The judge presiding over Scott Peterson’s case on Monday gave the green light to a discovery trial for the convicted killer, 20 years after he was found guilty of killing his pregnant wife.
The latest trial marks a victory for Peterson, who was convicted in 2002 of killing Laci Peterson.
Since January this year, he has been assisted by the Los Angeles Innocence Project.
In the document, obtained by Fox News on Monday, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hill approved Peterson’s request for a post-conviction discovery period.
Hill rejected some of his team’s requests for specific evidence, while approving others.
Peterson will be granted a discovery period under California Penal Code 1054.9, which gives discovery rights to defendants convicted of serious or violent crimes and sentenced to 15 years or more in prison.
Peterson is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The code gives the suspect access to material “in the possession of the prosecuting and law enforcement authorities to which the same suspect would have been entitled at the time of the trial.”
“The Court has considered the pleadings filed by all parties and the oral arguments of counsel, and now orders post-conviction discovery pursuant to Penal Code 1054.9 as follows,” the judge wrote.
Whether Peterson, who is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, will get a new trial depends on how the discovery process goes.
In 2004, Peterson was convicted of the 2002 murders of his wife Laci and their unborn son.
Laci, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve and was reported missing by Peterson a day later.
Peterson claimed he alerted authorities when he returned from a solo fishing trip to find his home in Modesto, California, vacant.
Four months later, Laci’s body washed up a few miles from where Peterson had gone fishing. Peterson – who bleached his hair after the murder – was later arrested with his brother’s passport in San Diego.
Before arresting him, police suspected he may have tried to flee to the Mexican border.
Last month, Peterson gave his first on-camera interview in a three-part Peacock series called “Face-to-Face with Scott Peterson,” in which he said he “regretted not testify,” during his trial.
“I have an opportunity to show people what the truth is, and if they are willing to accept it, that would be the greatest thing I can accomplish right now – because I didn’t kill my family,” he claimed.
The convict also theorized that Laci was killed by burglars who targeted a nearby home at the time of the murder.
The burglars later stated that they broke into a nearby home on December 26, 2002, after Laci went missing.
“There was a burglary across the street from our house,” Peterson said in the TV series. “And I think Laci went there to see what was going on, and then she was taken.”
Christina Coulter and Michael Lundin of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
