REDWOOD CITY -- The Scott Peterson legal defense team is polling County residents about their opinions of the double-murder case to help it decide whether to request yet another change of venue.

Over the past few days, residents have received calls from a team led by Paul Strand, dean of arts and letters at San Diego State University, who conducted a similar study for defense attorney Mark Geragos when he sought a change of venue from Stanislaus County.

The questions range from whether or not people would convict Scott Peterson based solely on DNA evidence to their opinion of extra-marital affairs to their knowledge of boating.

San Carlos resident Mary Hanna was working on her computer Friday afternoon when she received the call. "They asked me what kinds of things would influence me, like his demeanor; and my opinions about other things like the death penalty and extra-marital affairs," said Hanna, a freelance humor columnist for the Times.

They also asked about Hanna's income, political affiliation and her thoughts on how Modesto police handled the case. "But I was called for jury duty less than a year ago," she said. "So I'm off the hook."

The outcome of the poll will provide the defense with a "prejudgment rate" -- a percentage of those County residents polled who believe Peterson murdered his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son. Over a thousand County residents are expected to be summoned as potential jurors.

Geragos, of Los Angeles, said at Monday's first Redwood City hearing that the County might merely be a waystation en route to the trial's final destination. The trial was moved out of Modesto last month when a Stanislaus County judge ruled that Peterson could not receive a fair trial in the couple's hometown.

If Geragos moves to relocate the trial, the data his pollster gathers could be used to bolster his argument.

"Polling is one method for demonstrating to the judge that there is a very high prejudgment rate in the County," said jury consultant Karen Jo Koonan of the National Jury Project West. She said the polls that are used for change-of-venue motions usually involve between 400 and 800 respondents.

California law does not require that jurors be oblivious to a case before serving on a jury, only that they are able to put aside any preconceived notions.

"If 95 percent of people in the County believe he's guilty, then that's a problem; not just for Scott Peterson, but for the whole functioning of our justice system," Koonan said.

Strand was one of two experts employed by Geragos to conduct similar polls in Stanislaus County. One found that 39 percent of 300 Stanislaus County residents questioned had already made up their mind about Peterson's guilt. Another poll found 59 percent of Stanislaus residents believed Peterson was guilty.

Strand, who said he would have to check with Geragos before commenting for this article, declined a detailed interview.

John Goold, a spokesman for the prosecution, said the Stanislaus district attorney's office has not sponsored its own poll of County residents, and said he had not heard anything from Geragos about it. "If and when they decide to use it, they'll let us know when they file a motion," Goold said.

Geragos, who is trying another murder case in Pasadena, could not be reached for comment.

Peterson told police he was fishing in the Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve 2002, the day his pregnant wife, Laci, was reported missing. Prosecutors say Peterson, 31, killed her and the couple's unborn son.

The bodies of Laci Peterson and the unborn child washed ashore in the East Bay separately months later. Peterson, who faces the death penalty, has pleaded not guilty to both counts of premeditated murder.

The next hearing on pre-trial motions is scheduled Monday at 9:30 a.m.