Selection of Jury Begins in Trial of Peterson

About 200 people reported to court here Thursday, the first wave in a pool of 1,000 potential jurors being screened for service in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial.

The process of selecting a 12-member jury with six alternates is expected to last a month.

Potential jurors filled out lengthy questionnaires and discussed the hardships of serving in a trial that could last up to six months.

Peterson, 31, a former fertilizer salesman from Modesto, faces the death penalty for allegedly killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son in December 2002. Their bodies washed up along the San Francisco Bay shoreline last April.

“This is Mr. Peterson,” Judge Alfred A. Delucchi told the group of prospective jurors seated in the courtroom.

Peterson responded, “Hello, good morning.”

Delucchi explained the charges against Peterson and what would be expected of jurors, asking them to think about whether “you could vote ever to execute another human being.”

He said they would not be asked if they had had an affair, but they would be queried on whether they had “opinions of people who have had extramarital affairs.”

The prosecution contends that Peterson was having an affair with a Fresno massage therapist at the time he allegedly killed his wife.

Delucchi told jurors they would be asked if they had any religious or philosophical beliefs that would prevent them from sitting in judgment of others, what newspapers and magazines they read, and even what bumper stickers they put on their cars.

“All of this goes to the question of whether or not your mind is so polluted about what you’ve heard in the press,” Delucchi said.

He said that if they were selected, he would admonish them before they left each day not to discuss the case among themselves or with anyone else, or to read anything about it in newspapers or magazines.

“It’s a question of fairness,” he said.

Delucchi said he had decided against sequestering jurors.

“I think it’s important that you get to go home at night. I think it’s good for your mental health,” he said.

He warned that they should be prepared to see some graphic photos.

“I know it’s not nice, but if you’re a juror, you’re a finder of fact,” he said.

And he told prospective jurors that the burden was on the prosecution to prove its case, and that Peterson would not have to testify.

Delucchi heard hardship excuses, including those with child-care problems and from those who would not be able to take time off from work.

He dismissed some potential jurors but told others to return Monday with notes from their doctors or employers if they had medical or work-related reasons why they could not serve.