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CNN Live Today

Jackson Arrested

Aired November 21, 2003 - 10:27   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The media attention surrounding Jackson is not likely to end any time soon. The singer faces arraignment in early January. In the meantime, there are still a lot of unanswered legal questions.
Joining us now with some insight and analysis of the case is Harry Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": I want to ask you, it's kind of a vague question, but what is your take of all of this now as you look back over the past couple of days?

COLLINS: I mean, it is rivaling O.J. Simpson in terms of the media attention, and in some ways it is bigger because Michael Jackson is an international star. You can probably count on one hand the number of people equally famous living today. So it's no surprise that it's attracted this kind of attention.

What's kind of interesting is "Celebrity Justice," we've kind of found out how this whole thing started. There was an attorney, I'm sure you heard of him, his name is Larry Feldman, and we're getting this from sources close to the boy's family. Larry Feldman is one of the premier lawyers in America who represented the boy 10 years ago who sued Michael Jackson and won a $20 million settlement. The mother and the boy went to Larry Feldman, and Feldman sent the boy to a therapist. The therapist during the session became alarmed. The boy was saying things like Michael Jackson plied me with wine before the molestation, and the therapist then alerted authorities.

At the same time, Larry Feldman called the Santa Barbara D.A. and the Santa Barbara County sheriff, and said that he could arrange for a meeting between them and the boy and that happened.

So it's kind of interesting that the backdrop of all of this goes right back to the man who filed the original lawsuit 10 years ago.

COLLINS: And, yet, this was all breaking on Tuesday when I was on the air, and I remember the very first comments from the sheriff's department saying this is part of an ongoing investigation. Are we talking about all the way back to 1993 then?

LEVIN: Well, you know, I don't think so. I mean, look, it's no surprise, the D.A. of Santa Barbara County believes that Michael Jackson is a child molester, and it appears he believes that for at least 10 years. So that case died, because the alleged victim stopped cooperating. Tom Sneddon clearly had that impression, and it didn't go away, but you can't prosecute somebody in the abstract. The issue is, when would he find another person where he believes the case is strong enough, and apparently he thinks he has found it in this boy.

COLLINS: Well, that brings up another question, too, since we are talking about 1993 now. Do you find it strange, or at least sources close to you that you talk to about these types of incidents, that there has not been any other allegations since 1993?

LEVIN: Well, you know, you never know what kind of allegations are made, because a lot of times D.A.s get phone calls, they investigate leads and they turn out to be dead ends. So we don't know who, if anybody else, went to a district attorney in L.A. County or Santa Barbara County and said, hey, I'm a victim, too, and they investigated and decided it was bogus or there wasn't enough proof. We don't know that. They don't announce dead end leads; what they announce is whether they're prosecuting, and they did in this case.

COLLINS: And remind us, too, the differences here between the way this happened in 1993 as to now. First of all, that family went to civil court before criminal court. This will be different. Should it go that far, correct?

LEVIN: As a matter of fact, it never went to criminal court the first time around. It was being investigated. But after the civil case settled, the criminal investigation ended. So you're right, this is a criminal prosecution first. We do not know if there will be a civil case.

Frankly, I think the D.A. overstated the position that there won't be one. I think there still could be one and, indeed, there could even be a settlement, as long as it's a lump sum settlement. And ultimately, you know what, you can't throw a 12-year-old kid in jail, because he says, I refuse to talk anymore. So at a point, the law can't strongarm a 12-year-old kid, and it just remains to be seen whether he has the stomach to pursue this all the way through in criminal court.

COLLINS: Are people going to be turned off by Michael Jackson now, fan-wise?

LEVIN: You know, it's funny. With O.J. Simpson, there are a certain number of people that never believed he did it in the face of all of the evidence. I mean, I have a point of view on that case. There are some people that just astonishes me that they just can excuse anything.

In Michael Jackson's case, we don't know all of the evidence in this case. He may be prosecuted and found not guilty. He may be found guilty. But there's always a fanbase that is -- that has such allegiance that it really doesn't matter. I think Michael Jackson's bigger problem is to the average Joe he's a nut. And that doesn't mean he's a molester, but when you pick a jury, you're dealing with people who are looking at this guy and saying, boy, he is really bizarre. We saw this played out in a trial that he had recently in Santa Maria, where the jurors are astonished by his conduct in the courtroom. He is who he is, but I don't think he comes into a trial like this with a lot of goodwill that many celebrities have.

COLLINS: And on top of it all you are talking about children this time around, too.

