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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

A Look at Grand Juries; ISIS-Linked Hacker Group Attacks Online Gaming, Tweets Bomb Threat ;Michael Brown Funeral

Aired August 25, 2014 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That changes the dynamic somewhat.

I want to dig into this with CNN's legal analysts, Danny Cevallos and Sunny Hostin, and the two of you have walked enough courtrooms to know not all jury members do as they're told and without question sometimes even the best intentions are breached by news that is everywhere and just unavoidable. This grand jury was seated months ago.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it is good they weren't just specially convened for this particular case, but I think what is troubling is, because the decision to bring it in front of a grand jury happened at least a week, if not more, after this incident tells me the grand jurors have already consumed a lot of media. I think that puts them in a difficult place.

I'm also surprised we know anything about the grand jury, that we know the racial makeup that we know the makeup in terms of gender, because grand juries, by definition, are secret. They're secret proceedings. And so the fact that we even know about it tells me this grand jury process is just a bit -- not even a bit, it's out of the norm.

BANFIELD: I'll tell you what. There's no way to live anywhere near that community and not know about the riots that went on and the heavy police presence.

Some of the grand jurors may have had to drive through that or take a bus through that, so I think you're absolutely right -- there's no way. They can't live under a rock, truly.

But, Danny Cevallos, I want to talk to you a bit about the racial makeup. You are guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States to have a jury of your peers, but some people misconstrue that to be a jury just like you

And the truth is your peers are citizens. We've always said you get citizens. You get good American citizens. You don't get, you know, women who are in their 40s, which would be, maybe, my peers. You don't get African-American young people. You don't get what you exactly might want.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The constitutional right to a jury of your peers is commonly understood. It doesn't mean that your final, ultimate, petit jury or even a grand jury is going to be comprised of your peers. Instead, it means that jurors must be selected from a fair cross section of the community. Now, in the case of a grand jury, it's very different -- or the jury we're accustomed to, which is called a petit jury or a trial jury.

And most interesting in this case is that, at a trial, the lawyers get to suss out which jurors they want or don't want, either challenging them for cause or just using a preemptory challenge for any reason.

That doesn't happen with a grand jury. They are closer to a true random selection of the community, and there is no adversarial process by which lawyers get to exclude anyone.

So in that sense, if they have developed any biases, any opinions by accidentally coming into contact with news, there's much less of a chance of identifying that and removing the juror, certainly less of than there is in a traditional voir dire that we've all seen on TV where you excuse jurors after questioning them.

That doesn't really happen in the grand jury process.

BANFIELD: Sunny, I'm not going to suggest for a minute that you and I are going to be sitting here in a few months and discussing a trial, because we're not there yet. We don't know if there will be a trial.

We don't no if there is a charge, and we don't know, if there's a charge, if there would be a settlement beforehand. But let's just say a jury, a petit jury as Danny just suggested, does have to be empanelled.

Can you even see the microscopic detail that would be afforded to the jury selection process in any kind of courtroom like that?

HOSTIN: Well, I think that it's going to be difficult, if you're trying to choose a jury in a case like this, to find jurors that haven't heard about it. And, quite frankly, when I was prosecuting case, I didn't want jurors that didn't know anything about their community. I didn't want jurors that lived under a rock.

You want jurors that are informed. You want jurors that are interested. You also want jurors that are open minded. So I always say this, Ashleigh. I do think that you can impanel a jury in basically every case.

I think jurors want to do the right thing, and I think that it's a tough job. And I think by and large they do it well. But I do think jury selection in a case like this would be extremely difficult.

And I also think that this is a case primed for a change of venue. This is a case I've often said is primed for a special prosecutor. I don't think this is a case that needs to be tried in St. Louis County, quite frankly. It needs to be tried somewhere else, where the tensions are much less.

BANFIELD: And I can just imagine the fight over what's the racial makeup of the community where it's changed to. There's always something that's just going to displease either side, so this will not be an easy one. I don't think we thought so from the get-go.

But, Sunny and Danny, thank you, both.

A group of online hackers with a very unusual name started by targeting video games and then escalated all the way to actually having a flight diverted, and it's got a lot to do with the Sony executive who was onboard that flight.

How things intensified and how the executive responded, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: So what does the fight against is have to do with make- believe battles on your laptop? It turns out there is a connection.

Over the weekend, a hacker group that calls itself "Lizard Squad" took down a number of online gaming networks. Supposedly this was to protest U.S. attacks on ISIS, or the so-called Islamic State in Iraq.

So the tweets went out, et cetera. The group also caused some very real alarm on an airline flight as well. So that's where it gets serious.

CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh joins me. Put together these puzzle pieces. You've got the game attack and then the executive attack, the connection to is. Tell me what we know.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: At this point, Ashleigh, that serious event that you're talking about there, American Airlines Flight 362, it was supposed to go from Dallas to San Diego, but everyone on board, they had to deal with this situation because the plane was forced to divert to Phoenix.

Add on to that, we had two F-16 fighter jets, which were scrambled to monitor the plane as it landed. It appears, again, all because of this group of hackers who call themselves Lizard Squad.

As you mentioned, the group states on Twitter that it is working on behalf of the Islamic State. It's saying that it was even ready to die for the Islamic State.

The president of Sony Online Entertainment, he happened to be on board that plane. It seems that this group of hackers, they knew that. They tweeted directly at John Smedley, and we have that tweet.

The tweet goes on to say, "We have reports that J. Smedley's plane, Number 362, from DFW to San Diego, has explosives on board. Please look into this." They paired that tweet with images from September 11th.

