California judge weighs new trial for Scott Peterson

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California judge said Wednesday that she anticipates a two-week hearing early next year before she decides if Scott Peterson deserves a new trial. That’s more than a year after the California Supreme Court ordered Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to consider if juror misconduct was so significant that it denied him a fair trial in the 2002 death of his pregnant wife. Massullo is expected to hear testimony from juror Richelle Nice, who has denied that she was influenced by her own background of domestic abuse. Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant with their unborn son, Connor, when she was killed.