LEVIN: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Harvey Levin, executive producer of Celebrity Justice," thank you very much for your time today. Sure do appreciate it.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

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 November 21, 2003 - 10:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The media attention surrounding Jackson is not likely to end any time soon. The singer faces arraignment in early January. In the meantime, there are still a lot of unanswered legal questions.
Joining us now with some insight and analysis of the case is Harry Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": I want to ask you, it's kind of a vague question, but what is your take of all of this now as you look back over the past couple of days?

COLLINS: I mean, it is rivaling O.J. Simpson in terms of the media attention, and in some ways it is bigger because Michael Jackson is an international star. You can probably count on one hand the number of people equally famous living today. So it's no surprise that it's attracted this kind of attention.

What's kind of interesting is "Celebrity Justice," we've kind of found out how this whole thing started. There was an attorney, I'm sure you heard of him, his name is Larry Feldman, and we're getting this from sources close to the boy's family. Larry Feldman is one of the premier lawyers in America who represented the boy 10 years ago who sued Michael Jackson and won a $20 million settlement. The mother and the boy went to Larry Feldman, and Feldman sent the boy to a therapist. The therapist during the session became alarmed. The boy was saying things like Michael Jackson plied me with wine before the molestation, and the therapist then alerted authorities.

At the same time, Larry Feldman called the Santa Barbara D.A. and the Santa Barbara County sheriff, and said that he could arrange for a meeting between them and the boy and that happened.

So it's kind of interesting that the backdrop of all of this goes right back to the man who filed the original lawsuit 10 years ago.

COLLINS: And, yet, this was all breaking on Tuesday when I was on the air, and I remember the very first comments from the sheriff's department saying this is part of an ongoing investigation. Are we talking about all the way back to 1993 then?

LEVIN: Well, you know, I don't think so. I mean, look, it's no surprise, the D.A. of Santa Barbara County believes that Michael Jackson is a child molester, and it appears he believes that for at least 10 years. So that case died, because the alleged victim stopped cooperating. Tom Sneddon clearly had that impression, and it didn't go away, but you can't prosecute somebody in the abstract. The issue is, when would he find another person where he believes the case is strong enough, and apparently he thinks he has found it in this boy.

COLLINS: Well, that brings up another question, too, since we are talking about 1993 now. Do you find it strange, or at least sources close to you that you talk to about these types of incidents, that there has not been any other allegations since 1993?

LEVIN: Well, you know, you never know what kind of allegations are made, because a lot of times D.A.s get phone calls, they investigate leads and they turn out to be dead ends. So we don't know who, if anybody else, went to a district attorney in L.A. County or Santa Barbara County and said, hey, I'm a victim, too, and they investigated and decided it was bogus or there wasn't enough proof. We don't know that. They don't announce dead end leads; what they announce is whether they're prosecuting, and they did in this case.

COLLINS: And remind us, too, the differences here between the way this happened in 1993 as to now. First of all, that family went to civil court before criminal court. This will be different. Should it go that far, correct?

LEVIN: As a matter of fact, it never went to criminal court the first time around. It was being investigated. But after the civil case settled, the criminal investigation ended. So you're right, this is a criminal prosecution first. We do not know if there will be a civil case.

Frankly, I think the D.A. overstated the position that there won't be one. I think there still could be one and, indeed, there could even be a settlement, as long as it's a lump sum settlement. And ultimately, you know what, you can't throw a 12-year-old kid in jail, because he says, I refuse to talk anymore. So at a point, the law can't strongarm a 12-year-old kid, and it just remains to be seen whether he has the stomach to pursue this all the way through in criminal court.

COLLINS: Are people going to be turned off by Michael Jackson now, fan-wise?

LEVIN: You know, it's funny. With O.J. Simpson, there are a certain number of people that never believed he did it in the face of all of the evidence. I mean, I have a point of view on that case. There are some people that just astonishes me that they just can excuse anything.

In Michael Jackson's case, we don't know all of the evidence in this case. He may be prosecuted and found not guilty. He may be found guilty. But there's always a fanbase that is -- that has such allegiance that it really doesn't matter. I think Michael Jackson's bigger problem is to the average Joe he's a nut. And that doesn't mean he's a molester, but when you pick a jury, you're dealing with people who are looking at this guy and saying, boy, he is really bizarre. We saw this played out in a trial that he had recently in Santa Maria, where the jurors are astonished by his conduct in the courtroom. He is who he is, but I don't think he comes into a trial like this with a lot of goodwill that many celebrities have.

COLLINS: And on top of it all you are talking about children this time around, too.

LEVIN: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Harvey Levin, executive producer of Celebrity Justice," thank you very much for your time today. Sure do appreciate it.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

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