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CNN Live At Daybreak

Kobe Bryant Will be Back in Court Today and Tomorrow

Aired February 02, 2004 - 06:51   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: Kobe Bryant will be back in court today and tomorrow for hearings. The defense wants statements Bryant made to investigators prior to his arrest thrown out and they want some of the accuser's medical history entered as evidence.
Well, we want to get more insight on this, so it's time for some Coffey talk.

Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami -- good morning, Kendall.

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

COSTELLO: So tell us about this interview that police did with Kobe Bryant and why in the world they would hide the tape recorder.

COFFEY: Well, we don't know all the details and, in fact, we most assuredly don't know what was said. It came up in mid-October during the course of the preliminary hearing. The defense was objecting strenuously to it being used in the preliminary hearing. Basically the prosecution backed off then. They went forward without it. But sooner or later it's got to be resolved and we expect to have that resolved some time this week.

COSTELLO: So, are police allowed to not tell someone they're tape recroding them?

COFFEY: Absolutely. It depends on a lot of circumstances. But police are always, if they've got the right and the authority, usually provided by a magistrate, sometimes under the existing laws, they can tape record you when you're talking. It's not like a private person tape recording a conversation of another private person. That can be a big problem depending on the state or even the federal law. But police have a different set of authority.

But what I think the defense is arguing, that it was some form of interrogation where police would have had to have given some kind of notification to Kobe Bryant.

Again, we don't know the details, but we know one thing, that the confession that is not a confession, that whatever is said on this tape does not appear to be anything that's going to say I did it, but it's going to be more in the nature of things that he said that might be inconsistent, maybe some dissembling, maybe some disingenuous comments that could come back to haunt him if that recording is heard in a trial. COSTELLO: Quickly now, as far as the alleged victim's medical records, do you think that they will be admitted into evidence during trial?

COFFEY: It's still looking uphill. There's obviously great importance to that issue because the defense needs something to discredit the accuser. But so far it's looking like it's going to be a difficult challenge for the defense because they have to show not only that she had a troubled medical history, but that whatever those circumstances were caused her to be untruthful or to have fantasized or created some delusions about what really happened that night in the hotel room.

COSTELLO: We want to talk a little bit about the Scott Peterson case, because there is supposedly going to be a new trial judge assigned, but not everybody likes that idea, right?

COFFEY: Yes. The first thing Judge Delucchi will be deciding, in fact, is whether Judge Delucchi is going to hear the case, because the defense is saying that when the prosecution disqualified the previous judge, Judge Arnason, they did it a day late. So for whatever reasons, the prosecution didn't want Judge Arnason. It looks like the defense would like to have Judge Arnason hear that case and that's what Judge Delucchi will be deciding today.

COSTELLO: So what's the likely outcome? This is sort of unusual isn't it?

COFFEY: It is unusual, but my sense is that at this point Judge Delucchi is going to keep the case. But we'll see.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live from Miami, thank you.

COFFEY: Thanks, 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 February 2, 2004 - 06:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Kobe Bryant will be back in court today and tomorrow for hearings. The defense wants statements Bryant made to investigators prior to his arrest thrown out and they want some of the accuser's medical history entered as evidence.
Well, we want to get more insight on this, so it's time for some Coffey talk.

Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami -- good morning, Kendall.

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

COSTELLO: So tell us about this interview that police did with Kobe Bryant and why in the world they would hide the tape recorder.

COFFEY: Well, we don't know all the details and, in fact, we most assuredly don't know what was said. It came up in mid-October during the course of the preliminary hearing. The defense was objecting strenuously to it being used in the preliminary hearing. Basically the prosecution backed off then. They went forward without it. But sooner or later it's got to be resolved and we expect to have that resolved some time this week.

COSTELLO: So, are police allowed to not tell someone they're tape recroding them?

COFFEY: Absolutely. It depends on a lot of circumstances. But police are always, if they've got the right and the authority, usually provided by a magistrate, sometimes under the existing laws, they can tape record you when you're talking. It's not like a private person tape recording a conversation of another private person. That can be a big problem depending on the state or even the federal law. But police have a different set of authority.

But what I think the defense is arguing, that it was some form of interrogation where police would have had to have given some kind of notification to Kobe Bryant.

Again, we don't know the details, but we know one thing, that the confession that is not a confession, that whatever is said on this tape does not appear to be anything that's going to say I did it, but it's going to be more in the nature of things that he said that might be inconsistent, maybe some dissembling, maybe some disingenuous comments that could come back to haunt him if that recording is heard in a trial. COSTELLO: Quickly now, as far as the alleged victim's medical records, do you think that they will be admitted into evidence during trial?

COFFEY: It's still looking uphill. There's obviously great importance to that issue because the defense needs something to discredit the accuser. But so far it's looking like it's going to be a difficult challenge for the defense because they have to show not only that she had a troubled medical history, but that whatever those circumstances were caused her to be untruthful or to have fantasized or created some delusions about what really happened that night in the hotel room.

COSTELLO: We want to talk a little bit about the Scott Peterson case, because there is supposedly going to be a new trial judge assigned, but not everybody likes that idea, right?

COFFEY: Yes. The first thing Judge Delucchi will be deciding, in fact, is whether Judge Delucchi is going to hear the case, because the defense is saying that when the prosecution disqualified the previous judge, Judge Arnason, they did it a day late. So for whatever reasons, the prosecution didn't want Judge Arnason. It looks like the defense would like to have Judge Arnason hear that case and that's what Judge Delucchi will be deciding today.

COSTELLO: So what's the likely outcome? This is sort of unusual isn't it?

COFFEY: It is unusual, but my sense is that at this point Judge Delucchi is going to keep the case. But we'll see.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live from Miami, thank you.

COFFEY: Thanks, 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