Civil case against Drew Peterson to proceed

Peterson civil case can proceed

October 14, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — A Will County judge ruled Wednesday that the civil lawsuit against Drew Peterson can proceed.
The family of Peterson’s third wife Kathleen Savio filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Peterson.

The former Bolingbrook police officer is also charged in criminal court with murdering Savio.

Peterson’s attorney had asked that the judge issue a stay on the Savio family’s civil case pending the outcome of the criminal case.

“The judge didn’t stay the case, didn’t freeze the case. But he also said that Drew or indicated that Drew can take his Fifth Amendment privilege in answer to any question or any pleading,” said Joel Brodsky, Peterson’s attorney.

Savio’s death was originally ruled an accident, but the case was determined to be a homicide after Peterson’s fourth wife Stacy disappeared.

Read the story at ABC7/WLS, Chicago

Thanks TAI, for posting the news.
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Drew loses big. Change of venue denied, hearsay law upheld in Peterson case.

Drew Peterson defense team arrives at the Will County courthouse. Photo - Warren Skalski

Hearsay law upheld in Peterson murder case
October 2, 2009 4:32 PM

A Will County judge today upheld the state’s new hearsay law, which prosecutors plan to use in their murder trial against Drew Peterson.

Under the law, which took affect in December, prosecutors plans to submit as evidence letters and statements by Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, to friends and family before she was killed in 2004.

Peterson’s attorneys have argued that the so-called “Drew’s law” violates a defendant’s 6th Amendment right to cross-examine witnesses; goes against state and federal constitutional provisions against retroactively applied laws; and “erodes the presumption of innocence” by asking a judge before the trial even starts to find that Peterson murdered Savio to silence her.

But Judge Stephen White sided with prosecutors and allowed the law to stand.

Peterson’s attorneys said they would notify prosecutors whether they intend to introduce their own hearsay evidence by Oct. 29, their client’s next court date.

Peterson, in custody at the Will County Jail in Joliet, is also considered a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Eearlier, Peterson lost his bid to move his murder trial outside of Will County.

Peterson’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, has argued that widespread publicity would make it difficult for the former Bolingbrook police sergeant to get a fair trial in Will County.

The motion cited stories about Peterson that ran in the Chicago Tribune, CNN, Huffington Post and local television stations.

Some of the stories detailed the order of protection Savio took out against Peterson and the letters she mailed out before her death. The motion argued that they exposed jurors to “highly significant information which may not be admissible at trial.”

Peterson’s attorneys also objected to a 2008 press release from the Will County state’s attorney’s office that announced that results of an autopsy on Savio’s exhumed remains concluding her death was a homicide.

The complete autopsy was not released, only the manner of death, which his attorneys said “prejudiced the jury pool in regards to the most contested fact of the entire case — namely the manner of death.”

– Steven D. Schmadeke

Read the story at the Chicago Tribune

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Lisa Madigan and James Glasgow file objections to Peterson’s challenging of the “Hearsay law”

Lisa Madigan and James Glasgow

On September 4th, Illinois’ State’s Attorney, James Glasgow, and Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, filed separate objections to motions filed by Drew Peterson’s defense team, which challenged the constitutionality of the so-called “Hearsay Law“.

The objections maintain that the new statute violates neither ex post facto nor confrontation right principles.

Even if you normally have a hard time wading through legal documents, I’d urge anyone with an interest in this case to read through these objections. The quality of the research, the clearness of argument and the absence of silly evidence (i.e., quoting of Google searches) is in striking contrast to the motions that have been filed thusfar by Peterson’s defense.

UPDATE 9/11/09: The defense has filed a response to the objections by the State. It is the last motion to be filed regarding this issue before the hearing on October 2. Scroll down to read the reply. All of the motions can be found on the documents page.

Attorney General’s Filing of Objections to Defendant’s Motion to Declare 725 ILCS 5/115-10.6 Unconstitutional

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State’s Attorney’s Response to Defendant’s Motion to Declare 725 ILCS 5/115-10.6 Unconstitutional

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UPDATE – Filed September 11, 2009: DEFENDANT’S REPLY TO THE RESPONSES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AND THE WILL COUNTY STATES ATTORNEY TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DECLARE 725 ILCS 5/115-10.6 UNCONSTITUTIONAL

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Court date for Drew Peterson

Looks like a new court date for Drew Peterson.
Anyone know what “return of” refers to?

PETERSON DREW W 9 1 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 2 Return of
PETERSON DREW W 9 1 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 1 Return of

I’ll update the post if and when I get any more information.

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Drew Peterson hearing delayed. Potential jurors brought into court.

Peterson hearing delayed; potential jurors called in

August 14, 2009

From Staff Reports
JOLIET — An expected hearing on a motion for a change of venue in the Drew Peterson case was delayed this morning when the judge told the courtroom he planned to bring some 240 potential jurors into the courtroom.

Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, is charged with murder in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Will County Judge Stephen White said this morning that the jurors would be brought into the courtroom in groups of 60. He did not indicate if arguments on the motion for a change of venue would be heard later today.

White said he planned to give the potential jurors instructions, similar to those in any other case, about presumption of innocence and burden of proof.

Potential jurors also would be admonished about avoiding media reports about the case, White said.

Jurors also will be given a questionnaire that among other things lists some 493 potential witnesses in the case. Potential jurors will be asked to indicate if they have any connection with them.

All reporters were then ordered out of the courtroom.

