Removed Peterson Juror Agrees With Judge

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – The juror removed from the Scott Peterson (search) double-murder trial on Wednesday said he understood why he was dismissed by the judge.

"I don't blame the judge at all for wanting to let me go," Justin Falconer (search) told FOX News' Greta Van Susteren on Wednesday night. "I wouldn't want me on that jury either."

The judge in the homicide case gave no reason for dismissing Falconer, previously known to the public as juror No. 5. But a closed-door conversation transcript revealed Falconer admitted to Delucchi discussing media reports on the case with his girlfriend.

Jurors are barred from discussing cases outside of court.  Scott Peterson's defense attorney Mark Geragos (search) requested a mistrial but was denied.

Falconer, a 28-year-old airport screener, had been the subject of speculation last week after an unusual exchange with Brent Rocha (search), the brother of murder victim Laci Peterson (search), was picked up on tape by the press. Falconer was quoted as having told Brent Rocha in the courthouse hallway on Thursday, "You are going to lose today."

But the audio on the tape was garbled, and Falconer said he had been misheard.

"I walked through the security checkpoint, Brent was there, there was a camera there. I mentioned I was ruining the cameraman's shot and he [Brent Rocha] wouldn't be on the news today. Brent then said something like, 'Good,'" Falconer said on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

Most media reports have contradicted that assertion, but Falconer insisted he was "positive it was 'news,' never 'lose.'"

The following day, Falconer said he and Rocha were called before Judge Alfred A. Delucchi (search), who "said it was OK."

Falconer said the other jurors had become aware of the media attention, and "I was kind of getting ribbed a little bit, it was clearly a distraction." He would not comment on what other jurors may have learned or said to him.

He also implied that comments he had made earlier on Wednesday regarding Scott Peterson's innocence were taken out of context.

"This morning I had no opinion either way," Falconer said. "The only reason I have an opinion now is because I'm off the jury. The prosecution hasn't given me any reason to think he's guilty, but later on down the road if I was still on the jury that might've changed.

"I would have no trouble convicting him if the prosecution proved its case," he said.

Scott Peterson, 31, is charged with the murders of his 28-year-old wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Connor. Their bodies washed ashore on the San Francisco Bay in April 2003, four months after an eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson disappeared.

Scott Peterson was arrested April 18 about 30 miles from the Mexican border. His hair was dyed blonde and he was carrying $15,000. He pleaded not guilty to both murder charges in December last year.

The prosecution has yet to reveal DNA or other hard evidence tying Scott Peterson to the murders, and Falconer was highly critical of Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso's handling of the case.

"It was extremely difficult to follow the prosecutor's style. He'd go down a certain road and then he'd go back to something else and he'd almost disrupt the original thought he had," Falconer said. "I really wanted him to try to paint me a picture. I didn't know what he was trying to get at."

Jim Hammer, former San Francisco assistant district attorney, agreed with the criticism.

"I haven't heard the kind of evidence jurors want to hear," he said on "On the Record." "The prosecution is losing this jury, and Geragos is grabbing them because he's answering their questions."

Without a murder weapon, cause of death or any other hard evidence, the prosecution's case has leaned heavily on Scott Peterson's character and behavior following the disappearance of his pregnant wife.

Falconer disputed charges he had been inappropriately friendly to the defense.

"It's a small courthouse ... we see each other in the hallway, elevators, eating lunch. It's difficult not to acknowledge each other being there," he said.

When asked if he had ever chatted with any of Peterson's family members or attorneys, Falconer said, "You don’t walk up and talk to them and say, 'Hi, how are you doing today?' You say, 'Good morning, good afternoon.'"

Falconer, who in an afternoon press conference had said "pregnant women are crazy," insisted he wasn't serious.

"I don’t think all pregnant women are crazy — I just meant they can be crazy at times," he said, laughing. "One day they can be on the couch and not wanting to move, the next day they can run a marathon. You can never really tell from day to day what it's going to be."

FOX News' Jane Roh contributed to this report.