Judge to Decide on Mistrial Wednesday
It's the third week of testimony as Drew Peterson faces murder charges in the death of his third wife Kathleen Savio.
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Updated 4:07 p.m.
Defense attorney Joel Brodsky wants a mistrial but only if Drew Peterson cannot be tried again. That did not sit well with Judge Edward Burmila.
"You don't say to the court, 'We want a mistrial, but only the way we want a mistrial.'"
If Burmila does not grant a mistrial, Brodsky effectively asked Burmila to tell the jury to find Peterson not guilty. Burmila said he was not going to do that. He also reiterated that he was not going to run his decisions past the defense for approval.
"I'm not going to come back here and say, "That's what I'm going to do, if it's all right with Mr. Peterson.'"
Updated 3:56 p.m.
Judge Edward Burmila will decide on the latest prosecution snufu Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Updated 2:56 p.m.
Defense attorney Joseph "Shark" Lopez pointed to prosecution's latest gaffe and said "an avalanche of errors have been committed by prosecutors, thereby jeopardizing their ability to get their case before a jury.
Updated 2:24 p.m.
Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Patton asked former Bolingbrook police Lieutenant Teresa Kernc whether she advised Kathleen Savio to seek an order of protection against Drew Peterson.
Before the lunch recess, Judge Edward Burmila admonished prosecutors that they were not to mention the advice about the order of protection and whether or not Savio sought one.
Burmila cleared the jury from the courtroom and defense attorney Steve Greenberg argued for a mistrial -- the third time he has done so in nine days.
Greenberg pointed out that Burmila has yet to reprimand defense attorneys but that this is the third time the state has either gone against the judge's orders or made an improper statement in front of the jury.
"And we're supposed to be the slimy defense lawyers," Greenberg said.
Patton began to claim she didn't understand Burmila's instruction, but then apologized and said she had "no excuse."
A dejected Patton slumped on the rail of the empty jury box while Burmila accused her of flatly disregarding his order.
Greenberg is asking Burmila to toss the case, clearing the way for Peterson to be released from the county jail.
The judge has given prosecutors a half hour to devise another remedy.
Updated 12:23 p.m.
Pam Bosco, a friend of Stacy Peterson's family said it was "dumbfounding" that Judge Burmila is keeping out testimony from Stacy's aunt Candace Aikin and Aikin's friend Donna Badalamenti "for some ungodly reason."
"We all know Drew's character was to intimidate, to cause fear, to control," Bosco said.
Defense attorney Joel Brodsky contended that claiming you have the ability to kill someone and make the death appear the result of an accident is a "common" statement for a police officer to make.
When asked if it is stupid to make such a boast after one's wife dies in a supposed accident, defense attorney Joseph "Shark" Lopez pointed out that Peterson is a "jokester."
Updated 12:04 p.m.
Judge Edward Burmila has barred testimony from an aunt of Drew Peterson's missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, and one of the aunt's friends.
The aunt, Candace Aikin, and her friend, Donna Badalamenti, both traveled to Joliet from California to testify.
The women were expected to recount how Peterson stood up in front of them and--without prompting--told them that as a police officer, he had learned to kill someone and get away with it. At least one of the two women was expected by prosecutors to say Peterson told her he could kill someone and make the death appear to be the result of an accident.
Burmila felt that such testimony would be too prejudicial against Peterson. He also said that since it was supposedly said three years after Kathleen Savio's 2004 death, it was too remote from the time of the supposed murder.
Burmila also called the expected testimony "nebulous."
Updated 11:39 a.m.
With the jury out of the courtroom, attorneys sparred over how much testimony to allow from former Bolingbrook Police Officer Teresa Kernc.
Kernc took a report from Kathleen Savio about two weeks after her husband Drew Peterson allegedly broke into her home and menaced her at knifepoint.
Savio allegedly crossed out her mention of a knife in the written police report because she feared it might cost Peterson his job as a Bolingbrook police sergeant.
Updated 10:05 a.m.
Dr. Christopher Long was the first witness called today. A forensic toxicologist, Long testified that there was no sign of drugs or alcohol in the tissue sample taken from Kathleen Savio's liver. The toxicological testing was conducted soon after Savio was found dead in March 2004 and again after her body was exhumed in November 2007.
Original story
Today's witnesses are: Dr. Christopher Long, Bolingbrook Police Department Officer Teresa Kernc, Candace Aikin, Donna Badalamenti, Scott Rossetto and ISP Trooper Bryan Falat.
