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CNN Live Today

Celebrity Dramas

Aired January 17, 2003 - 10:46   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Diana Ross, Bobby Brown and Robert Blake are all getting a whole lot of TV time, whether they like it or not. They're all starring in their own police dramas, but their roles are less than flattering.
Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" joins us now with a look at the legal problems the celebrities are facing.

PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's begin with Mr. Blake.

LALAMA: Today we have a hearing, because yet another attorney wants to get out of the case. It's Jennifer Keller. And you know what's really interesting about how lawyers can separate themselves, is they go to the judge and they make a plea, and what they'll say is, we have irreconcilable differences, as if it was a marriage; we can't get along, he won't listen to me, I have to control, and the judge will determine whether or not she will be let out. And most likely she will.

WHITFIELD: But, Pat, this has nothing to do with the newly- released tapes, does it?

LALAMA: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.

WHITFIELD: This has nothing to do with tapes that have been recently released.

LALAMA: I think it has to do with the fact that Robert Blake -- indirectly, yes. He wants so much to tell his story. He says he is a dying man. He's been talking to Barbara Walters, he's been talking to Diane Sawyer. He wants to get out there. The attorneys tell him no, and they have every right to tell him no, because he could damage himself with anything he says in court.

And so, finally, this next attorney has said, I've had it, if I can't give him advice and he will follow, there's no point in representing him.

WHITFIELD: Pat, let's move on out to Arizona, if we could, and let's talk about the DUI case involving Diana Ross and the goings on there, and tapes that involve her as she was being stopped on the side of the road, tapes that I'm sure she does not want to be released, but of course the judge says it's OK.

LALAMA: The defense argued that these tapes are really highly prejudicial, they're unflattering, they violate her right to privacy and they're not public record, but the judge said, no, remember, she is a high-profile person, she's a celebrity, this is a police videotape, it is public record, and it does show her apparently in a very unflattering state, unable to walk a straight line. They took the audio off to protect certain elements of information about her. But keep in mind this tape is really important to a prosecution. It corroborates their contention that she was under the influence.

What's important to note about this, is that when a jury is watching this tape, if it gets to that point, they can say based on the tape alone, that she is actually responsible for DUI. They don't to have go by the breathalyzers, they could just watching her on the tape by itself, and so that's why that's so important to the defense.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bobby Brown real quick.

LALAMA: Excuse me, to the prosecution.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bobby Brown real quick, might be turning himself in in Atlanta today?

LALAMA: Yes, and this guy really needs to get a lawyer who can tell him some advice that will work for him.

WHITFIELD: All because he appeared on television.

LALAMA: You can't just say to the courts, I'll do whatever I want. He is a fugitive of justice. And what the judge can do, if he wants to be really hard-nosed, he can either increase his bail now, because he has done this, or he can put him in custody and say, I've had it with you, you don't listen to what I say, and so you're just going to sit in jail until your trail.

WHITFIELD: And all that because he was on television with the American Music Awards, he wasn't supposed to travel, and here we go.

LALAMA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Pat Lalama, thank you very much, for "Celebrity Justice," always good to see you.

LALAMA: My pleasure. Nice to see you.

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 17, 2003 - 10:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Diana Ross, Bobby Brown and Robert Blake are all getting a whole lot of TV time, whether they like it or not. They're all starring in their own police dramas, but their roles are less than flattering.
Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" joins us now with a look at the legal problems the celebrities are facing.

PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's begin with Mr. Blake.

LALAMA: Today we have a hearing, because yet another attorney wants to get out of the case. It's Jennifer Keller. And you know what's really interesting about how lawyers can separate themselves, is they go to the judge and they make a plea, and what they'll say is, we have irreconcilable differences, as if it was a marriage; we can't get along, he won't listen to me, I have to control, and the judge will determine whether or not she will be let out. And most likely she will.

WHITFIELD: But, Pat, this has nothing to do with the newly- released tapes, does it?

LALAMA: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.

WHITFIELD: This has nothing to do with tapes that have been recently released.

LALAMA: I think it has to do with the fact that Robert Blake -- indirectly, yes. He wants so much to tell his story. He says he is a dying man. He's been talking to Barbara Walters, he's been talking to Diane Sawyer. He wants to get out there. The attorneys tell him no, and they have every right to tell him no, because he could damage himself with anything he says in court.

And so, finally, this next attorney has said, I've had it, if I can't give him advice and he will follow, there's no point in representing him.

WHITFIELD: Pat, let's move on out to Arizona, if we could, and let's talk about the DUI case involving Diana Ross and the goings on there, and tapes that involve her as she was being stopped on the side of the road, tapes that I'm sure she does not want to be released, but of course the judge says it's OK.

LALAMA: The defense argued that these tapes are really highly prejudicial, they're unflattering, they violate her right to privacy and they're not public record, but the judge said, no, remember, she is a high-profile person, she's a celebrity, this is a police videotape, it is public record, and it does show her apparently in a very unflattering state, unable to walk a straight line. They took the audio off to protect certain elements of information about her. But keep in mind this tape is really important to a prosecution. It corroborates their contention that she was under the influence.

What's important to note about this, is that when a jury is watching this tape, if it gets to that point, they can say based on the tape alone, that she is actually responsible for DUI. They don't to have go by the breathalyzers, they could just watching her on the tape by itself, and so that's why that's so important to the defense.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bobby Brown real quick.

LALAMA: Excuse me, to the prosecution.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bobby Brown real quick, might be turning himself in in Atlanta today?

LALAMA: Yes, and this guy really needs to get a lawyer who can tell him some advice that will work for him.

WHITFIELD: All because he appeared on television.

LALAMA: You can't just say to the courts, I'll do whatever I want. He is a fugitive of justice. And what the judge can do, if he wants to be really hard-nosed, he can either increase his bail now, because he has done this, or he can put him in custody and say, I've had it with you, you don't listen to what I say, and so you're just going to sit in jail until your trail.

WHITFIELD: And all that because he was on television with the American Music Awards, he wasn't supposed to travel, and here we go.

LALAMA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Pat Lalama, thank you very much, for "Celebrity Justice," always good to see you.

LALAMA: My pleasure. Nice to see you.

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