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CNN Live Today

Legal Options in Lionel Tate Case

Aired December 29, 2003 - 10:32   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: For more perspective now on the legal options in the Lionel Tate case we're joined by former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey. Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, FRM. U.S. ATTORNEY: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You heard Susan Candiotti's report. She reporting Tate's mother isn't exactly happy with the new deal. Is she crazy?

COFFEY: Well she really has got an offer she can't refuse. Certainly a mom would always think her son would never do a terrible thing but the evidence is overwhelming that Tiffany was basically battered to a pulp.

And while the court ruled for Lionel Tate in terms of having needed a competent hearing, everything else about the case, trying him as an adult, the conviction, even the life sentence, was basically held to be legally sound under Florida law.

So to take a chance now at giving away a second chance at life for this very young boy would be so reckless, clearly she's got to accept, he's got to accept this plea agreement.

COSTELLO: Let's go over this plea agreement one more time, three years in juvenile detention, one year of house arrest, ten years probation, he has to preform some community service. He also has to admit guilt. Maybe the mother has a point because this will be on her son's record for all-time, won't it?

COFFEY: It is going to be on his record and that's why I'm sure there's going to be so much reluctance on the part of the mother. She genuinely believes that this was an accident, Carol.

But the reality is that a jury looked at the evidence before, including a wrestling defense that Tate's own lawyer now says was a bogus defense and that jury very quickly returned a verdict of guilty of first degree murder. You cannot take a chance. They need to accept the plea agreement.

COSTELLO: So, the kid is 16 now. He wants to be a waiter, he wants to own his own restaurant. A tough question, what are his chances for a new life?

COFFEY: Well, he's going to have a new life, because he'll be out of prison, and the community is very, very supportive of Lionel Tate. He's had everything from an audience with the pope to letters and showings of support throughout Florida, throughout the country. So I think this is someone who can have a new life and a good life if he accepts the plea agreement rather than take the risk of his life, the gamble of his life that could result in a life sentence if he goes to trial again.

COSTELLO: How will his case affect the entire criminal justice system? Will it change anything?

COFFEY: This case will not change Florida's sentencing approach to juveniles, which frankly, Carol, is the toughest in the country. Many had hoped that the Lionel Tate case will be a rallying call for reform, but what's happened instead is while the court said he gets a new trial because there's no competency hearing, at the same time they said the prosecutors had every right to charge him as an adult, that the jury certainly was able to return a guilty verdict of first degree, but for the competent hearing.

So the upshot of the case is that there will not be one day's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) less of awaiting juveniles offenders in the state of Florida.

COSTELLO: And I just thought of one more question pertaining to this case. This kid is 16-years-old now. How much of a say does he have in accepting or not accepting this plea deal?

COFFEY: Great question. Because the first order of business is going to be to give him what the appellate court said he never got before, a competency hearing. I think that is still an essential prerequisite. I believe he will be found competent and from that point forward we'll accept the plea agreement.

COSTELLO: All right, let's talk about the Michael Jackson case. Did you watch the "60 Minutes" interview?

COFFEY: I did.

COSTELLO: What did you think?

COFFEY: I thought why on Earth are you going on air to tell America including potential jurors you think it's OK for a 45-year-old adult to have sleepovers with underaged bedmates?

There may be some things that were OK if you saw the totality of the interview, Carol. But the basic message is too bizarre to be acceptable to most people, including most prospective jurors.

COSTELLO: Yes, but is he bizarre. You could see some of his defense strategy coming out perhaps. And I'm just guessing here.

For example, he said the reason he had this kid in his home was because he had cancer. He says he put him on a program. I've helped many children doing, this I put him on a mental program. Which sounds odd but maybe he was just trying to help this child.

COFFEY: And that's the message he clearly and perhaps his public relations folks wanted to get out to the public, especially his fan base.

At the same time, you may be right to the extent that there's a lawyer's strategy behind this, it may be to embrace being incredibly strange. Say, Yes, he's strange but he's public about it. He's open about it.

And while you're looking at a crime of child molestation, typically where something people are secretive, very much acting in the shadows, perhaps his very openness about his very strange behavior could be part of the defense strategy.

COSTELLO: Yes, because his last answer to Ed Bradley was, If you really want to know about me, there's a song, an autobiographical song I've written. It's called "Childhood." He wants people to listen to that song as a way to better understand him.

COFFEY: And he touched a couple times, Carol, on what may also be part of the defense theory that his childhood was taken away from him. So he's basically acting out a Peter Pan fantasy. A harmless, perhaps very strange condition. Much different, though, from being a sexual predator.

COSTELLO: He also seemed to blame the boys' parents for these charges, didn't he?

COFFEY: Exactly the right strategy and the strategy that the defense will be using, because this boy is a patient with cancer. You can't do anything at all to disparage him.

What they're going to go after the mom. We know she had a prior civil settlement with respect to JC Penney's. And they're going to paint this as somebody who is doing everything they can to hit big dollars in the Jacko-pot. And that's what all of this case is about and that's going to be a principle defense theme.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the allegations of police abuse. Do you believe them? Was he believable when he was talking about them?

COFFEY: Well, I almost thought he believed it, Carol. But honestly that kind of thing surfaces immediately, the day of the actual booking. He seemed to be pretty healthy. He's got a very good, very aggressive attorney who would have been high decibel yelling if his client had been subjected to police brutality or police abuse. So it's not super credible.

And the other thing that struck me a little bit is if the victim is alleged to have suffered child molestation and to be a cancer patient, why are you going on and on about the fact that you thought you were in the bathroom for 45 minutes too long?

COSTELLO: Interesting stuff. Kendall Coffey, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

COFFEY: Thanks for including me, Carol.

