People v. Peterson

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of first degree murder of his 3rd ex-wife and sentenced to 38 years in prison. Evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant committed first-degree murder. Court did not err in finding that clergy privilege was inapplicable to pastor's testimony about what Defendant's 4th wife, who disappeared 3 years after 3rd ex-wife's death, had told him at her counseling session 2 months before her disappearance. Court properly found conversation was not confidential, as it was in public with at least one other person present. Court's prior ruling admitting certain statements of 2 victims under common law doctrine of FBWD (forfeiture by wrongdoing) stands as the law of the case. Use of statements was not so extremely unfair to Defendant that their admission violated Defendant's due process right to a fair trial.Court's ruling admitting testimony of a person who testified that Defendant had tried to hire him to kill 3rd ex-wife was within its discretion. Defense attorney did not have a per se conflict of interest in representing Defendant as a result of media rights contract which Defendant and defense attorney jointly co-signed and which began and ended before Defendant was indicted. Decision to call 4th ex-wife's divorce attorney was a matter of trial strategy as Defendant was seeking to discredit impression of her that pastor's testimony had given to jury, and was largely cumulative to pastor's testimony.(O'BRIEN and SCHMIDT, concurring.)