Statements that Drew Peterson's slain third wife and missing fourth wife allegedly made to family, friends, prosecutors and a pastor could be admitted into evidence in the former Bolingbrook police sergeant's first-degree murder trial after a judge Friday upheld the constitutionality of a new state hearsay law.
Judge Stephen White also denied a motion by defense attorneys to move the trial outside the county, saying he found no reason why Peterson couldn't receive a "fair and impartial trial" in Joliet. White had taken the unusual step of calling in the pool of some 240 potential jurors and ordering them to not view media reports on the highly publicized case.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow called the judge's decision to uphold the hearsay statute a vindication of the "much-maligned" law Glasgow himself had pushed for.
Before hearsay comments can be admitted, a sort of "mini-trial" would be held before White, who will rule on whether the preponderance of evidence shows that Peterson killed ex-wife Kathleen Savio in 2004 and whether the hearsay statements are "reliable," prosecutors and defense attorneys said. Prosecutors want to admit statements from fourth wife Stacy Peterson, in whose disappearance Peterson is the sole suspect, defense attorney Andrew Abood said in court.
"I can't say it's not disappointing -- it is," said Joel Brodsky, one of Peterson's attorneys, who in court had argued that allowing hearsay evidence into the murder trial would be a devastating breach of 2,000 years of jurisprudence. "You can't rebut (hearsay statements), you can't refute it. You can't cross-examine for motive or bias."
sschmadeke@tribune.com
