Peterson judge to decide whether to dismiss charges
Defense claims detective lied on stand
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 Prosecutors release photos of evidence in the Scott Peterson trial.
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REDWOOD CITY, California (AP) -- A judge will decide whether to dismiss murder charges against Scott Peterson after the former fertilizer salesman's attorney alleged a prosecution witness lied on the stand.
Judge Alfred A. Delucchi on Wednesday set a July 29 date to hear arguments from defense attorneys seeking to have the case dismissed. Delucchi has already rejected two mistrial requests from defense lawyer Mark Geragos during the trial's seven weeks.
At issue is testimony from Modesto police Detective Allen Brocchini who defense lawyers assert misstated key details under questioning.
Brocchini testified last month about a tip he received several days after the remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed onto a San Francisco Bay shore.
The tipster alleged that, in 1995, Scott Peterson said he would dispose of a body by sinking it in the ocean. Brocchini testified he didn't consider the information credible and shelved it.
He also said the tipster alleged Peterson would "tie a bag around the neck with duct tape" -- a potentially damaging assertion because police said duct tape was found on Laci Peterson's badly decomposed torso.
A source who has heard a tape of Brocchini's interview with the tipster told The Associated Press that the man never mentioned duct tape, implying Brocchini lied on the stand.
Prosecutors allege Peterson murdered his wife in their Modesto home on or around December 24, 2002, then dumped her weighted-down body in the bay. Police arrested Peterson after the remains were found in April 2003 near where he claims to have gone fishing alone that Christmas Eve morning.
Legal experts said a mistrial or dismissal is highly unlikely. But Geragos could benefit if allowed to grill Brocchini about his controversial testimony in this case, as well as a prior instance of on-the-stand misconduct.
All along, Geragos has claimed authorities were determined to get a high-profile conviction at any cost.
On Wednesday, out of the presence of jurors, Geragos called Brocchini's testimony an "intentional and willful violation." He has argued that Peterson was framed by someone who knew his widely reported alibi.
Geragos wants to discredit Brocchini even more by trotting out a 1998 home invasion robbery case in Modesto which Brocchini investigated.
Brocchini's testimony caused a mistrial after a Stanislaus County judge ruled his comments might have prejudiced the jury, according to court documents. Despite the judge's admonitions, Brocchini told jurors he wanted to talk with one defendant about another robbery in which "he may or may not have been involved."
A defense attorney alleged Brocchini intentionally disregarded the judge's directive because prosecutors "felt the case slipping away," a state appeals court said. The court found Brocchini's conduct to be "improper" but didn't conclude he intentionally tried to "trigger a mistrial."
In another motion, Geragos asked the judge to bar prosecutors from showing television interviews Peterson submitted to before his wife's body surfaced.
During the interviews, Peterson lies about what he told police regarding his affair with a massage therapist -- his alleged motive for murder.
Peterson, 31, could face the death penalty if convicted.
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