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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Laci Peterson Case
Aired June 06, 2003 - 06:10 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: Dramatic decisions could be made in a Modesto, California courtroom today, prosecutors could be booted and gag orders imposed in the Laci Peterson case. Yes, the Geragos team will ask for the removal of the prosecutors. Scott Peterson's attorneys allege misconduct concerning some wiretapped phone calls. Also on tap, whether full autopsy reports will be released and if a judge will order everyone not to talk about the case.
OK, it's time for some "Coffey Talk," legal expert Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami this morning.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, let's start with the most dramatic defense request, they want prosecutors booted from the case entirely because investigators secretly taped these 69 phone calls made by Scott Peterson before his arrest. Is it possible that prosecutors will be booted?
COFFEY: Extremely unlikely. The defense calls it grave prosecutorial conduct bid. Defense may be overstating it a bit.
Here's what's valid. When police are conducting a wiretap, they're not supposed to listen to conversations between a suspect and attorney/client, but apparently it only happened in a couple of the many incidences. And what prosecutors say is that as soon as they realized it was a lawyer on the phone, they shut down the wiretap.
COSTELLO: Understand. Let's talk about the autopsy report now because we know there have been leaks. So will the judge allow the entire autopsy report to be released, do you think?
COFFEY: Well prosecutors were very understandably concerned about the leaks and wanted the full report made public for purposes of fairness and accuracy. But, Carol, the problem is this case is getting overwhelmed by pretrial publicity. There's a report out indicating that 75 percent of the people in the community have already decided if Scott Peterson is innocent or guilty. So the judge may be looking really at efforts to limit and control pretrial publicity rather than do anything that would create still more of it.
COSTELLO: Got you. So that's a gag order and it might be imposed. You know the strangest thing surrounding this gag order proposal, Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's mistress, coming out against it. Isn't that rather strange? COFFEY: Well it is odd. And I think from the judge's standpoint, he may or may not be sympathetic to her. But what's really important is a fair trial and so I think her concerns, from a judicial standpoint, get pretty small. The judge is going to be concerned about whether or not jurors walking in there are already going to decide if this guy is guilty.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey, live from Miami on the phone with us this morning, thank you for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
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 June 6, 2003 - 06:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic decisions could be made in a Modesto, California courtroom today, prosecutors could be booted and gag orders imposed in the Laci Peterson case. Yes, the Geragos team will ask for the removal of the prosecutors. Scott Peterson's attorneys allege misconduct concerning some wiretapped phone calls. Also on tap, whether full autopsy reports will be released and if a judge will order everyone not to talk about the case.
OK, it's time for some "Coffey Talk," legal expert Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami this morning.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, let's start with the most dramatic defense request, they want prosecutors booted from the case entirely because investigators secretly taped these 69 phone calls made by Scott Peterson before his arrest. Is it possible that prosecutors will be booted?
COFFEY: Extremely unlikely. The defense calls it grave prosecutorial conduct bid. Defense may be overstating it a bit.
Here's what's valid. When police are conducting a wiretap, they're not supposed to listen to conversations between a suspect and attorney/client, but apparently it only happened in a couple of the many incidences. And what prosecutors say is that as soon as they realized it was a lawyer on the phone, they shut down the wiretap.
COSTELLO: Understand. Let's talk about the autopsy report now because we know there have been leaks. So will the judge allow the entire autopsy report to be released, do you think?
COFFEY: Well prosecutors were very understandably concerned about the leaks and wanted the full report made public for purposes of fairness and accuracy. But, Carol, the problem is this case is getting overwhelmed by pretrial publicity. There's a report out indicating that 75 percent of the people in the community have already decided if Scott Peterson is innocent or guilty. So the judge may be looking really at efforts to limit and control pretrial publicity rather than do anything that would create still more of it.
COSTELLO: Got you. So that's a gag order and it might be imposed. You know the strangest thing surrounding this gag order proposal, Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's mistress, coming out against it. Isn't that rather strange? COFFEY: Well it is odd. And I think from the judge's standpoint, he may or may not be sympathetic to her. But what's really important is a fair trial and so I think her concerns, from a judicial standpoint, get pretty small. The judge is going to be concerned about whether or not jurors walking in there are already going to decide if this guy is guilty.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey, live from Miami on the phone with us this morning, thank you for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