Andrew Abood, an attorney for Peterson, objected to what he called a “closed courtroom.”

Karen Conti, Adamski & Conti, LLC

White replied that there simply was not room for the potential jurors and the crowd of reporters.

Story at the Sun-Times

Remember, if you have a question for Karen Conti, ask it on the board or email us. Karen will appear on Fox news on Monday to comment on the latest developments.

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Drew Peterson waives right to speedy trial. Lawyer charges improper ISP conduct towards fiancée.

Chicago Breaking News (Chicago Tribune/WGN)
Drew Peterson murder trial delayed
July 14, 2009 1:32 PM

Drew Peterson’s murder trial won’t be going ahead next month as planned, after he waived his right to a speedy trial today.

During a hearing at the Joliet courthouse, Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky told Judge Stephen White that the defense team needs more time to review some 40,000 pages of evidence.

Peterson was scheduled to stand trial Aug. 24 on charges that he murdered his ex-wife Kathleen Savio in 2004. But White canceled that trial date today, after asking Peterson whether he understood that he was giving up his right to a speedy trial.

Peterson, wearing blue jail scrubs, stared down at his lap and replied “Yes, your honor.”

He did not speak again during the hearing.

Prosecutor John Connor, head of the major crimes unit of the Will County state’s attorney’s office, did not object to the trial delay.

Drew Peterson and Empathy

Dr. Keith Ablow, psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author.

by Dr. Keith Ablow

When Drew Peterson was brought into court on charges that he murdered his third wife Kathleen Savio, he was in a good mood. He yelled jokes to reporters about how “spiffy” his red prison jumpsuit was and called his shackles “bling.”

Peterson is, of course, also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife. He insists he is an innocent man.

Think of how you’d respond to being dragged into court on murder charges, especially if you were wrongly accused. You might be terrified or confused or enraged at the injustice of your plight, but you wouldn’t be all smiles, spewing one-liners.

So how can Drew Peterson do it?

To have any hope of understanding Drew Peterson, one first has to understand human empathy. Empathy is the ability to resonate with the feelings of others to such an extent that one actually experiences some of their joy or grief or anxiety. It is a remarkable and inexplicable quality that we too often take for granted. The fact that a friend can be brought to tears by a loss of yours, that you can intuit and share the worries or hopes or pride of your partner in life, or that the hunger of children thousands of miles away could spur you to action on their behalf is a tribute to this miraculous force.

Empathy does even more, though. It helps us contain our anger and our destructive impulses, because we can imagine how it might feel to be the object of that rage. It also helps us gauge what is appropriate language and behavior in various situations, again because we can imagine how others are likely to respond to us. We can put ourselves in the shoes of our friends or neighbors or loved ones.

Drew Peterson: another hearing this friday

UPDATE July 8: Hearing rescheduled for Tuesday, July 14th.

NAME                 DATE     ROOM    TIME      CASE   
PETERSON DREW W     7  10  9  402     930     09CF001048
PETERSON DREW W     7  10  9  402     930     09CF001048

Drew Peterson will be in court again this Friday, July 10, for a motions hearing. At that time Judge Stephen White should rule on continued motions and hear any new ones.

At Peterson’s last hearing Joel Brodsky argued six motions before the judge. He asked that prosecutors be required to give more details about their theory of how Peterson killed Kathleen Savio as well as summaries of the 9,470 investigative reports provided to the defense. This was denied. The judge also denied the request that Peterson be allowed to retain evidence against him while he is in jail.

At the last hearing Judge White asked the prosecution to reveal if payment or other consideration was given to Paula Stark, Len Wawczak or Thomas Morphey in exchange for their testimony. He also agreed to enter an order forbidding the state from listening to recorded phone calls between Peterson and his attorneys; although John Connor, chief of the Will County State’s Attorney’s major crimes unit stated that prosecutors have not been listening in.

The prosecution was also asked to produce a list of the fifty witnesses most likely to be called to testify, from over 800 witnesses originally named.

Will County Circuit Court Schedule

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Three court dates for Drew Peterson this week

Peterson has three court dates this week, Wednesday the 24th at 9:30, Thursday the 25th at 1:30 and Friday the 26th at 9:30.:

PETERSON DREW W 6 24 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 1 Return Date
PETERSON DREW W 6 24 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 2 Return Date

PETERSON DREW W 6 25 9 402 130 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 1 Motions
PETERSON DREW W 6 25 9 402 130 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 2 Motions

PETERSON DREW W 6 26 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 2 Return Date
PETERSON DREW W 6 26 9 402 930 09CF001048 0 MURDER/INTENT TO 1 Return Date

http://www.willcountycircuitcourt.com/

Thanks, Noway, for the info.

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Drew Peterson’s appeal to reduce $20 million bond: Denied

Today a three-judge panel from the Illinois Third District Appellate Court ruled to deny Drew Peterson’s petition to reduce the amount of his bond from $20 million.

Peterson’s lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, says, “We’re disappointed in the ruling from the Illinois Third District Appellate Court, but we accept the Court’s ruling. However, we are also confident that as the weakness of the State’s case is exposed over the following weeks and months we will have another opportunity to ask for a reduction in bond.”

Per court document filed today:

“Appellant’s Motion for Review of Bail Order is DENIED.
“Defendants bail bond should not be modified or reduced”

Peterson’s next court date is scheduled for August 10th, 2009 (pre-trial).

Read the Press Release

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