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CNN Live At Daybreak

Morning Coffey

Aired January 14, 2003 - 06:25   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some high profile celebrities are in court this week and our favorite legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us on the phone live from Miami to talk about that.
Good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, you want to start with Robert Blake? He hasn't even been through the criminal proceeding. Now he's in civil court and he ain't talking. Why?

COFFEY: Well, tomorrow's deposition is going to amount to how many times can you say the fifth amendment. And it can't be used in a criminal trial, but that could suggest guilt for purposes of the civil lawsuit by the victim's family. And as we know, the standards are different in civil and criminal cases. Blake could beat the murder charge and still lose the civil lawsuit by the family members, in which case maybe he'd come down here to Florida and join O.J. Simpson.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to invoke the O.J. Simpson trial because his civil procedure took place after the criminal procedure. And I don't know, I don't remember exactly how that worked, whether he spoke up in a deposition on a civil hearing or if that was filed after his criminal proceeding.

COFFEY: Well, normally -- it's a little unusual here -- normally the civil lawsuit waits until after the criminal case. But there's going to be a jailhouse deposition tomorrow. Apparently the defense went back and forth on whether they wanted the civil case to go forward. The bottom line is the judges said the deposition is taking place. And so, as I said, we'll be hearing Blake maybe set a record for mentioning the words fifth amendment.

COSTELLO: I plead the fifth. I plead the fifth.

COFFEY: I believe that's it.

COSTELLO: I want to ask you about Diana Ross, because police are thinking of releasing the police video of her allegedly drunk to the public. Should they?

COFFEY: Well, there's not a lot of privacy rights when you're arrested for drunk driving. And while the defense is going to be saying stop in the name of justice, don't put that out because it could prejudice her rights to a fair trial before a jury, the truth is if the video is going to come in anyway, the prosecution is going to argue that a video like that getting out over the air waves is worth more than a thousand public service announcements warning against the consequences of drunk driving.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe they have a point, because according to police, she was really, really drunk.

COFFEY: She's charged with driving under the extreme influence, a .15 blood alcohol level, which means if convicted, a minimum of 30 days in jail.

COSTELLO: Wow. Because supposedly she couldn't even recite the alphabet or count.

COFFEY: Yes. I mean the evidence is pretty harsh and while you always wonder in these things, you want to reserve judgment until it all comes in, from the standpoint of the authorities, high profile defendants often are the best opportunity to send a message to the public. And that could happen here.

COSTELLO: We'll see.

Kendall Coffey, many thanks to you.

Kendall Coffey live from Miami this morning, where I'm sure it's nice and balmy.

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







Aired January 14, 2003 - 06:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some high profile celebrities are in court this week and our favorite legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us on the phone live from Miami to talk about that.
Good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, you want to start with Robert Blake? He hasn't even been through the criminal proceeding. Now he's in civil court and he ain't talking. Why?

COFFEY: Well, tomorrow's deposition is going to amount to how many times can you say the fifth amendment. And it can't be used in a criminal trial, but that could suggest guilt for purposes of the civil lawsuit by the victim's family. And as we know, the standards are different in civil and criminal cases. Blake could beat the murder charge and still lose the civil lawsuit by the family members, in which case maybe he'd come down here to Florida and join O.J. Simpson.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to invoke the O.J. Simpson trial because his civil procedure took place after the criminal procedure. And I don't know, I don't remember exactly how that worked, whether he spoke up in a deposition on a civil hearing or if that was filed after his criminal proceeding.

COFFEY: Well, normally -- it's a little unusual here -- normally the civil lawsuit waits until after the criminal case. But there's going to be a jailhouse deposition tomorrow. Apparently the defense went back and forth on whether they wanted the civil case to go forward. The bottom line is the judges said the deposition is taking place. And so, as I said, we'll be hearing Blake maybe set a record for mentioning the words fifth amendment.

COSTELLO: I plead the fifth. I plead the fifth.

COFFEY: I believe that's it.

COSTELLO: I want to ask you about Diana Ross, because police are thinking of releasing the police video of her allegedly drunk to the public. Should they?

COFFEY: Well, there's not a lot of privacy rights when you're arrested for drunk driving. And while the defense is going to be saying stop in the name of justice, don't put that out because it could prejudice her rights to a fair trial before a jury, the truth is if the video is going to come in anyway, the prosecution is going to argue that a video like that getting out over the air waves is worth more than a thousand public service announcements warning against the consequences of drunk driving.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe they have a point, because according to police, she was really, really drunk.

COFFEY: She's charged with driving under the extreme influence, a .15 blood alcohol level, which means if convicted, a minimum of 30 days in jail.

COSTELLO: Wow. Because supposedly she couldn't even recite the alphabet or count.

COFFEY: Yes. I mean the evidence is pretty harsh and while you always wonder in these things, you want to reserve judgment until it all comes in, from the standpoint of the authorities, high profile defendants often are the best opportunity to send a message to the public. And that could happen here.

COSTELLO: We'll see.

Kendall Coffey, many thanks to you.

Kendall Coffey live from Miami this morning, where I'm sure it's nice and balmy.

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