MODESTO, CALIFORNIA- Scott Peterson, the man accused of murdering his pregnant wife Laci Peterson late last year, sought new legal representation on Friday in the form of noted defense attorney Lionel Hutz. After burning through a series of lawyers in recent days, Peterson phoned Hutz explaining that he'd seen him on television and had been impressed with the litigator's optimism. The enthusiastic Hutz took the case, promising to win his client, if not an outright acquittal, at least "one of those get-off-the-hook thingies."

At the open of court proceedings tomorrow Hutz is expected to formally request a change of venue in the case to a location better suited to his client, possibly Damascus or Tehran. "Scott will never get a fair trial in Modesto," said Hutz. "So, I propose we move it to someplace where 1) people haven't heard of the case and 2) attitudes about murdering one's wife and child aren't so 'closed-minded.'"

In Hutz' estimation, Peterson suffers from a perception problem. Already tried and convicted in the minds of many, the Modesto native needs to remind the jury that the public's hatred for him is just the result of a series of bizarre coincidences.

"Scott is a victim of circumstance," insisted Hutz. "The woman he killed just so happened to be eight months pregnant and happened to be his wife and it all happened to happen on the day before the hap-hap-happiest day of the year. Wait, did I just say that he killed her? Um, yeah. He did not do that."

Hutz went on to argue that only in a country like Iran or Syria could the accused double murderer get a fair hearing. In such an enlightened setting, says Hutz, jurors are not likely to have the same "hangups" about domestic murder that prevail in the United States.

Infidelity is grounds for justifiable homicide in these areas, wrote Hutz in his brief. Unfortunately, the laws stipulate that the wife must be cheating on the husband, not the other way around.

In his first appearance at a pre-trial hearing on Friday, Hutz asked the judge for leniency, referring to his client as "the unluckiest man in the world."

"He just happened to go fishing the day she disappeared at the very spot where tidal experts say her body entered the water. What are the odds of that, your honor?"

On Friday Hutz originally entered a plea of "200% not guilty." When the judge reminded the attorney that this parsed into a double-negative plea of guilty, Hutz arched his eyebrows and very carefully replied, "whatever you said, Mr. Judgeship person."

After Friday's hearing, Hutz appeared outside the courtroom to speak to the media flanked by some unfamiliar faces. Reporters questioned the unidentified woman standing next to Hutz about her role in the defense team.

"I have no idea," replied the woman. "I was just standing outside the women's restroom and this guy pulled me out here and said it would look better to have a woman up there. He told me to hold this folder and look concerned."

Rumors continue to circulate which suggest that Peterson's real legal strategy is to use Hutz to force a mistrial, pulling out his real defense team at the retrial once Modesto has run out of resources.

Hutz calls the idea preposterous, noting that he will mount a vigorous defense using, as he put it "lots of legal-type words and great big stacks official-looking papers."

A top-notch legal defense like this could cost millions, money Peterson says he does not have. Fortunately, Hutz says that won't be a problem. The lawyer and client have negotiated a compensation package that reportedly includes free pizza and "a place to crash" at Peterson's Modesto home.

"He's not using it, and I don't mind sleeping on evidence bags. So, it's a win-win," explains Hutz.