AP FILE - In this Tuesday, July 31, 2012
file courtroom sketch, Drew Peterson, foreground, looks on, as Will
County State's Attorney James Glasgow gives his opening statement before
Judge Edward Burmila and jurors, in Joliet, Ill., in Peterson's murder
trial. Peterson is charged in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen
Savio. Jurors at the trial have been showing up wearing matching
clothes. (AP Photo/Tom Gianni, File)
One expects coordinated outfits from cheerleaders, fast-food workers, military units — clowns even. It fosters unity of purpose, team spirit. But color-coordinated jurors? And at a murder trial, no less?
For a month, the jurors at the sensational murder trial of former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson have been filing into court wearing matching clothes — all yellow one day; other days black, blue or green. They've even walked in wearing alternating red, white and blue.
And the coordinated attire hasn't been just about color. Once, it was business suits. Then there was the day they all wore jerseys from sports teams — mostly Chicago Bears and White Sox, though one was a Green Bay Packers shirt, and none for the Cubs.
The oddity has left courtroom observers scratching their heads. It has led to jokes and banter among the judge and attorneys. But it's also raised questions about propriety and precedent during a trial in which evidence against Peterson has included descriptions of his violent threats and grisly photos of his dead wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.
It's unclear what — if any — message jurors might be sending, because no one can speak to them. But one thing is clear about the 12 panelists expected to begin deliberations after closing arguments next week: At least they are unanimous about what to wear.
For a month, the jurors at the sensational murder trial of former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson have been filing into court wearing matching clothes — all yellow one day; other days black, blue or green. They've even walked in wearing alternating red, white and blue.
And the coordinated attire hasn't been just about color. Once, it was business suits. Then there was the day they all wore jerseys from sports teams — mostly Chicago Bears and White Sox, though one was a Green Bay Packers shirt, and none for the Cubs.
The oddity has left courtroom observers scratching their heads. It has led to jokes and banter among the judge and attorneys. But it's also raised questions about propriety and precedent during a trial in which evidence against Peterson has included descriptions of his violent threats and grisly photos of his dead wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.
It's unclear what — if any — message jurors might be sending, because no one can speak to them. But one thing is clear about the 12 panelists expected to begin deliberations after closing arguments next week: At least they are unanimous about what to wear.
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