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American Morning

Defense Attorneys Will Seek to Suppress Police Interrogation of Malvo

Aired November 11, 2002 - 08:18   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Defense attorneys say they will seek to suppress a police interrogation of John Lee Malvo in which the sniper suspect confessed to some of the shootings. A source tells CNN that Malvo admitted to that fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin last month in Falls Church, Virginia.
But Malvo's lawyer says he wants the 17-year-old to have his day in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL ARIF, JOHN MALVO'S ATTORNEY: I don't think you're going to have a confession through, for something he didn't do. At this point we're pleading not guilty. That's going to, that's the intent, that's the plan. We're going to trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So where does the confession put Malvo's defense now?

Joining me to talk about that as well as a report that the lawyer of the accused 20th hijacker could be moved into a military tribunal, our own legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin -- good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Howdy.

ZAHN: Let's start off with this confession. What are the chances that it will be suppressed?

TOOBIN: Low. I mean confessions...

ZAHN: Why?

TOOBIN: ... are rarely suppressed anymore. The courts are very reluctant to take what they regard as useful, valuable evidence and keep it from juries. Here you have an unusual situation of the suspects being moved from Maryland to Virginia. In the process of getting good, getting new lawyers, they, it's not clear who represented them at the point they were interrogated.

If you're a police officer and you know that a lawyer has said don't talk to my client, you're not supposed to talk to the client. However, if the client volunteers things and starts talking, you're not supposed to stop them from talking.

So here, it'll depend a lot on what the circumstances were of the so-called confession. But if he confessed, it's probably going to come in.

ZAHN: But Malvo's appointed guardian, a guy named Todd Petit (ph), claims he went to police headquarters and asked them to stop the interrogation. Petit said a police commander agreed to pass on his request and then ordered him to leave the building.

TOOBIN: And he may yet, he may have done that. See, what we don't know is the timing of all these situations. When you have confessions, alleged confessions, statements, and improper questioning, supposedly, it always depends on what the precise facts were, what the timing was. We don't know what the timing was, who asked when. And judges are very, very reluctant to set this stuff aside. If he confessed, the jury's going to know that.

ZAHN: Do you understand what the motive is at this point? That, of course, is something that prosecutors are wrestling with.

TOOBIN: A complete mystery, especially now when you have Malvo apparently the triggerman in some of these shootings. Muhammad had all sorts of grievances against his ex-wife, involving the military, just a terribly, you know, angry life. Malvo was this kid, if he's the one doing the shooting, why? I mean I just, I don't know. I guess he was under -- if he did it, he was under Muhammad's influence. It's just astonishing how much of an enormous a crime this was and how little we know about why it was done.

ZAHN: So if this confession is accepted, what impact will it have on Muhammad's case?

TOOBIN: Potentially helpful in an interesting way, because, remember, Malvo, Muhammad is charged with murder. In Virginia, murder, you have to be the trigger man. That's not true in every state, but it is true in Virginia. Muhammad could say look, Malvo's confessed to this crime. I'm not guilty, end of story. I have to have that introduced in my trial.

He has a problem because he's also charged with terrorism, which is this new law in Virginia. There, it might implicate him. But in a strange way, Malvo's confession could help Muhammad, not that I think Muhammad's in any great shape.

ZAHN: A 10 second thought on Zacarias Moussaoui and the possibility of this being moved to a military tribunal?

TOOBIN: It's really up to the government. I think it's awkward for the government to be sort of, you know, pulling this case out of the federal courts. It's never been done before. But, you know...

ZAHN: It could happen, though?

TOOBIN: It absolutely could happen.

ZAHN: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for covering all that territory for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Interrogation of Malvo>


Aired November 11, 2002 - 08:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Defense attorneys say they will seek to suppress a police interrogation of John Lee Malvo in which the sniper suspect confessed to some of the shootings. A source tells CNN that Malvo admitted to that fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin last month in Falls Church, Virginia.
But Malvo's lawyer says he wants the 17-year-old to have his day in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL ARIF, JOHN MALVO'S ATTORNEY: I don't think you're going to have a confession through, for something he didn't do. At this point we're pleading not guilty. That's going to, that's the intent, that's the plan. We're going to trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So where does the confession put Malvo's defense now?

Joining me to talk about that as well as a report that the lawyer of the accused 20th hijacker could be moved into a military tribunal, our own legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin -- good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Howdy.

ZAHN: Let's start off with this confession. What are the chances that it will be suppressed?

TOOBIN: Low. I mean confessions...

ZAHN: Why?

TOOBIN: ... are rarely suppressed anymore. The courts are very reluctant to take what they regard as useful, valuable evidence and keep it from juries. Here you have an unusual situation of the suspects being moved from Maryland to Virginia. In the process of getting good, getting new lawyers, they, it's not clear who represented them at the point they were interrogated.

If you're a police officer and you know that a lawyer has said don't talk to my client, you're not supposed to talk to the client. However, if the client volunteers things and starts talking, you're not supposed to stop them from talking.

So here, it'll depend a lot on what the circumstances were of the so-called confession. But if he confessed, it's probably going to come in.

ZAHN: But Malvo's appointed guardian, a guy named Todd Petit (ph), claims he went to police headquarters and asked them to stop the interrogation. Petit said a police commander agreed to pass on his request and then ordered him to leave the building.

TOOBIN: And he may yet, he may have done that. See, what we don't know is the timing of all these situations. When you have confessions, alleged confessions, statements, and improper questioning, supposedly, it always depends on what the precise facts were, what the timing was. We don't know what the timing was, who asked when. And judges are very, very reluctant to set this stuff aside. If he confessed, the jury's going to know that.

ZAHN: Do you understand what the motive is at this point? That, of course, is something that prosecutors are wrestling with.

TOOBIN: A complete mystery, especially now when you have Malvo apparently the triggerman in some of these shootings. Muhammad had all sorts of grievances against his ex-wife, involving the military, just a terribly, you know, angry life. Malvo was this kid, if he's the one doing the shooting, why? I mean I just, I don't know. I guess he was under -- if he did it, he was under Muhammad's influence. It's just astonishing how much of an enormous a crime this was and how little we know about why it was done.

ZAHN: So if this confession is accepted, what impact will it have on Muhammad's case?

TOOBIN: Potentially helpful in an interesting way, because, remember, Malvo, Muhammad is charged with murder. In Virginia, murder, you have to be the trigger man. That's not true in every state, but it is true in Virginia. Muhammad could say look, Malvo's confessed to this crime. I'm not guilty, end of story. I have to have that introduced in my trial.

He has a problem because he's also charged with terrorism, which is this new law in Virginia. There, it might implicate him. But in a strange way, Malvo's confession could help Muhammad, not that I think Muhammad's in any great shape.

ZAHN: A 10 second thought on Zacarias Moussaoui and the possibility of this being moved to a military tribunal?

TOOBIN: It's really up to the government. I think it's awkward for the government to be sort of, you know, pulling this case out of the federal courts. It's never been done before. But, you know...

ZAHN: It could happen, though?

TOOBIN: It absolutely could happen.

ZAHN: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for covering all that territory for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Interrogation of Malvo>