May 21, 2009 6:18 pm US/Central
New Judge Assigned To Drew Peterson Case
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson arrives at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 8, 2009, for his arraignment on charges of first-degree murder in the 2004 death of his former wife Kathleen Savio.
M. Spender Green/AP
Prosecutors in the murder case against former police officer Drew Peterson got their wish when a new judge was appointed to preside over the trial.
Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney on Thursday appointed Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes to oversee the case.
Earlier this week, the Will County state's attorney had asked that Judge Richard Schoenstedt be removed, on the grounds of bias against the state.
Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky challenged that motion, and on Monday called the move gamesmanship.
"I think it indicates to us the weakness of the state's factual position. It shows they don't want to deal with this on the facts," Brodsky said.
In November, Schoenstedt dismissed felony gun charges against Peterson after Will County prosecutors refused to hand over internal documents.
On Thursday, Brodsky originally said in court that he would ask that that new judge be replaced, too, but he later withdrew that request.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports the defense team is now saying that the new judge is someone they can work with.
"Frankly, we knew very little about this judge that we were assigned to and we tried to find out as much as we could in the short period of time that was given us," said Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky. "And the consensus was that we would stay with her."
Drew Peterson was involved in the decision to accept a new judge. More important to the defense was avoiding some judges in particular.
"It turned out that there were too many other choices we didn't want, so rather than roll the dice, we stayed with his judge," Brodsky said. "But what I've been able to find out about her in the short period of time that we've had is that she is very fair-minded."
Brodsky wasn't tipping his hand as to which judges he didn't want but sources within the courthouse tell CBS 2 that there were at least two judges that the defense team especially didn't want to preside over the trial.
The first order of business Friday will be Peterson's bond, which Brodsky believes should be lowered from $20 million to no more than $1 million.
But a spokesperson for Stacy Peterson's family disagrees.
"We're dealing with someone who's a potential murderer," Pam Bosco said. "I think that would be something that the judge would recognize and keep him in jail for everyone's protection."
"The fact of the matter is that Drew hasn't been a danger to the community since this investigation began," said Peterson attorney Andrew Abood. "There's been no need and no issues that he's had with the police. And I suspect that if he gets out on bond, that'll continue to be the status quo."
As soon as Friday afternoon the new judge may decide whether Peterson gets out on bond or whether he'll continue to be led to his court appearances in chains.
A source tells CBS 2 that the new judge's husband is an investigator with the Will County Sheriff's office.
Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning of Kathleen Savio. Her death was initially ruled an accident but was reopened after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in 2007.
Peterson is also a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, but hasn't been charged with a crime in that case.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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