jon Seidel@SeidelContent
https://twitter.com/seidelcontent

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Drew Peterson trial updates: Decision due today on mistrial

6:55 a.m. Decision on mistrial expected today
The third day of Drew Peterson's murder trial is expected to open today with a renewed call for a mistrial from his defense team, as the highly publicized case again faces a possible derailment over statements by prosecutors.

... more at link (Updates as the day progresses)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5576.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Steve Greenberg on Live now
http://superusvox.com/index.php/specialty/trutv

He has file motion for retrial.

Commenting that this is last straw.. prosecution have have tried things "five times" now.

The trial has been stop-start for 2 days because of stuff prosecution is trying.

He will ask for mistrial WITH PREJUDICE today.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Discussing Stacey Peterson...
Unfortunately evidence concerning her disappearance is another thing that should not be admitted

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Joel Brodsky... suggesting prosecution may be doing this on purpose to get a mistrial without prejudice...

Because they are doing so poorly

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Former judge... does not think this judge will order mistrial.. will just strike testimony.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Steve Greenburg (Defence attorney) has told reporters: "nothing will happen.. the judge will deny our motion (mistrial)... we'll go another two hours and the prosecution will screw up again."

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Judge seated.. asked if there were submissions... Greenburg is speaking and requesting mistrial WITH prejudice.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Judge DENIES Mistrial.

Striking some of testimony only. Drafted an instruction for jury.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:05 a.m. Judge says Peterson can still get fair trial
In denying the defense motion for a mistrial, Judge Edward Burmila ruled that "the defendant's ability to receive a fair trial has not been extinguished at this time" by disputed testimony from a neighbor.

He said a "curative instruction" to the jury -- instructing them to disregard the testimony -- should resolve the issue.

Burmila also found that prosecutors did not elicit the testimony with the intent to cause a mistrial.

Updates
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5576.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Drew Peterson trial updates: Defense cross-examines locksmith



After a lunch break, court is back in session with defense attorneys cross-examining locksmith Robert Akin, who was called to Savio's home the night her body was discovered in a bathtub.

Updates at link
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5576.story

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light