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CNN Live Today
Interview With Harvey Levin
Aired January 15, 2004 - 11:25 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to celebrities in the court system. Stars are not only turning up as defendants, but get this, also as potential jurors. It's happening in the Robert Blake murder case. Joining us with details, "Celebrity Justice" executive producer Harvey Levin. Harvey, good morning.
HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Let's talk Robert Blake and his case. You're supposed to get a jury of your peers.
LEVIN: There you go.
KAGAN: That's how it works. How does Christina Applegate end up potentially on this jury?
LEVIN: You know, they pull it from the voter registration. And bottom line is that she's part of the pool. We've seen it before in Winona Ryder. There were famous prospective jurors. Even a famous juror in that case.
In this case, Christina Applegate and Harry Shearer from "The Simpsons" are both prospective jurors. Christina went in first for the jury questionnaire. Apparently, she wanted off the jury because of her acting commitments. The judge did not buy it and said, Look, you're going to have to come back any day for more questioning.
Harry Shearer watched her walk out. And Shearer said she was literally in tears. He went in and said, Oh, boy, if she can't get out, I can't get out. He came in and said, Look, I got a contractual commitment to "The Simpsons." And the judge says, What would happen if you don't show up?" And he said that he would get sued by Fox and then he got dismissed from the jury pool.
So Shearer told us, obviously, the judge knows Fox.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: Knows Fox, but it's amazing what Homer Simpson can get you out of jury duty, and yet, if you're from "Married With Children," that doesn't rate.
LEVIN: There you go.
KAGAN: On a more serious note here, first of all, the way this was starting to take place, almost kind of secretive, it came as a surprise that this jury selection was starting. Why is it working that way?
LEVIN: I don't think it was particularly secretive. I think there were so many other cases going on right now, Daryn, it wasn't top of the mind for a lot of people.
But the jury questionnaires have gone out. They're asking people lots of questions. They're looking for certain profiles of jurors. They're asking people if they own a gun. They're asking people what they know about television, the types of shows they watch, whether they watch violent television.
Maybe the most interesting question on the questionnaire is whether they ever dined at Vitello's Restaurant, which is the place that Bonnie Lee Bakley had her last supper. So Italian food seems to be playing a part even in the jury selection in this case.
KAGAN: Absolutely fascinating.
We're going to bring you back tomorrow to talk about the big day for Michael Jackson. What will we be looking for in Santa Barbara County?
LEVIN: Well there will be -- obviously, the arraignment tomorrow is going to be a big deal. We're going to see Michael Jackson. There will be motions about whether the search warrant will be made public.
But if you wish, Daryn, I can tell you a couple things that my show broke on this case, which I think is pretty significant.
KAGAN: OK, real quick.
LEVIN: Real quick. And this is graphic, but we now know some of the details here that one of the allegations is that Michael Jackson ejaculated in the presence of this child, and that will be a cornerstone of the prosecution's case.
And, in fact, there are several handlers of Michael Jackson who were accompanying this family around while they lived at Neverland for about six weeks to the point where the mom felt that she was literally being held hostage. In her head, that's the way she felt.
Even when she went to children's services, one of Jackson's people accompanied her and tried to actually get inside.
KAGAN: All right. I'm sitting here thinking if I needed to know that information. But I'll have a day to think about that, and we'll talk again tomorrow morning.
LEVIN: OK.
KAGAN: Harvey Levin, thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you.
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 - 11:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to celebrities in the court system. Stars are not only turning up as defendants, but get this, also as potential jurors. It's happening in the Robert Blake murder case. Joining us with details, "Celebrity Justice" executive producer Harvey Levin. Harvey, good morning.
HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Let's talk Robert Blake and his case. You're supposed to get a jury of your peers.
LEVIN: There you go.
KAGAN: That's how it works. How does Christina Applegate end up potentially on this jury?
LEVIN: You know, they pull it from the voter registration. And bottom line is that she's part of the pool. We've seen it before in Winona Ryder. There were famous prospective jurors. Even a famous juror in that case.
In this case, Christina Applegate and Harry Shearer from "The Simpsons" are both prospective jurors. Christina went in first for the jury questionnaire. Apparently, she wanted off the jury because of her acting commitments. The judge did not buy it and said, Look, you're going to have to come back any day for more questioning.
Harry Shearer watched her walk out. And Shearer said she was literally in tears. He went in and said, Oh, boy, if she can't get out, I can't get out. He came in and said, Look, I got a contractual commitment to "The Simpsons." And the judge says, What would happen if you don't show up?" And he said that he would get sued by Fox and then he got dismissed from the jury pool.
So Shearer told us, obviously, the judge knows Fox.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: Knows Fox, but it's amazing what Homer Simpson can get you out of jury duty, and yet, if you're from "Married With Children," that doesn't rate.
LEVIN: There you go.
KAGAN: On a more serious note here, first of all, the way this was starting to take place, almost kind of secretive, it came as a surprise that this jury selection was starting. Why is it working that way?
LEVIN: I don't think it was particularly secretive. I think there were so many other cases going on right now, Daryn, it wasn't top of the mind for a lot of people.
But the jury questionnaires have gone out. They're asking people lots of questions. They're looking for certain profiles of jurors. They're asking people if they own a gun. They're asking people what they know about television, the types of shows they watch, whether they watch violent television.
Maybe the most interesting question on the questionnaire is whether they ever dined at Vitello's Restaurant, which is the place that Bonnie Lee Bakley had her last supper. So Italian food seems to be playing a part even in the jury selection in this case.
KAGAN: Absolutely fascinating.
We're going to bring you back tomorrow to talk about the big day for Michael Jackson. What will we be looking for in Santa Barbara County?
LEVIN: Well there will be -- obviously, the arraignment tomorrow is going to be a big deal. We're going to see Michael Jackson. There will be motions about whether the search warrant will be made public.
But if you wish, Daryn, I can tell you a couple things that my show broke on this case, which I think is pretty significant.
KAGAN: OK, real quick.
LEVIN: Real quick. And this is graphic, but we now know some of the details here that one of the allegations is that Michael Jackson ejaculated in the presence of this child, and that will be a cornerstone of the prosecution's case.
And, in fact, there are several handlers of Michael Jackson who were accompanying this family around while they lived at Neverland for about six weeks to the point where the mom felt that she was literally being held hostage. In her head, that's the way she felt.
Even when she went to children's services, one of Jackson's people accompanied her and tried to actually get inside.
KAGAN: All right. I'm sitting here thinking if I needed to know that information. But I'll have a day to think about that, and we'll talk again tomorrow morning.
LEVIN: OK.
KAGAN: Harvey Levin, thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
