Peterson trial juror yanked

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — A juror who was spotted talking to Laci Peterson's brother was removed from Scott Peterson's murder trial on Wednesday, but the judge denied a defense request for a mistrial.

Justin Falconer also admitted discussing with his girlfriend the media coverage of his brief exchange with Laci Peterson's brother last week, according to a transcript of a closed-door meeting with Judge Alfred A. Delucchi.

The judge, who had said after that meeting Monday that "there was no misconduct," did not specify Wednesday why he dismissed the juror. Outside court, Falconer said the judge told him he had become a "distraction."

Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, demanded a mistrial, saying media coverage has tainted the case, but Delucchi refused.

"I've got a client who is on trial for his life," Geragos said. "I think it's an outrage what is going on in this case."

Peterson, 31, is accused of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then dumping her body from his small boat into San Francisco Bay. He told police he went fishing that morning.

The scrutiny of Falconer began late last week, when he was taped joking with Brent Rocha that he was blocking television cameras at the courthouse's metal detector. Falconer also had been seen almost daily giving a nod and a slight smile to the defense table on his way to the jury box.

Delucchi privately questioned each of the remaining jurors Wednesday morning, and admonished the panel to avoid media reports of the trial before selecting an alternative to take Falconer's place.

Freed to discuss the trial, Falconer, a 28-year-old airport screener said he thought his exchange with Brent Rocha was "all blown out of proportion" by the media and that he would have found Peterson innocent if asked to deliberate the case now.

"He'd be innocent because the prosecution hasn't given us any reason to believe otherwise so far," he said. "Yeah he lied about a couple of things that we saw in there but I haven't seen anything to make me believe that he committed this crime."

Falconer wouldn't comment on what other jurors were saying about the case.

Jurors are barred from discussing the case outside court, but in the transcript of Monday's meeting with the judge, Falconer said he talked with his girlfriend not only about the exchange with Rocha, but also about two media reports that suggested he was cozying up with the defense.