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 December 29, 2003 - 10:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For more perspective now on the legal options in the Lionel Tate case we're joined by former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey. Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, FRM. U.S. ATTORNEY: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You heard Susan Candiotti's report. She reporting Tate's mother isn't exactly happy with the new deal. Is she crazy?

COFFEY: Well she really has got an offer she can't refuse. Certainly a mom would always think her son would never do a terrible thing but the evidence is overwhelming that Tiffany was basically battered to a pulp.

And while the court ruled for Lionel Tate in terms of having needed a competent hearing, everything else about the case, trying him as an adult, the conviction, even the life sentence, was basically held to be legally sound under Florida law.

So to take a chance now at giving away a second chance at life for this very young boy would be so reckless, clearly she's got to accept, he's got to accept this plea agreement.

COSTELLO: Let's go over this plea agreement one more time, three years in juvenile detention, one year of house arrest, ten years probation, he has to preform some community service. He also has to admit guilt. Maybe the mother has a point because this will be on her son's record for all-time, won't it?

COFFEY: It is going to be on his record and that's why I'm sure there's going to be so much reluctance on the part of the mother. She genuinely believes that this was an accident, Carol.

But the reality is that a jury looked at the evidence before, including a wrestling defense that Tate's own lawyer now says was a bogus defense and that jury very quickly returned a verdict of guilty of first degree murder. You cannot take a chance. They need to accept the plea agreement.

COSTELLO: So, the kid is 16 now. He wants to be a waiter, he wants to own his own restaurant. A tough question, what are his chances for a new life?

COFFEY: Well, he's going to have a new life, because he'll be out of prison, and the community is very, very supportive of Lionel Tate. He's had everything from an audience with the pope to letters and showings of support throughout Florida, throughout the country. So I think this is someone who can have a new life and a good life if he accepts the plea agreement rather than take the risk of his life, the gamble of his life that could result in a life sentence if he goes to trial again.

COSTELLO: How will his case affect the entire criminal justice system? Will it change anything?

COFFEY: This case will not change Florida's sentencing approach to juveniles, which frankly, Carol, is the toughest in the country. Many had hoped that the Lionel Tate case will be a rallying call for reform, but what's happened instead is while the court said he gets a new trial because there's no competency hearing, at the same time they said the prosecutors had every right to charge him as an adult, that the jury certainly was able to return a guilty verdict of first degree, but for the competent hearing.

So the upshot of the case is that there will not be one day's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) less of awaiting juveniles offenders in the state of Florida.

COSTELLO: And I just thought of one more question pertaining to this case. This kid is 16-years-old now. How much of a say does he have in accepting or not accepting this plea deal?

COFFEY: Great question. Because the first order of business is going to be to give him what the appellate court said he never got before, a competency hearing. I think that is still an essential prerequisite. I believe he will be found competent and from that point forward we'll accept the plea agreement.

COSTELLO: All right, let's talk about the Michael Jackson case. Did you watch the "60 Minutes" interview?

COFFEY: I did.

COSTELLO: What did you think?

COFFEY: I thought why on Earth are you going on air to tell America including potential jurors you think it's OK for a 45-year-old adult to have sleepovers with underaged bedmates?

There may be some things that were OK if you saw the totality of the interview, Carol. But the basic message is too bizarre to be acceptable to most people, including most prospective jurors.

COSTELLO: Yes, but is he bizarre. You could see some of his defense strategy coming out perhaps. And I'm just guessing here.

For example, he said the reason he had this kid in his home was because he had cancer. He says he put him on a program. I've helped many children doing, this I put him on a mental program. Which sounds odd but maybe he was just trying to help this child.

COFFEY: And that's the message he clearly and perhaps his public relations folks wanted to get out to the public, especially his fan base.

At the same time, you may be right to the extent that there's a lawyer's strategy behind this, it may be to embrace being incredibly strange. Say, Yes, he's strange but he's public about it. He's open about it.

And while you're looking at a crime of child molestation, typically where something people are secretive, very much acting in the shadows, perhaps his very openness about his very strange behavior could be part of the defense strategy.

COSTELLO: Yes, because his last answer to Ed Bradley was, If you really want to know about me, there's a song, an autobiographical song I've written. It's called "Childhood." He wants people to listen to that song as a way to better understand him.

COFFEY: And he touched a couple times, Carol, on what may also be part of the defense theory that his childhood was taken away from him. So he's basically acting out a Peter Pan fantasy. A harmless, perhaps very strange condition. Much different, though, from being a sexual predator.

COSTELLO: He also seemed to blame the boys' parents for these charges, didn't he?

COFFEY: Exactly the right strategy and the strategy that the defense will be using, because this boy is a patient with cancer. You can't do anything at all to disparage him.

What they're going to go after the mom. We know she had a prior civil settlement with respect to JC Penney's. And they're going to paint this as somebody who is doing everything they can to hit big dollars in the Jacko-pot. And that's what all of this case is about and that's going to be a principle defense theme.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the allegations of police abuse. Do you believe them? Was he believable when he was talking about them?

COFFEY: Well, I almost thought he believed it, Carol. But honestly that kind of thing surfaces immediately, the day of the actual booking. He seemed to be pretty healthy. He's got a very good, very aggressive attorney who would have been high decibel yelling if his client had been subjected to police brutality or police abuse. So it's not super credible.

And the other thing that struck me a little bit is if the victim is alleged to have suffered child molestation and to be a cancer patient, why are you going on and on about the fact that you thought you were in the bathroom for 45 minutes too long?

COSTELLO: Interesting stuff. Kendall Coffey, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

COFFEY: Thanks for including me, Carol.

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