‘Abuse of Discretion’ Alleged : Peyer Appeal Faults Shield-Law Ruling

A judge abused his discretion when he ruled that California’s Shield Law protected a reporter who refused to answer questions about a leaked document in the trial of Craig Peyer, a defense attorney argued in a post-conviction appeal filed Friday.

The 27-page motion, which was filed in the 4th District Court of Appeal, asked the justices to postpone Peyer’s sentencing--scheduled for Wednesday--until they decide whether Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman’s ruling was an “abuse of discretion.” Diane Campbell, one of two attorneys representing Peyer, argued that the convicted murderer deserves a new trial because the leak prevented him from receiving a fair evaluation by jurors.

Peyer, a 13-year California Highway Patrol veteran, was arrested in January, 1987, and charged with strangling college student Cara Knott on Dec. 27, 1986, while on duty. His first trial ended with the jury deadlocked 7-5 for conviction. A second jury convicted Peyer of first-degree murder last month.

The controversy at issue in the appeal erupted in April while a jury was being picked for Peyer’s second trial. At that time, the San Diego Union reported that Peyer had been given a series of polygraph tests before his arrest. The story said Peyer had attempted to deceive homicide investigators when he told them he did not know anything about Knott’s death.

After Peyer’s conviction, defense attorneys filed a motion for a new trial that was based on several rulings by Huffman during the trial. The motion included an argument by the defense that the leaked polygraph results prejudiced Peyer’s right to a fair trial because they influenced prospective jurors.

Huffman denied the appeal for a new trial and also refused to find a Union reporter in contempt for refusing to answer questions about the polygraph test results, which the paper’s editors said was mailed to them anonymously.

Peyer’s attorneys said that, if the reporter were forced to answer questions about the document, they could prove that it was deliberately leaked by the prosecution team in order to influence Peyer’s trial. Huffman, however, ruled that the California Shield Law, which protects reporters from having to divulge in court the identity of their confidential sources, applied in the case and protected reporter Jim Okerblom from contempt charges.

Huffman had postponed sentencing to give the defense the opportunity to file an appeal.