READ MORE ON BOLINGBROOK PATCH:
- Peterson Sees Son in the Flesh For First Time Since Murder Arrest 3 Years Ago
- Drew Peterson's Wife Slept With Knife Under Her Mattress, Friend Testifies
- Savio's Friend: Peterson Said He Could Kill Her, Make it Look Like Accident
- CSY Bother? Crime Scene Tech In Peterson Case Saw No Point In Collecting Evidence
- Kathleen Savio's Sister Testifies Peterson Told Savio He Would Kill Her
- Patch Editor Appears on WGN to Discuss Drew Peterson Case
Keep up with Bolingbrook news:
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Village of Bolingbrook
375 W Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, IL
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Bolingbrook Police Department Non-Emergency
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Francis M. Regan
11:03 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
They are discussing that ASA on a document as meaning Asst.States Attorney, it actually isn't. ASA is a medical term for a code on blood test.
tom
12:03 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Francis W Regan,
Sounds like you're confusing ASA with Assay.
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8412
Francis M. Regan
1:01 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
In session had ASA on their screen and indicated that Dr.Long said it was medical term.
jennie fisher
3:18 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
so he's right...ASA is aspirin in the medical field. At least that's what I learned.
Francis M. Regan
12:00 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I wonder if the State or defense will have other officers testify that filed the 16 reports?
Erin Gallagher
1:24 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
It's common for cops to say they could kill someone and make it look like an accident? I know a lot of cops. I've heard none of them say that, or anything like it.
Watchful Eye
10:50 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Yep, that's news to me too. And I can say that I, too, know a lot of cops and have never heard that uttered by any of them!
forget me
1:32 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Gees really I have said it about my hubby. So if he turns up dead will I be arrested? I'm not a cop. I'm a woman who vents and says what I feel. Too bad. Some days I do feel like I want to wring his neck.
Kristine Neumann
2:58 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The way this is going, it sounds like the prosecution wants to lose this case. What's going on here?
john bruno
3:01 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Pam Bosco is a shill for the state's attorney. She's not an attorney and it is OBVIOUS.
She should keep her remarks to herself.
She wouldn't know a hearsay statement if she fell on it.
Get a life, Bosco.
NOT GUILTY COMING UP and the largest federal lawsuit against Glasgow and the County taxpayers to follow....in the neighborhood of $10-25 million, at least. The Fox case will pale by comparison and that was in the $6-8 million range.
Adam West
4:12 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Let us not forget the multi-million dollar lawsuit against Glascow and Sheriff Paul Kaupas for the wrongful arrest of the Lynwood Officer accused of being the Honeybees killer.
joliet resident
10:49 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Bruno are you really Francis???
Watchful Eye
10:49 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
John Bruno - Your indignation towards Pam Bosco is quite similar to the roadblocks that Kathleen Savio was up against. Speaking out for the victims is not being a "shill for the state's attorney." She's trying to give a voice to a victim of what was constant domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, at the very least.
I've mentioned this before also - Judge White was asked specifically about a lawsuit, and he said no, it's not going to happen. Why don't you please post what you base this on. You keep repeating it, and it's getting old. Are YOU an attorney? You vent against Bosco for not being one, so what's your excuse? If you are an attorney, are you going to be the one to take on his case on a contingency fee basis, including putting out all costs involved with this so-called federal lawsuit you proclaim is going to happen? If so, you're going to be spending a whole lot of money on a case that has to be a sure-bet winner before you can even earn a dime.
Francis M. Regan
3:21 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
And very sadly almost a month to the date, after Lt.Kernc and a Sgt. interviewed Kathy Savio the Sgt. tragically died. God bless him.
Francis M. Regan
3:27 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I think the Prosecution is taking their chances by asking the witnesses certain questions by pushing the envelope in the hopes of not getting any objections from the defense, which is what they are know getting and possibly a mistrial for their string of errors throughout the trial.
ANDY
3:32 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
THIS WHOLE TRIAL IS A SHAM THE WILL COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY IS WASTING OUR TAX DOLLARS AND HE'S RE-RUNNING FOR OFFICE WHAT A JOKE.
Francis M. Regan
4:03 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I say If and I mean if Drew is found guilty this would have an appeal written all over it.
Watchful Eye
10:50 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Regan, I have never seen a defendant found guilty whose case was not automatically appealed. So to say a guilty verdict in this case would "have an appeal written all over it" isn't really saying anything. In fact, things are put on the court record to preserve it for an appeal. Of course, it's going to be appealed.
IMO, I think it's disingenuous to point fingers at the SA's office, when the defense has its own set of problems. Each time they've argued for a mistrial before this, they've lost their argument. In this case, asking the judge to rule the way they say they want it done, without giving the judge any other options, seems a might bit strange, and makes them look like the bloated heads they are. In fact, maybe a good defense team would have made some leeway these goofs haven't. On a past day, Brodsky got up and objected to his own co-counsel's question!
