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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coffey Talk: Courtroom News

Aired January 30, 2003 - 06:38   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 big news expected out of the courtroom today. Our favorite legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, is on the phone from Miami.
And there is new information, Kendall, this morning on the shoe bomber case. They're asking for more time -- that is Richard Reid's attorneys?

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Carol, it looks like there's a possibility of a last-minute delay, and those aren't uncommon. But there's still plenty of reason why the judge can go forward today.

Richard Reid has pled guilty. He has acknowledged that he got on the plane, tried to ignite the bomb, calls him a disciple of Osama bin Laden, an enemy of the United States. And there is so much clearly in evidence here about the horrible thing he attempted to do that I think the judge can proceed with sentencing, and I think a life sentence is a very great...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But why is his attorneys prolonging this? They want to seek classified documents and all that sort of thing?

COFFEY: They're doing everything they can, because that's their job. But the classified documents aren't going to change the fact that he tried to blow up a plane mid-flight with 197 passengers on it. And those kind of crimes speak louder than any attempts by the defense to do their jobs and get a little more time.

COSTELLO: So, he'll probably get life in prison, wouldn't you say?

COFFEY: That's the expectation.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about this murder trial in Houston, Clara Harris in the Mercedes. The stepdaughter, her stepdaughter took the stand because the stepdaughter was in the car when this woman allegedly ran over her husband.

COFFEY: And that was devastating testimony if it is accepted by the jury, because in many ways, this is a classic case of a sudden passion, which could mean a reduction to manslaughter to 20 years rather than a life sentence for murder. But what the stepdaughter says is that her mother said as she was about to kill the father that she, the mother, could kill her father for what he had done and get away with it. If the jury believes that, it's going to be very tough to avoid a murder conviction.

COSTELLO: Yes, and the stepdaughter even said she cried, "No, no," many times, but this woman allegedly just kept driving.

COFFEY: And even if somebody is upset, that doesn't mean that they don't commit the intentional crime of murder. With the stepdaughter sitting there chronicling what was done and what was said, that in a video, make it a very, very tough case for the defense.

COSTELLO: Yes, and one other thing that the mother -- or that this woman allegedly said. She said that she could kill him for this affair. That's according to the stepdaughter.

COFFEY: And that sounds not like a woman who's out of her mind, but a woman who knows exactly what she's doing. If the jury finds that she really wanted him dead, they're going to convict for murder, and that means life in prison.

COSTELLO: Well, it will be interesting to see who the defense puts on the stand for Clara Harris.

COFFEY: Well, they obviously can do a lot of things to portray the victim in a negative light and certainly the mistress. But it comes to a decision to kill somebody, and frankly, no amount of misconduct is going to justify that. And unless they can deal with the stepdaughter's testimony that paints the mother, that paints as basically an intentional killer, then I think the prosecution is going to get a murder conviction.

COSTELLO: OK, Kendall Coffey, many thanks to you 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






Aired January 30, 2003 - 06:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some big news expected out of the courtroom today. Our favorite legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, is on the phone from Miami.
And there is new information, Kendall, this morning on the shoe bomber case. They're asking for more time -- that is Richard Reid's attorneys?

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Carol, it looks like there's a possibility of a last-minute delay, and those aren't uncommon. But there's still plenty of reason why the judge can go forward today.

Richard Reid has pled guilty. He has acknowledged that he got on the plane, tried to ignite the bomb, calls him a disciple of Osama bin Laden, an enemy of the United States. And there is so much clearly in evidence here about the horrible thing he attempted to do that I think the judge can proceed with sentencing, and I think a life sentence is a very great...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But why is his attorneys prolonging this? They want to seek classified documents and all that sort of thing?

COFFEY: They're doing everything they can, because that's their job. But the classified documents aren't going to change the fact that he tried to blow up a plane mid-flight with 197 passengers on it. And those kind of crimes speak louder than any attempts by the defense to do their jobs and get a little more time.

COSTELLO: So, he'll probably get life in prison, wouldn't you say?

COFFEY: That's the expectation.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about this murder trial in Houston, Clara Harris in the Mercedes. The stepdaughter, her stepdaughter took the stand because the stepdaughter was in the car when this woman allegedly ran over her husband.

COFFEY: And that was devastating testimony if it is accepted by the jury, because in many ways, this is a classic case of a sudden passion, which could mean a reduction to manslaughter to 20 years rather than a life sentence for murder. But what the stepdaughter says is that her mother said as she was about to kill the father that she, the mother, could kill her father for what he had done and get away with it. If the jury believes that, it's going to be very tough to avoid a murder conviction.

COSTELLO: Yes, and the stepdaughter even said she cried, "No, no," many times, but this woman allegedly just kept driving.

COFFEY: And even if somebody is upset, that doesn't mean that they don't commit the intentional crime of murder. With the stepdaughter sitting there chronicling what was done and what was said, that in a video, make it a very, very tough case for the defense.

COSTELLO: Yes, and one other thing that the mother -- or that this woman allegedly said. She said that she could kill him for this affair. That's according to the stepdaughter.

COFFEY: And that sounds not like a woman who's out of her mind, but a woman who knows exactly what she's doing. If the jury finds that she really wanted him dead, they're going to convict for murder, and that means life in prison.

COSTELLO: Well, it will be interesting to see who the defense puts on the stand for Clara Harris.

COFFEY: Well, they obviously can do a lot of things to portray the victim in a negative light and certainly the mistress. But it comes to a decision to kill somebody, and frankly, no amount of misconduct is going to justify that. And unless they can deal with the stepdaughter's testimony that paints the mother, that paints as basically an intentional killer, then I think the prosecution is going to get a murder conviction.

COSTELLO: OK, Kendall Coffey, many thanks to you 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