Musical Chairs at the Peterson Trial

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," November 10, 2004, that has been edited for clarity.

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GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: And tonight, pandemonium at the Peterson trial, with another juror dismissed. This time it's the jury foreman who got the axe. Our producers went to his house just a few hours ago. We're going to show you what they found in a moment and talk to another dismissed juror. But first, let's go straight to FOX's Claudia Cowan with the details of the second juror dismissal in two days — Claudia.

CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX CORRESPONDENT: Well, Greta, it is jury musical chairs out here in Redwood City, with two gone in as many days. Juror No. 5, the foreman, is out. In his place is alternate No. 3. And juror No. 6, a fireman, is now the foreman. It isn't known why Gregory Jackson got the boot today, but some speculate the doctor/lawyer/foreman may have asked to be excused.

Under his watch, there were a lot of requests to see a lot of the evidence. Since the jury shuffle began here yesterday, there have been no requests to see anything. Today Judge Delucchi got a flurry of notes clearly indicating this jury was deeply divided, if not on the verge of revolt. Just before lunch, he announced there's a new foreman, juror No. 6, and that Jackson was being replaced by alternate No. 3, a man in his 60s with a not-so-distant connection to Scott Peterson. I'll have more on that ironic twist later in the show.

But with his promotion to the panel, just three alternates remain. And if we run out of alternates, we've got a mistrial.

After the jury left at 4:00 o'clock today, the judge and lawyers continued to meet in chambers with the chief inspector from the local DA's office. That prompted some speculation there might be a criminal probe regarding the jury or that complaints are flooding in over the defense's display of a replica of Scott Peterson's boat. It is still parked across from the courthouse, and some say the judge, who apparently doesn't watch coverage of this case on TV, may not have known that it's there.

Well, after a rather eventful three days, there is no court tomorrow because of Veterans Day. That means the jurors will have to cool their heels at their local hotel here in Redwood City. Of course, they are being sequestered. And deliberations will not resume until first thing Friday morning — Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: Claudia, thank you.

Just hours ago, our producers went to Dr. Jackson's house in nearby Burlingame, where his closest neighbor sat down with our crew. Diane MacKinnon has lived next door to Jackson for about two years. She's been following the Peterson case closely and always suspected the foreman was her neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE MACKINNON, NEIGHBOR OF DISMISSED JUROR NO. 5: Well, in the paper last night, it said that when they were leaving the courtroom, he looked very agitated and very tired and he was rubbing his head. And I said to my husband, you know, something might be wrong with him because they say he was terribly agitated. You know, he might be very frustrated with the rest of the jurors, too, because he's a very intelligent man. So when they said another juror, my husband just out of the blue said, Oh, I'll bet that's Greg. He's off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: Diane MacKinnon joins us now by phone. Welcome, Diane. And tell me, how long have you known Dr. Jackson, juror No. 5, the foreman, who has just been dismissed?

MACKINNON: Well, he's lived next door to us for almost two years.

VAN SUSTEREN: What interaction have you had with Dr. Jackson?

MACKINNON: Well, not really a lot. He's a very, very shy man, a very quiet man. He works a lot. He is rarely outside. He doesn't socialize with anyone in the neighborhood.

VAN SUSTEREN: Does he live with anyone, Diane?

MACKINNON: No. He's in that lovely big house all by himself.

VAN SUSTEREN: When is the last time you actually saw him in person?

MACKINNON: Well, probably when he first got on the jury and he was still coming home at night. We would see him when he'd get home and — since our driveways are right together — we would see him when he'd come home. We really didn't speak to him because he's right into the house, and that's it.

VAN SUSTEREN: He's not supposed to talk about the case, so I take it he never spoke about the case with you, is that right?

MACKINNON: No, he never did. No.

VAN SUSTEREN: What do you think about him as a juror? What kind of juror do you think he'd be?

MACKINNON: Well, he's very meticulous. He's really careful. And I'm sure he's the kind of person that — well, like, he took all the notes. He has all these notebooks full of things, so that's the kind of person he is. And he's not outgoing at all. He's very, very quiet.

VAN SUSTEREN: Have you yourself followed the case, Diane? And did you realize early on that he was on the jury panel?

MACKINNON: Yes. As soon as they described the lawyer-doctor, we just knew it was him. And my husband said something to him about being on the jury, and he just smiled at him, and that was it.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Diane. Thank you very much. I appreciate you joining us with your comments about juror No. 5, now been bounced from the panel, the foreman.

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