They're too busy pandering to the cameras outside the courtroom, yet criticizing Pam Bosco for doing the same on behalf of the victims. Their jobs are in the courtroom in front of the jury, so why are they whining and squawking outside? Hoping to catch the ear of the unsequestered jury? The jury is not sequestered because the defense did not request it. Why is that????
joliet resident
10:50 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Why wouldn't the defense think they can tell the judge what to do??? Burmila has been siding with them the entire trial time. At least Glasgow has kept Drew locked up for three years and made his life pretty miserable. I think Glasgow did an outstanding job when he was working against a killer that knows the ins and outs of the law.
george
10:50 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Not Really Francis what did i tell you they the SA will bring up the Injunction for Protection how many times the guy broke it and what ever law enforcement officers are around or still available to testify its very doubtfull that the judge any judge would do anything against the States Attorneys Office that would be against all rules and favors. By then he would be to old and fimble or mentally not capable of even living which he deserves
Ken Olsen
10:49 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Looks like Drew's defense team has a few with some troubled pasts. Get a look at this bloggers posting.
http://jafovoice.blogspot.com/
Mayhem
10:49 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Patton - Ummm, Did this broad go to Law School?? Can we get someone in there that wont screw it up?
Watchful Eye
11:01 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
@Mayhem. How disgusting you are calling the ASA woman a "broad." Are you just another male slob that can't treat women with respect? How do you like it?
It's not my intention to defend her or criticize her, but calling her a "broad" just shows how ignorant you are!
Wonder what you should be called if and when you screw up at your job?
Flora Dora
9:18 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Where did Kathleen Patton go to law school? How did she manage to pass the LSAT?
Bob
9:18 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Can anyone here actually say they didn't see this coming. Will county has a track record of huge mistakes, like the honeybee killer, the Riley Fox fiasco and now the Drew Peterson circus. If here gets released hold on to your wallets Will County residents this lawsuit will make the rest look like a school allowance!!
citizen586
12:15 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Glasgow's office has a record of violating the constitution and rights of citizens continuously. Rules of evidence and criminal procedure don't seem to apply to them.
Riley Fox, Honeybee Killer are just the tip of the iceberg which made the news. Many innocent lives had been destroyed by Glasgow's office and most never made the news. All this costing the taxpayers millions while the real perps are still out. That is not a way to keep the public safe. If we continue to allow that prosecutors violate our laws nobody is safe. Today Drew Peterson, Tomorrow You or ME.
Sick of Will County Politics
10:31 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
People get out and VOTE this election....get this piece of garbage Glasclown out of office. Dave Carlson is the canditate that will take Will County in a new direction. Save us tax payers a lot of money and embarrassment....VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!
Sick of Will County Politics
10:36 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Get out and VOTE people!! Get Glasclown and is cronies out of office. Dave Carlson will take Will County to the level it should be with out wasting our tax dollars and making our county an embarrassment. VOTE VOTE VOTE. I know Dave personally, and he is a good guy. He is NOT a politician, he is a real person with good values and morals....unlike Glasclown!!! I can't say it enough VOTE!! T
citizen586
12:15 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Either have the evidence or don't prosecute. That theoretically is the basis of our legal system. If there is no evidence the accused is presumed innocent. So either law enforcement should do their job well and if there is real evidence (not produced one in lack of real evidence) proceed. If not, well, presumed innocent. Like it or not, there may be unsolved crimes and we never will know the truth. We are just to uncomfortable to allow that, so we just bend and break the rules to just convict somebody. No matter what. Hmmm....what a progressive civilized society we have become.
Glasgow's office has a record of violating the constitution and rights of citizens continuously. Rules of evidence and criminal procedure don't seem to apply to them.
Riley Fox, Honeybee Killer are just the tip of the iceberg which made the news. Many innocent lives had been destroyed by Glasgow's office and most never made the news. All this costing the taxpayers millions while the real perps are still out. That is not a way to keep the public safe. If we continue to allow that prosecutors violate our laws nobody is safe. TODAY DREW PETERSON, TOMORROW YOU OR ME!
citizen586
12:15 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
No matter if we BELIEVE Drew Peterson is guilty or not, the prosecutors cannot be allowed to cheat, circumvent criminal procedure and violate the constitution. Like it or not. Anything else would be a very slippery slope.
Either have the evidence or don't prosecute. That theoretically is the basis of our legal system. If there is no evidence the accused is presumed innocent. So either law enforcement should do their job well and if there is real evidence (not produced one in lack of real evidence) proceed. If not, well, presumed innocent. Like it or not, there may be unsolved crimes and we never will know the truth. We are just to uncomfortable to allow that, so we just bend and break the rules to just convict somebody. No matter what. Hmmm....what a progressive civilized society we have become.
Glasgow's office has a record of violating the constitution and rights of citizens continuously. Rules of evidence and criminal procedure don't seem to apply to them.
Riley Fox, Honeybee Killer are just the tip of the iceberg which made the news. Many innocent lives had been destroyed by Glasgow's office and most never made the news. All this costing the taxpayers millions while the real perps are still out. That is not a way to keep the public safe. If we continue to allow that prosecutors violate our laws nobody is safe. TODAY DREW PETERSON, TOMORROW YOU OR ME!