Drew Peterson, expected to file appeal next month, has a lot to sayBy Stacy St. Clair, Chicago Tribune reporter
7:33 a.m. CST, December 26, 2013
Drew Peterson is expected to formally challenge his conviction next month — and his attorneys apparently have plenty to say about it.
Peterson's lawyers recently submitted their third request for permission to exceed the 50-page limit imposed on appeal briefs in Illinois — only to be swiftly denied by the 3rd District Appellate Court for the third time.
In a motion filed this month, Peterson's attorneys said his case has generated more than 11,000 pages of court records, including 3,000 pages stemming from the landmark hearsay hearing held two years before his murder trial. The trial transcript contains more than 5,000 pages, according to the filing.
The 3rd District also prohibits defendants from using more than 15 pages to outline the facts of the case, a limit that Peterson's lawyers say is unfair given the history of the headline-grabbing legal drama.
"Even if he were only to summarize the trial proceedings in his statement of facts, (Peterson) still could only write one page for every 300-plus pages of transcript," the motion stated.
Peterson's lawyers asked that the appellate court allow them to submit 50 pages outlining the facts of the case and an additional 125 pages to argue why his conviction should be reversed.
Will County prosecutors did not object to the request, but Peterson's attorneys received a written communication from the court over the weekend telling them that their request was again denied.
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