CNN reported that Geragos told the Court today he had a powerpoint to use during the cross-examination.
Newsweek says Geragos will introduce the calls that the prosecution didn't play for the jury, those showing Amber to be a whining, clinging "other woman," screaming at Scott, "What about me?" He may portray Amber as a stalker of Scott--calling him 12 times on Christmas Eve alone--before she knew about Scott and Laci. Also, Geragos may bring out that Amber kept recording Scott after the police were no longer interested in having her do so because Scott hadn't incriminated himself on the tapes--and wasn't likely to.
Geragos may cross examine Amber about whether she hired a private detective to investigate Scott--before knowing about Laci's connection to Scott. He may grill her about why she called the Modesto Police Department on December 29--five days after Laci was missing--and why there were so many calls to a Detective Fresno police Detective Richard Byrd with whom it appears she had some kind of pre-existing personal relationship.
Frey called Byrd's home and personal cell phone 25 times, totaling almost 3 1/2 hours, starting Dec. 20, 2002....
That's four days before Laci disappeared.
The Judge ruled today that Geragos' cross of Amber's past relationships must be limited to those mentioned in the tapes. Did the prosecution opend the door to a biggie by playing this tape? Turns out Amber admits to Scott that she had a serious affair with another married man with a pregnant wife before him. Read page 15 of the January 8 tape:
FREY: That's very hard to believe because I've been in a situation like this before, Scott.
PETERSON: Yeah.
FREY: And that person was not OK. She wanted to rip my eyes out....She was like a complete crazy woman.... She wanted to fight me"
Reporter Claudia Cowan said August 9 on Greta Van Susteran's the Record (Transcript available on Lexis.com):
In 1998, she met Joshua Hart (ph) at a Fresno gym. He was married at the time with a baby on the way, yet Amber and Josh eventually moved in together. Later, Joshua went back to his wife and their newborn son, but not before a domestic dispute that wound up in the courts.
Amber claims that during a heated argument, Joshua grabbed her face. He claims she slapped him. She filed battery charges against Joshua, who insisted he was innocent but pleaded no contest to avoid a trial. Joshua says Amber's charges were a payback for his decision to reconcile with his wife.
Geragos' client is on trial for his life. He's not going to say "No questions" when it's his turn. He may not do a full attack, but he'll leave the jury with a different impression of Amber than they had this afternoon. That's his job.
My opinion: Amber is not the star witness for conviction she has been hyped to be by the media. She's not going to bring this case home for the prosecution. Only evidence linking Scott to the disappearance or murder will do that, and so far, the prosecution has fallen woefully short in that regard.
