By Harriet Ryan Court TV
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. A juror in Scott Peterson's capital murder trial was caught on video Thursday morning talking to Laci Peterson's brother.  | | Brent Rocha encountered juror #5 (cropped out, left) after going through security. |
The brief conversation occurred immediately after the juror and Brent Rocha passed through a metal detector as they arrived at the courthouse. A television camera filming Rocha inadvertently captured the juror and recorded the incident. As the two men stopped to collect cellphones and other belongings scanned by the metal detector, the juror grinned at Rocha and made a comment. Only two words of the sentence were audible: " — lose today." Rocha, the slain mother-to-be's older brother, smiled and replied, "Oh yeah." The two then walked away in different directions.  | | The juror, left, spoke to Rocha. |
A spokeswoman for the court said Judge Alfred Delucchi and lawyers on both sides had been informed of the exchange. They met for about five minutes in chambers at a mid-morning coffee break and again after lunch. Peter Shaplen, a producer who coordinates the pooling of video for all the media organizations covering the trial, said the spokeswoman, Lisa Williams, notified him that the court is planning to subpoena the videotape. As court broke for the weekend, however, no subpoena had been issued. The footage was shot as part of the daily pool video of the arrivals of lawyers, witnesses, and the families of Peterson and his wife. Jurors use the same public court entrance. Immediately after the cameraman shot the juror, Shaplen told news organizations that it was an accident. "The guy walked in front of the camera," Shaplen explained. He urged them not to broadcast the tape, saying it would be a violation of California's court rules prohibiting photographing of jurors.  | | Witnesses heard Rocha, right, reply, "Oh yeah." |
The juror, a white man in his 20s on disability from his job at an airport, appeared relaxed as he waited in the jury box for court to resume. Dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts, he joked with fellow panelists. During the first three weeks of the trial, he has stood out from other jurors for not taking notes on testimony and acknowledging the parties in court with a quick smile or nod of his head as he crosses the well of the court. Some news organizations reported Tuesday that the juror said something to defense lawyer Mark Geragos as he walked to the jury box. The next day, he smiled at prosecutor Rick Distaso on his way to his seat. As he left court, Brent Rocha declined to comment. The flap over the juror came as five witnesses, including Laci Peterson's obstetrician, aunt and jewelers, testified. Peterson, 31, could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering his eight-months-pregnant wife and the couple's unborn son in December 2002. |