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CNN Live At Daybreak

California Politics

Aired September 23, 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 more California politics. We should know later today an 11 judge panel's ruling on the date of the California recall election. Opponents of the October 7 vote argue that punch card systems in six counties would disenfranchise voters. New voting systems are to be in place next March, and that's when the anti-October camp wants the election to go on, in March. Half a million absentee ballots have already been cast, by the way.
Now it's time for some Coffey talk on the recall.

Legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami.

Good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so the "L.A. Times" is leaning -- says the court is leaning to October. The "Washington Post" says it's leaning to March.

What do you think?

COFFEY: I think it's going to be October. There are at least three numbers why. Sixty-five percent of the time when you have 11 judge courts they reverse the three judges. Six of the judges on this panel voted with the conservative group to seek reconsideration of the controversial Pledge of Allegiance ruling. And, Carol, 500,000 absentee ballots have already come in. Unless they're going to take them to the shredding machine, they're going to let this October 7 election proceed.

COSTELLO: OK, so let's say the decision comes down and it's October 7. Will that really be the end of it?

COFFEY: It sure won't be. It'll be on to the races, to the Supreme Court. They've probably got the papers already ready to send there and they'll be electronically filed within perhaps minutes.

COSTELLO: So what do you think the U.S. Supreme Court will do? Couldn't the U.S. Supreme Court say it's not going to hear the case?

COFFEY: I think so. With all the controversy three years ago, I don't think they're going to want to jump into the middle of this wildly partisan free-for-all.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding. Let's talk about this appeals court in San Francisco. As you said, it's certainly no stranger to controversy.

COFFEY: No stranger to controversy. Got one of the most amazing jurisdictions, ranging from states like Idaho to the North Marion Islands. And, of course, they've got California. So they get all kinds of wacky cases through their doors. And some of the most remarkable decisions in the country have come from the Ninth Circuit. We've talked about the Pledge of Allegiance decision. But also you'll remember very recently, Carol, a decision by the Ninth Circuit that basically said 100 men on death rows were no longer going to be facing the death sentence based on an analysis of whether the jury versus the judge makes the sentencing decision in capital punishment cases.

COSTELLO: Aren't there some 24 judges on this panel? And wasn't there talk of kind of redoing this court, this appeals court?

COFFEY: It comes up a lot because it is so many judges, up to 26 in active service, that you can't, as a practical matter, have the entire court get together for decisions. That's why, differently than all the other courts in the country, when they have a so-called en banc decision, that is to say, have the entire court rehear a case, they can't get all 26 judges together. So they use these 11 judge panels, just as they had with the court's decision in rulings in this case.

COSTELLO: Yes, and the way they came up with those 11 judges, they did a lottery.

COFFEY: They did a lottery. But realistically speaking, it wasn't a very good draw for recall opponents. Most of the judges that were randomly selected are, in fact, considered to be conservatives or moderates who aren't going to be very enthusiastic about intervening in the middle of a very controversial election.

COSTELLO: Well, we're going to keep an ear on the decision and we'll have that decision for all of you viewers as soon as we get it.

Kendall Coffey, many thanks, live from Miami 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 September 23, 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 more California politics. We should know later today an 11 judge panel's ruling on the date of the California recall election. Opponents of the October 7 vote argue that punch card systems in six counties would disenfranchise voters. New voting systems are to be in place next March, and that's when the anti-October camp wants the election to go on, in March. Half a million absentee ballots have already been cast, by the way.
Now it's time for some Coffey talk on the recall.

Legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami.

Good morning, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so the "L.A. Times" is leaning -- says the court is leaning to October. The "Washington Post" says it's leaning to March.

What do you think?

COFFEY: I think it's going to be October. There are at least three numbers why. Sixty-five percent of the time when you have 11 judge courts they reverse the three judges. Six of the judges on this panel voted with the conservative group to seek reconsideration of the controversial Pledge of Allegiance ruling. And, Carol, 500,000 absentee ballots have already come in. Unless they're going to take them to the shredding machine, they're going to let this October 7 election proceed.

COSTELLO: OK, so let's say the decision comes down and it's October 7. Will that really be the end of it?

COFFEY: It sure won't be. It'll be on to the races, to the Supreme Court. They've probably got the papers already ready to send there and they'll be electronically filed within perhaps minutes.

COSTELLO: So what do you think the U.S. Supreme Court will do? Couldn't the U.S. Supreme Court say it's not going to hear the case?

COFFEY: I think so. With all the controversy three years ago, I don't think they're going to want to jump into the middle of this wildly partisan free-for-all.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding. Let's talk about this appeals court in San Francisco. As you said, it's certainly no stranger to controversy.

COFFEY: No stranger to controversy. Got one of the most amazing jurisdictions, ranging from states like Idaho to the North Marion Islands. And, of course, they've got California. So they get all kinds of wacky cases through their doors. And some of the most remarkable decisions in the country have come from the Ninth Circuit. We've talked about the Pledge of Allegiance decision. But also you'll remember very recently, Carol, a decision by the Ninth Circuit that basically said 100 men on death rows were no longer going to be facing the death sentence based on an analysis of whether the jury versus the judge makes the sentencing decision in capital punishment cases.

COSTELLO: Aren't there some 24 judges on this panel? And wasn't there talk of kind of redoing this court, this appeals court?

COFFEY: It comes up a lot because it is so many judges, up to 26 in active service, that you can't, as a practical matter, have the entire court get together for decisions. That's why, differently than all the other courts in the country, when they have a so-called en banc decision, that is to say, have the entire court rehear a case, they can't get all 26 judges together. So they use these 11 judge panels, just as they had with the court's decision in rulings in this case.

COSTELLO: Yes, and the way they came up with those 11 judges, they did a lottery.

COFFEY: They did a lottery. But realistically speaking, it wasn't a very good draw for recall opponents. Most of the judges that were randomly selected are, in fact, considered to be conservatives or moderates who aren't going to be very enthusiastic about intervening in the middle of a very controversial election.

COSTELLO: Well, we're going to keep an ear on the decision and we'll have that decision for all of you viewers as soon as we get it.

Kendall Coffey, many thanks, live from Miami 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