Laci Peterson Case Update: Scott Peterson Could Get New Trial, 'Slew Of Legal Errors' Addressed

Scott Peterson has been behind bars at San Quentin State Prison since being convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Following a highly-publicized murder trial, he was found guilty and convicted by a jury of first degree murder and second degree murder.

Prior to his trial, Laci had gone missing on Christmas Eve in 2002. At that time, Scott told police that he had gone fishing at a marina in Berkeley that day and had only learned about his wife's disappearance upon returning to their Modesto, California, residence. Approximately four months later, the remains of both Laci and Conner washed up on a shore in the San Francisco Bay, which was a few miles where Scott had placed himself on the day of her disappearance.

On Tuesday, Cliff Gardner, Peterson's lawyer, stated that he believes his client was unable to get a fair trial in 2004 and has asked that his murder conviction be overturned, which he argued in front of the California Supreme Court.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Gardner addressed what has been described as a "slew of legal errors made at trial." At the beginning of his argument, he stated that 12 potential jurors had initially been dismissed after saying that while they were against the death penalty, they would be willing to impose it. As a result, his guilty verdict could be overturned if it is determined that any of those jurors were "improperly excused."

Furthermore, Gardner argued that two jurors were "improperly allowed" to climb inside Peterson's 14-foot aluminum fishing boat during the trial as they tested its stability. He also stated that an additional error was made when the presiding judge indicated that they wanted the prosecution to be present if the boat was taken out into the San Francisco Bay by Peterson's legal team, which ultimately resulted in his defense dropping the request.

Other issues were also present during Peterson's initial trial, according to Gardner. As stated by the Modesto Bee, "not moving the trial to another location because of the massive pretrial publicity against Peterson" also presented a problem.

On Tuesday, Supervising Deputy Attorney General Donna Provenzano with the state attorney general’s office also gave a contrasting opinion about what took place at Peterson's initial trial. To this point, she discussed the "mountain of evidence" that had been presented at that time. She then stated that if the judge had failed to properly exclude even one juror that the penalty phase should be redone in order to determine if Peterson should receive life in prison or the death penalty.

Peterson is expected to learn the official ruling as to whether or not he will receive a new trial within 90 days.