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CNN Live At Daybreak
'Coffey Talk'
Aired July 24, 2003 - 06:50 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: Time for some Coffey talk on the Kobe Bryant case.
Live on the phone from Miami, legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, you could say this woman's character has now been assassinated. Is the prosecution's case in danger of crumbling?
COFFEY: Well, it's hard to say what their case is right now, Carol, because we really haven't seen what might be some of the most critical evidence of all, and that would have been physical evidence corroborating the witness's, the victim witness's particular -- alleged victim witness, let me emphasize that -- own allegations. If all this is is a tragic form of a she said/he said, it looks like a tough case for the prosecution. But so far the prosecution really hasn't shown what, if any, cards they're holding.
COSTELLO: Well, there are so many rumors going out about this, what could be rumor or what could be fact. I mean the latest one is this woman was at a party supposedly bragging about this. How can the prosecution keep prospective jurors from hearing this kind of stuff?
COFFEY: Well, the prosecution can't and they've got to shudder every time there's some kind of comment coming out. In fairness to the alleged victim, it's every move she makes, every word she says is under a microscope. It's going to be dissected and it's going to be spun.
But from a prosecution standpoint, having this stuff float out about a victim who's purportedly, an alleged victim that's not so much acting in mourning, but acting like, you know, somebody who's willing to talk about it, doesn't help them at all.
So they've got to be concerned. And in the last few weeks, there's been a lot more damage than help for the prosecution's case.
COSTELLO: Might it get so bad that it would behoove the alleged victim in this case to go on television herself?
COFFEY: I don't think that's going to happen. And it would certainly be, from the prosecution's standpoint, an unmitigated disaster.
COSTELLO: Why?
COFFEY: Because to get the victim out there, in effect, trying -- and I use the word victim where I mean alleged victim -- but attempting to, in effect, draw attention to herself, would fall right into the hands of the defense strategy. Remember, they need to come up with some kind of motive or some kind of explanation for why someone would make accusations and put themselves through an, you know, a horrifying ordeal. If, in fact, it appears that this is somebody who was seeking attention, that gives the defense the missing link that they need to show why someone would come in with outrageous and false allegations.
COSTELLO: I've got to ask you one more question. I know I'm supposed to wrap you, but I have to ask you this question. This woman is now getting death threats via e-mail on this Los Angeles radio talk show host. Many disparaging things are being said about her.
Does she have any recourse?
COFFEY: Very, very tough. Although the courts, you know, discuss the personal privacy concerns, the reality is that most decisions say that the first amendment gives the media the right to report the name of an alleged rape victim who is an adult.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami.
Thanks 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 July 24, 2003 - 06:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for some Coffey talk on the Kobe Bryant case.
Live on the phone from Miami, legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, you could say this woman's character has now been assassinated. Is the prosecution's case in danger of crumbling?
COFFEY: Well, it's hard to say what their case is right now, Carol, because we really haven't seen what might be some of the most critical evidence of all, and that would have been physical evidence corroborating the witness's, the victim witness's particular -- alleged victim witness, let me emphasize that -- own allegations. If all this is is a tragic form of a she said/he said, it looks like a tough case for the prosecution. But so far the prosecution really hasn't shown what, if any, cards they're holding.
COSTELLO: Well, there are so many rumors going out about this, what could be rumor or what could be fact. I mean the latest one is this woman was at a party supposedly bragging about this. How can the prosecution keep prospective jurors from hearing this kind of stuff?
COFFEY: Well, the prosecution can't and they've got to shudder every time there's some kind of comment coming out. In fairness to the alleged victim, it's every move she makes, every word she says is under a microscope. It's going to be dissected and it's going to be spun.
But from a prosecution standpoint, having this stuff float out about a victim who's purportedly, an alleged victim that's not so much acting in mourning, but acting like, you know, somebody who's willing to talk about it, doesn't help them at all.
So they've got to be concerned. And in the last few weeks, there's been a lot more damage than help for the prosecution's case.
COSTELLO: Might it get so bad that it would behoove the alleged victim in this case to go on television herself?
COFFEY: I don't think that's going to happen. And it would certainly be, from the prosecution's standpoint, an unmitigated disaster.
COSTELLO: Why?
COFFEY: Because to get the victim out there, in effect, trying -- and I use the word victim where I mean alleged victim -- but attempting to, in effect, draw attention to herself, would fall right into the hands of the defense strategy. Remember, they need to come up with some kind of motive or some kind of explanation for why someone would make accusations and put themselves through an, you know, a horrifying ordeal. If, in fact, it appears that this is somebody who was seeking attention, that gives the defense the missing link that they need to show why someone would come in with outrageous and false allegations.
COSTELLO: I've got to ask you one more question. I know I'm supposed to wrap you, but I have to ask you this question. This woman is now getting death threats via e-mail on this Los Angeles radio talk show host. Many disparaging things are being said about her.
Does she have any recourse?
COFFEY: Very, very tough. Although the courts, you know, discuss the personal privacy concerns, the reality is that most decisions say that the first amendment gives the media the right to report the name of an alleged rape victim who is an adult.
COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami.
Thanks 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
