Jurors' trial is over By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review December 15, 2004 Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death by lethal injection for murdering his wife, and their unborn son in what may be the most notorious trial in San Mateo County history. His high-profile defense attorney says he will appeal. But whatever the future holds, Half Moon Bay firefighter Steve Cardosi and former Montara resident Dennis Lear are beginning to settle into their lives, post-Peterson. "We're only now beginning to trust others and understand," Cardosi told a rapt audience of reporters moments after the verdict. "Just sitting up here, we're all kind of choked up." Cardosi filled in as the jury foreman Nov. 10 in the final days of jury deliberations. He rose to the high-profile position when Gregory Jackson, the former foreman, was removed from the jury. Lear served as an alternate juror for more than five months before he was seated on the panel, replacing Jackson. Two days after Lear was seated, Peterson was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laci Peterson and second-degree murder in the death of his and Laci's unborn son. In September, during the prosecution's case, Lear moved from the Coastside to Coarsegold, a small town near Yosemite National Park and the Sierra and Stanislaus national forests. On the afternoon following the death sentence verdict, he spoke via telephone of his experiences on the jury and the ordeal of deliberations. "They were extremely emotional and extremely hard ... just draining, very draining," he said of the deliberations. "It's the kind of thing that's very hard to explain to people after it's been done," he said. Following his September move, Lear said he frequently made the 400-mile roundtrip back and forth from the Redwood City courthouse to his home in Coarsegold. "It's exhausting, especially in my case - driving back and forth, never having control of your life," he said. "You're at the whim of lawyers and court. And, you know lawyers love to hear themselves talk." This wasn't Lear's first experience in the jurors' box. He served on a jury for a weeklong criminal trial about four years ago, he said. "If you've ever been in any kind of deliberations there's always awkward moments, but you work through them," he said. "Everybody puts their heads together and figures out how to make it work." Lear said it was too soon to tell what the lasting effect would be on him, but he expects to reflect on this trial for many years to come. "They say it will affect your life, and so far, you know it has to a certain degree," he said. "Whether it will affect me 20 years down the road I'm not sure, but I'm sure it will keep you wondering sometimes and make you appreciate some things that possibly you didn't appreciate before." It all began with Laci Peterson's Christmas Eve 2002 disappearance. Her husband's good looks and marital infidelity quickly gripped the nation. The case seemed to feed the public's endless desire for real life hyper-drama. Television networks, newspapers and talking heads from every corner of the media responded- following the case with keen interest - by reporting on each event and evidentiary discovery leading up to the trial and every twist and turn in the courtroom. Even as the war against Iraq raged on, the search for Laci Peterson, her subsequent discovery and her husband's arrest often led the nightly news. Scott Peterson's April 18, 2003, arrest came just five days after the remains his wife and her unborn son were found on the shore of San Francisco Bay. Laci's decapitated body washed ashore April 14, a day after her unborn son's discovery. The public appeared both shocked and mesmerized by the discoveries, knowing from previous reports that Peterson was fishing in San Francisco Bay the same day his eight-months pregnant wife went missing. Jury selection - and Cardosi and Lear's story - began March 4. The trial was moved from Stanislaus County, where the Peterson couple made their home, to San Mateo County, where Cardosi and Lear made theirs. The jury was seated May 27. There were six women, six men and six alternates, including Lear. Nearly 100 potential jurors filled out almost 30 pages of questions before the panel was selected. By the trial's end, three jurors were dismissed - two of them during jury deliberations. Lear was the third and final alternate juror seated. Cardosi was voted by his fellow jurors to fill the foreman's spot Nov. 10, less than 48 hours before the guilty verdicts were announced. Cardosi, a firefighter and paramedic at the Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District since 1998, has been working weekend shifts at the district when the department's rotating schedules fell on Friday through Sunday for him. "The court pretty much met Monday through Thursdays," Fire Chief Jim Asche said. When Cardosi's work schedule fell on court dates he was excused for jury duty, Asche said, adding that he was never required to work past 8 p.m. on nights falling before court dates. He received regular salary from the district throughout the trial and per union agreement is required to hand over any money received from jury duty, Asche said. Cardosi couldn't be reached for comment before press time. He reportedly flew out of San Francisco International Airport early Tuesday morning to conduct a series of interviews for national news organizations. As for Lear, he wants to move on. "Done with it," he said. "I'd like to vanish." Home