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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coffey Talk: Scott Peterson Case

Aired January 15, 2004 - 06:32   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: Let's talk about Scott Peterson, because he is back in the news. His attorney asked again to dismiss the case, and again the judge declined to do so.
And there was a bit of controversy -- an interesting topic to talk about over coffee.

Legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us live from Miami.

Good morning -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, this is pretty complicated, but first the controversy. Let's talk about that.

A group of college students were asked to take a public survey to see if the trial should be moved out of Modesto, California. Nine of the students simply made up the answers. How will that play out?

COFFEY: Well, maybe some of the Democrats who don't like the poll results they're getting in Iowa will point to this and say, hey, you never know. One way of doing a poll on the cheap is to get college students to do it, who are getting credit rather than paying for it.

Professional pollsters will tell you, look, you've got to have a lot of professional supervision and oversight in place to make sure that this kind of thing -- people basically not making the calls, not really doing the work they're supposed to do -- doesn't happen.

I don't think it's going to affect the outcome. I think this case is still going to be transferred at this point, but a giant egg on some faces right now.

COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding. Could there be any legal ramifications for these students?

COFFEY: Well, I think the students are going to -- if it is verified that they were lying in something that was going to be relied up by a court, there is plenty of exposure and concerns about it. Ultimately, I don't think anybody is going to end up in jail, but there is going to be certainly some administrative sanctions, and there could be some pretty angry people in the prosecutor's office, because -- let's face it -- they very actively opposed this venue transfer.

COSTELLO: OK. We did get a sense, too, of what the defense's case will be during these proceedings. Were there any surprises?

COFFEY: No. And I think what we've seen is a real transformation. You may recall eight months ago, the defense said, we're not into arguing reasonable doubt. We're going to prove who actually did it. And they talked about satanic cults.

Now, with the motion, even though it was denied, we've really seen a crystallized defense strategy. It's all going to be about the holes in the prosecution's case. And as they move to a new venue and move to a new jury pool, it's going to be about reasonable doubt after all.

COSTELLO: You know, the attorneys on both sides of the equation -- well, they just got downright nasty at times. Is that a hint of things to come?

COFFEY: Yes, this is such a hard-fought case, and, of course, both sides have accused each other of violating court orders. Now, the prosecution is basically saying that the defense relied upon made- up, false information to get a venue transfer that was being bitterly contested. And it's only beginning. We haven't even gotten to the trial yet.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, 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 January 15, 2004 - 06:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about Scott Peterson, because he is back in the news. His attorney asked again to dismiss the case, and again the judge declined to do so.
And there was a bit of controversy -- an interesting topic to talk about over coffee.

Legal analyst Kendall Coffey joins us live from Miami.

Good morning -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, this is pretty complicated, but first the controversy. Let's talk about that.

A group of college students were asked to take a public survey to see if the trial should be moved out of Modesto, California. Nine of the students simply made up the answers. How will that play out?

COFFEY: Well, maybe some of the Democrats who don't like the poll results they're getting in Iowa will point to this and say, hey, you never know. One way of doing a poll on the cheap is to get college students to do it, who are getting credit rather than paying for it.

Professional pollsters will tell you, look, you've got to have a lot of professional supervision and oversight in place to make sure that this kind of thing -- people basically not making the calls, not really doing the work they're supposed to do -- doesn't happen.

I don't think it's going to affect the outcome. I think this case is still going to be transferred at this point, but a giant egg on some faces right now.

COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding. Could there be any legal ramifications for these students?

COFFEY: Well, I think the students are going to -- if it is verified that they were lying in something that was going to be relied up by a court, there is plenty of exposure and concerns about it. Ultimately, I don't think anybody is going to end up in jail, but there is going to be certainly some administrative sanctions, and there could be some pretty angry people in the prosecutor's office, because -- let's face it -- they very actively opposed this venue transfer.

COSTELLO: OK. We did get a sense, too, of what the defense's case will be during these proceedings. Were there any surprises?

COFFEY: No. And I think what we've seen is a real transformation. You may recall eight months ago, the defense said, we're not into arguing reasonable doubt. We're going to prove who actually did it. And they talked about satanic cults.

Now, with the motion, even though it was denied, we've really seen a crystallized defense strategy. It's all going to be about the holes in the prosecution's case. And as they move to a new venue and move to a new jury pool, it's going to be about reasonable doubt after all.

COSTELLO: You know, the attorneys on both sides of the equation -- well, they just got downright nasty at times. Is that a hint of things to come?

COFFEY: Yes, this is such a hard-fought case, and, of course, both sides have accused each other of violating court orders. Now, the prosecution is basically saying that the defense relied upon made- up, false information to get a venue transfer that was being bitterly contested. And it's only beginning. We haven't even gotten to the trial yet.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, 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.