By Stacy St. Clair, Chicago Tribune –
CHICAGO — A bitter feud between Drew Peterson’s lawyers has prevented the defense team from working on a critical post-trial motion, lead attorney Joel Brodsky told a judge Tuesday.
The admission came the day after one attorney formally quit the case and another sent Brodsky a letter accusing him of being a “bully.” With a nod to the highly publicized infighting, Brodsky asked the judge to postpone the Bolingbrook, Ill., former police sergeant’s November sentencing.
“We want to make sure we do a sufficient job,” Brodsky said, adding recent events have been “pointing us away from what’s important.”
Brodsky requested that he be given until Nov. 30 to file a motion for a new trial, which would push back sentencing.
Peterson, 58, faces up to 60 years in prison after being convicted of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The sentencing is currently set for Nov. 26.Dressed in a blue jail uniform, Peterson offered no visible reaction to Brodsky’s request.
Will County Judge Edward Burmila, who has already given the defense an extension, will consider the request next month.
The defense has fallen behind schedule, in part, because Peterson recently fired attorney Steve Greenberg, who handled most of the team’s motions. Greenberg was dismissed earlier this month following post-verdict spat with Brodsky.
On Monday, Greenberg sent Brodsky a biting 15-page letter in which he demanded the lead attorney retract comments he made about Greenberg’s trial performance.
The letter was sent on the same day attorney Darryl Goldberg filed a motion to withdraw from the case. Goldberg, who often seemed unhappy with his co-counsels’ out-of-courtroom antics during the trial, declined comment on his decision to quit.
Brodsky — who held twice-daily news conferences during the trial — has not commented on the letter’s contents and had repeatedly denied Goldberg’s departure. He dodged reporters after Tuesday’s hearing by leaving the courthouse through a back stairwell.
