Wanted: New Judge in Porn Case

A general manager of a chain of video stores in Utah said its time his case had a new judge. \n Larry Warren Peterman, 50, of West Point, Utah, said Judge Lynn W. Davis has told others what he thinks about the case and adult videos, none of which bodes well for Peterman. \n The general manager is facing 15 Class A misdemeanor counts of distributing pornography, all of them related to video rentals at Movie Buffs stores in American Fork and Lehi. \n Peterman pleaded not guilty to the charges and received a jury trial last summer. The trial ended in a hung jury after one of the six jurors said he would not be responsible for setting community standards regarding what is pornographic. \n During the trial, Judge Davis sat through 15 hours of adult videos. One of the six jurors said he heard the judge say he had never before seen such movies and they made him feel uncomfortable. The juror, according to a motion filed in federal district court, saw a look of disgust on the judge's face and heard the judge say the movies disturbed him. \n Another juror said Judge Davis said he was disappointed the jury was unable to reach a guilty verdict. \n "Judge Davis said that watching the videos made him ill," alleges the motion filed on behalf of Peterman. \n For his part, the judge has pushed hard for an out-of-court settlement. He reminded lawyers for both sides that the charges were misdemeanors and ordered them to meet to find a resolution. The meeting, however, produced no results and a new trial is scheduled for Jan. 19. \n In addition to seeking a new judge, Peterman likely will also seek a change of scenery. His lawyer is expected to seek a change of venue to move the trial out of Utah County. It should not be necessary to put on evidence to get a jury to determine a community standard, a lawyer for Peterman said. \n Should either motion be granted, there may be a further delay in holding the trial.