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CNN Live Today

Moussaoui Admission Raises Legal Quandaries

Aired July 19, 2002 - 10:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the courtroom admissions by Moussaoui raised some interesting legal quandaries, as well as lots of questions about his sanity.

For a closer look at all of this, let's check in now with our legal analyst, Jeffery Toobin, checking in from New York -- Jeff, good to see again.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Leon.

HARRIS: Hey, you know, I saw much of the transcripts from that exchange in the courtroom yesterday. I don't think I have ever seen or heard anything like that, have you?

TOOBIN: Well, absolutely not. In fact, you know, we were broadcasting live as all of this was evolving, and I sort of jumped on the phones and talked to all of the -- you know, the best legal minds I know. And they all sort of paused and said, god, that's weird. I don't know what to do about -- I mean, you know, this is not a situation where you can predict an orderly course of events. So I think we can offer our best estimates, but it's clearly without precedence.

HARRIS: Well, let me ask you this. Since he has already come out and said that he, you know, admires Osama bin Laden. He has admitted his guilt. He has admitted that he is a member of al Qaeda. What does it matter whatever plea he files now? The word is out not now, is it not?

TOOBIN: Absolutely. And I think this cannot but end with a guilty plea to the charges. But keep in mind what he said yesterday. He said, "I want to plea guilty, because I want to spare myself the death penalty." Well, he can't do that unilaterally. He can't say, well, I'm just going to plead guilty, so the death penalty goes away. That's the kind of thing that is usually negotiated in a plea bargain, but he has not engaged in any of those plea bargains.

That's why the judge, I think very correctly, even though it seems sort of absurd to stop someone. She said, look, let's take this slowly. Let's try to explain to you what the stakes are here, what you really may be admitting to, and then maybe proceed in a week.

HARRIS: Now, if you are his attorneys who really didn't have any role in any of this yesterday, if you are one of them standing by there, are you looking at this as some way to get back later on appeal sort of insanity plea or something?

TOOBIN: Probably not. I think the rational way to proceed at this point is to recognize, if you are his defense attorney, that Moussaoui may have something the government wants very much. They obviously believe he is a member of al Qaeda, and he admitted it yesterday. Intelligence about al Qaeda is a very precious commodity. If you are a defense attorney, you could use that to bargain to save his life, to get him life in prison, instead of -- instead of the death penalty.

So it obviously seems like there are -- there is the possibility of a deal to be made here. The question is is Moussaoui rational enough to conduct that negotiation himself, or is he rational enough to let someone else do it for him?

HARRIS: Yes.

TOOBIN: I really just don't know the answer to that.

HARRIS: And he sure didn't do any -- didn't offer any help in solving that quandary either.

TOOBIN: Absolutely.

HARRIS: Finally, let me ask you this. Does what happened yesterday pretty much prove that it might have been a big mistake to allow him to represent himself?

TOOBIN: Well, you know, the Supreme Court has said that you have an absolute right to defend yourself, and the only way you can take away that right is if you are found mentally incompetent. He is not exactly mentally incompetent. I mean, he is saying essentially that the government is right, that the charges are correct. So that is not insanity as it is legally defined.

I agree that, you know, the judge is in a very difficult situation here, because he's sort of insane but he's sort of not. And that's a very tough place to mediate if you are the judge. But it does seem like she is doing the right thing in moving this rather slowly and methodically, so that there is a solution that is both just and appears to be just.

HARRIS: Yes. It's just strange to find that -- this is a very serious case. It's a matter of terrorism here, and it turns out to be an entertaining case now, because of these crazy actions in the court.

TOOBIN: I mean, you know, I was very jealous of Deb Feyerick who got to be in the courtroom when (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because it looked like a very -- a court hearing like none I have ever sat through.

HARRIS: No doubt. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks much -- appreciate it.

TOOBIN: OK.

HARRIS: Have a good weekend, all right.? TOOBIN: You too.

HARRIS: All right, see you later, buddy.

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