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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from Scott Peterson's lawyers that a new jury be selected to decide whether he should get the death penalty. The ruling clears the way for the penalty phase to start on Tuesday. The same six-man, six-woman jury that convicted Peterson on Nov. 12 of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried will decide whether he should get life in prison or death. Defense attorney Mark Geragos had argued that the jurors were tainted by the public's reaction to the verdict. When the verdict was announced, a big cheer went up from a crowd outside the courthouse, and spectators pumped their fists approvingly.
Geragos wanted the case moved, perhaps to Los Angeles County, and a new jury selected for the penalty phase — a request that was previously turned down by the trial judge and an appeals court. | 
