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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Celebrity Legal Troubles
Aired February 24, 2004 - 06:42 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: Celebrity legal trouble is the flavor of this morning's 'Coffey Talk.' Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami with some insights on the Martha Stewart trial and of course the bizarre Robert Blake case.
But let's start with Martha Stewart, shall we, because there was a defense witness that took the stand yesterday that helped her. Tell us about it.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well good news for Martha Stewart yesterday, good enough to have Bill Cosby in the courtroom. Beloved figure like that on -- in your corner, that doesn't hurt.
But even better was a witness who basically supported Martha Stewart's account of why the sale of ImClone stock was made. Apparently her business manager, Heidi DeLuca, said yes, back in November, well before any of the controversy hit, she was discussing with Bacanovic whether or not to sell the stock at $60 or $61. If Heidi DeLuca's testimony is believed, big, big plus for Martha Stewart.
COSTELLO: Yes, but who will the jury believe, because you know it was only last week that Martha Stewart's personal assistant said the opposite?
COFFEY: Well, first of all, the jury, what you are playing for here is always a reasonable doubt. But think about this, Carol, is there a way that Martha can try to have it both ways? Can she say look, we were going to sell this for $60 or $61. And sure, when I found out that -- what was driving the price down was Sam Waksal, I was interested in that. Waksal is my friend. I'd be fascinated to know what was going on. But maybe she can find some way to somehow stick with the $60 sale price and at the same time not have to confront head on and try to contradict all of the testimony that says, by the way, she was also told what Waksal was doing.
COSTELLO: OK, you mentioned Bill Cosby being in court, and he said he brought some Jell-O to comfort Martha Stewart if she needed it. Is the jury really impressed by something like that?
COFFEY: Well it never hurts. You have got famous people who are saying basically I vouch for her character. It isn't the biggest factor in the world, but it reminds somebody that this is a very important person who has a lot of value. And her value and her credibility are validated by some of the people that America really respects and admires.
COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about Robert Blake and his carousel of attorneys. He shows up in court with no attorney.
COFFEY: Well, and he has gone through three attorneys. But, Carol, there is no three strikes and you are out rule with respect to retaining lawyers. So apparently the judge is resetting the trial to September 9.
In the meanwhile, this is looking like a case that not a lot of lawyers are -- want -- going to want to handle. Think about Robert Blake as a patient who wants to be active holding the scalpel and directing the surgeon during the course of his own open heart surgery. That's something that nobody is going to want to get in to. And unlike doctors, lawyers can't give general anesthesia to hyperactive clients.
COSTELLO: Well as this goes on, if it goes on and he just can't find an attorney, will the court appoint him like a public defender?
COFFEY: Well at some point perhaps a court could, but I think it's expected that he is going to be able to find a lawyer, especially if, as it appears, he has still got some money. The one thing that is clear, he is not going to be able to have any lawyer who is going to be able to get out of the case at this point. This judge is not going to allow this case to go on any longer because it is time to find out whether or not Robert Blake did or didn't murder his wife.
COSTELLO: 'Coffey Talk' with Kendall Coffey this morning, many thanks.
COFFEY: OK.
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 24, 2004 - 06:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Celebrity legal trouble is the flavor of this morning's 'Coffey Talk.' Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami with some insights on the Martha Stewart trial and of course the bizarre Robert Blake case.
But let's start with Martha Stewart, shall we, because there was a defense witness that took the stand yesterday that helped her. Tell us about it.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well good news for Martha Stewart yesterday, good enough to have Bill Cosby in the courtroom. Beloved figure like that on -- in your corner, that doesn't hurt.
But even better was a witness who basically supported Martha Stewart's account of why the sale of ImClone stock was made. Apparently her business manager, Heidi DeLuca, said yes, back in November, well before any of the controversy hit, she was discussing with Bacanovic whether or not to sell the stock at $60 or $61. If Heidi DeLuca's testimony is believed, big, big plus for Martha Stewart.
COSTELLO: Yes, but who will the jury believe, because you know it was only last week that Martha Stewart's personal assistant said the opposite?
COFFEY: Well, first of all, the jury, what you are playing for here is always a reasonable doubt. But think about this, Carol, is there a way that Martha can try to have it both ways? Can she say look, we were going to sell this for $60 or $61. And sure, when I found out that -- what was driving the price down was Sam Waksal, I was interested in that. Waksal is my friend. I'd be fascinated to know what was going on. But maybe she can find some way to somehow stick with the $60 sale price and at the same time not have to confront head on and try to contradict all of the testimony that says, by the way, she was also told what Waksal was doing.
COSTELLO: OK, you mentioned Bill Cosby being in court, and he said he brought some Jell-O to comfort Martha Stewart if she needed it. Is the jury really impressed by something like that?
COFFEY: Well it never hurts. You have got famous people who are saying basically I vouch for her character. It isn't the biggest factor in the world, but it reminds somebody that this is a very important person who has a lot of value. And her value and her credibility are validated by some of the people that America really respects and admires.
COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about Robert Blake and his carousel of attorneys. He shows up in court with no attorney.
COFFEY: Well, and he has gone through three attorneys. But, Carol, there is no three strikes and you are out rule with respect to retaining lawyers. So apparently the judge is resetting the trial to September 9.
In the meanwhile, this is looking like a case that not a lot of lawyers are -- want -- going to want to handle. Think about Robert Blake as a patient who wants to be active holding the scalpel and directing the surgeon during the course of his own open heart surgery. That's something that nobody is going to want to get in to. And unlike doctors, lawyers can't give general anesthesia to hyperactive clients.
COSTELLO: Well as this goes on, if it goes on and he just can't find an attorney, will the court appoint him like a public defender?
COFFEY: Well at some point perhaps a court could, but I think it's expected that he is going to be able to find a lawyer, especially if, as it appears, he has still got some money. The one thing that is clear, he is not going to be able to have any lawyer who is going to be able to get out of the case at this point. This judge is not going to allow this case to go on any longer because it is time to find out whether or not Robert Blake did or didn't murder his wife.
COSTELLO: 'Coffey Talk' with Kendall Coffey this morning, many thanks.
COFFEY: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
