Don't expect the trial of double-murder suspect Scott Peterson to begin on schedule come May 17, or for it to even be held in San Mateo County, reports PEOPLE.
Peterson's high-profile attorney, Mark Geragos, announced in court Thursday that he plans to file for a second change of venue, which would delay the case considerably. The trial was already relocated from Modesto, Calif., where victim Laci Peterson had lived.
Jury selection has been difficult at best, as evidenced by one potential -- and perhaps overly anxious -- juror on Thursday, who raised eyebrows in the courtroom when she said she would rearrange a proposed trip to Hawaii to take part in the proceedings.
Geragos is trying to eliminate any potential juror who does not presume Peterson innocent until proven guilty. At one point, Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said, "Everyone who walks into the courtroom has suspicions."
"May I be transported to Russia?" Geragos snapped in response. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard a prosecutor say."
Judge Alfred A. Delucchi emphasized that he has instructed all potential jurors to maintain objectivity, but a recurring problem in the case is that jurors "come in with baggage." This prompted Geragos to complain that prosecutors were trying to program jurors.
"Just get off the hay wagon, Mr. Geragos," said the judge. "Both sides program jurors."
Prosecutors allege that fertilizer salesman Peterson, 31, killed his pregnant wife, Laci, on Dec. 23 or 24, 2002, because he was having an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey. The bodies of his wife and unborn son washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay nearly four months later.
Peterson could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.
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