WGN-AM to stage mock Drew Peterson trial

WGN 720-AM "Legally Speaking" hosts Greg Adamski and Karen Conti plan to stage a mock trial of "The People v. Drew Peterson" next week to air in June. Yet would that potentially taint a jury pool in Peterson's murder trial? Or is that a moot point considering how much attention the case has already attracted?

"We're not going to be treading on any ground that isn't a matter of public knowledge," Adamski said. "We're not concerned about the possibility of poisoning the jury pool... We're taking the public record and putting it into a legal format."

Adamski and Conti, who are also partners in a Chicago law firm, plan to stage "The People v. Drew Peterson" from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago. Adamski will be the moderator, Conti will act as prosecutor, lawyer Joseph R. Lopez will be Peterson's defense attorney and retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Neville will preside. The jury will be selected from the audience, with tickets "free but extremely limited" being distributed through the wgnradio.com Web site.

The attorneys will give final arguments, and the jury will decide innocence or guilt on the charges that Peterson murdered his wife Kathleen Savio. "The event is intended as an educational exposition, based solely on the facts that have been publicly reported," according to a WGN-AM release. It will air in two parts, June 14 and 21.

"From the very conceptualization of the idea, we have been in contact with Peterson's lawyers and with Savio's lawyers," those pursuing a wrongful-death case on behalf of her family, Adamski said. In fact, Conti and Lopez are working on a statement of agreed-upon facts - to be adjudicated by Neville - that will be sent to the actual attorneys before the taping. "And if they have any problem with it, they'll let us know," Adamski added.

"It's not a mock trial," said Peterson's defense attorney, Joel Brodsky. "This is more of a mock closing argument."

Even so, it figures to be instructive, for him as much as anyone, especially as the jury deliberations will be part of it. "I intend to be there," he said. "You'll see me in the back row with a pad of paper taking notes."

"Even Joel Brodsky, for what this is worth, said that he welcomes the idea that we're going to have sort of a test run to see what the jury might be thinking," Conti said. "This to me is a focus group for him, and it should be instructive for both parties."

"It will be beneficial to hear what arguments resonate among people and what parts of the argument jurors seem to focus in on," Brodsky said. "Also, it will help me gauge how much people's dislike of Drew may affect their decision-making. From my point of view, it's all beneficial. I don't see a downside, really."

Would the actual judge have a problem with it, depending on the result of a hearing set for today on the prosecution's attempt to change the judicial assignment? "I don't know," Brodsky said. "I don't think so. It's a good educational process."

"This is not like a stunt to amuse so much as it is really to educate people about the process," Conti said.

Will County Chief Judge Gerald R. Kinney, who will rule on a prosecution motion to reassign the judge in the case at today's hearing, declined to comment.

Conti will be in an unfamiliar position, as she's never prosecuted a murder case. "Frankly, it's a lot harder than people think," she said. "There are people out there who have already convicted him. I would say upward of 90 percent. But I have to tell you the evidence is not as strong when you sit down and really try to focus on it. We all have our feelings and our gut about it, but when it comes to having evidence, there's not a whole lot right now."

The weekly "Legally Speaking" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on WGN-AM.