PETERSON TRIAL Judge delays cross-examination

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- The judge in the Scott Peterson murder trial halted the cross-examination of the man's secret lover moments before it was set to begin Wednesday, telling jurors "a potential development" needed investigation.
Judge Alfred Delucchi apologized for the delay and told jurors Amber Frey would take the witness stand again Monday.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have more bad news," he said. "We had a conference in chambers, and there's been a potential development in this case that has to be checked out before we can go any further. There's nothing I can really do about it," Delucchi said. He released no further details, and lawyers are barred from discussing the case.
The mysterious snag likely involved Frey, 29, whose testimony under prosecutor David Harris' questioning ended Tuesday, attorneys following the case said. Delucchi would have postponed the entire trial -- as he had earlier this month -- if the new information was significantly related to some kind of physical evidence, they said.
Earlier delay
In that Aug. 5 instance, Delucchi postponed the trial for two days to allow Peterson's defense to test new evidence turned over by prosecutors. Tests were to be run on shoreline debris found in April 2003 near the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner.
No test results have been announced, nor has there been any further discussion in court of the evidence that defense lawyers said at the time could potentially clear Peterson.
Wednesday morning, Delucchi said the trial would continue today with three prosecution witnesses, but late in the day reporters were told the trial would instead restart Monday with Frey.
"It has to be directly related to her," said Michael Cardoza, a former Alameda County prosecutor. "It can't be anything on the tapes because they [the defense] knew about that before.
"You've got to know at some level that this has to be a big deal."
Most of Frey's time under direct questioning related to her recording of dozens of Peterson's phone calls after she learned in December 2002 that he was married. The former fertilizer salesman sweet talked to Frey for weeks after his wife Laci, 27, disappeared Dec. 24, 2002, the tapes showed.
The remains of Laci and Conner were found nearly four months later along the East Bay shoreline of California. Peterson, 31, who had said he was fishing that day near where his wife was later discovered, was charged with two murder counts. He has been on trial since June 1.
No answers
Cardoza and other legal analysts were at a loss to explain the development. Regular lines of communication with inside sources were unusually disconnected Wednesday, they said.
"They're tight-lipped about this," Cardoza said. "Again, I feel like I've fallen through the looking glass."
Perhaps an unaccounted recording surfaced or defense attorneys were handed a tip, Los Angeles attorney Trent Copeland said. Whatever the discovery, however, the case will go on, he said.
"It's clearly related to Amber Frey," Copeland said. "But it's not a bombshell that's going to blow this case apart."
The delay appeared to be unexpected. Members of the defense team had spent about an hour Wednesday morning setting up electronic equipment and computers that lead lawyer Mark Geragos planned to use in his cross-examination.
Much of the equipment was disassembled and hauled out after Delucchi begrudgingly announced another delay.
Once buoyed by a case that was two weeks ahead of schedule, Delucchi has watched as the speedy case has slipped away.
Defense battles with prosecutors over evidence that Geragos has said was never turned over also have put the brakes on what was scheduled to be a five-month trial.
"Remember when I told you about the jury revolt," Delucchi said Wednesday, referring to his dream one night that the delays derailed jurors' patience. "I hope that doesn't happen."