We should say we know that the plane landed safely. Cameras captured the Sony executive upon landing. He didn't have much to say, but he did send out his own tweet, Ashleigh, confirming that his plane was diverted.

He said he wasn't going to discuss more than that, but he ended the tweet saying, "Justice will find these guys."

Of course there were no explosives on board, but still, the FBI now stepping in and they are investigating, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Rene Marsh, following the story for us in D.C., thank you for that.

And back now to Missouri where a funeral for Michael Brown is under way, and we've got our live cameras there. In fact, the decision was made this should be a public memorial, and it is a big one as well, thousands of people gathering to mourn the loss of this young man who is at the heart of a controversial topic, the shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

His mother in the red on the left of your screen, his father in the middle, in the gray, you're going to hear more about this tragic death and how it impacted the family and an entire community just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: I want to take you back to St. Louis, Missouri, right now, where it is an emotional day, as Michael Brown, the 18-year-old unarmed black teenager who was shot dead in the suburb of Ferguson about two weeks ago, is being eulogized and memorialized by celebrities and community leaders and family and loved ones alike. It's been quite a day and our Don Lemon has been watching as this massive funeral gets underway.

Don, as I was looking at the capacity of this church, it's somewhere around 5,000, whether it's in the sanctuary or outside in the overflow rooms, but there are thousands of people who came today.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are thousands of people who came. And even the overflow room, Ashleigh, was overflowing today. So a lot of folks here. And, you know, as we have been talking about it here, it's very peaceful. We haven't had any issues. I think people here they are mourning the loss, but this is a home going celebration. And so there's a lot of celebrating here as well. There's a lot of shouting, right? There's a lot of screaming.

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: It's church.

LEMON: It's church. LZ Granderson is here, CNN political commentator, and also our Donna Brazile.

Donna, I love this pastor, Pastor Reverend Michael Jones, what he said. He said, if your name is on the program, and we've skipped past you, don't get upset, we have church next Sunday, you can come back. For all the people who came out to grandstand, amen. I was like, I am so glad he said that. But, I mean, we have been listening and it's been really good to hear. There's been church going on here.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's been really a very uplifting service. I've been watching it live streaming. People are joyful. They're joyful because they're celebrating the life of Michael Brown Jr. Let's remember that he was a soul, a young soul. And today they are going to speak about his life, his journey. Though it was cut short, it is important that we talk about the young boy, the young man who wanted to finish school, who talked to his counselors and said, how can I get into college? And they said, well, you have to get all of those credits. And he did. And so when he was told that he had to step up, he did. So I think that's what people came today, to listen to those stories, and all of the other politics and drama that goes on in church, well, as the pastor said, that's for another day.

LEMON: That's right. But you can come back next Sunday.

There's a beautiful poem in this program that we've gotten a hold of. And there's one from Michael Brown's mother, but there's also one from Michael Brown's father. And this is of particular significance to you, LZ Granderson, as a father of a young black kid.

GRANDERSON: Absolutely. You know, I've been texting with my mother, who's just trying to kind of encourage me because she knows this is emotional for me. My son will be 18 in a few months. We're going through the college, you know, search process now. And so when I look into the eyes of Michael Brown's mom, when I hear her voice quiver talking about her son, I can't help but feel that same pain, wondering, what would I go through, what would I feel if something this tragic happened to my son.

LEMON: Yes.

GRANDERSON: And that's the important thing about this day is to remember the empathy that all of us have. We all are somebody's baby.

LEMON: Right.

GRANDERSON: We all have a baby.

LEMON: Right.

GRANDERSON: Put everything else aside right now and just empathize with the pain that this family is going through.

LEMON: And I think it's important, Donna pointed that out earlier, there's still a lot to learn. The investigation hasn't even played out. We don't know the specifics. But on a day when you are laying someone to rest, you know, they always say, don't speak ill of the dead, right?

GRANDERSON: Absolutely.

BRAZILE: Right.

LEMON: And you -- we're all human today. And so today we are feeling for a mother who lost her child, regardless of the circumstance, Donna Brazile.

BRAZILE: And a father who lost his son.

LEMON: Right. BRAZILE: And the many cousins and friends and classmates and so many others. I think that is what today is about. It's really what the Bible say, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And what you -- what you're hearing in that church and what you're hearing across the county is the cry of joy and, of course, the cry for peace and justice because that's also what the Bible tells us, and that is, you know, the Prophet Amos said, may justice role down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. I have spent many a Sundays and a lot of other days in the black church because it is a lively church and the homegoing celebration dates back to slavery when African-Americans could not gather for celebrations. And so today let's lift this little boy up, this young man up, and let's give glory to God because I think that's what we're all called to do.

LEMON: And there's still a lot to work out when -

GRANDERSON: Absolutely.

LEMON: After this day. There's a lot to work out with the community, with police, with all kinds of issues here. This is just the beginning, not only for Ferguson and St. Louis, but really for the country, I think. A Pandora's box has been opened, I believe.

GRANDERSON: Absolutely. And, you know, I agree with Donna, you know, joy doth cometh in the morning, but it's not going to come on its own. You know, it's going to take a little work for us to get to this place of joy, this place of what real peace should look like. You know, this community, this area has a serious election and voting problem that needs to be addressed. It has serious poverty issues that need to be addressed. And so once we're done celebrating the life of Michael Brown, this community needs to decide, what does that joy in the morning look like and how do we get there? How do we take the emotions that you saw the past two weeks and direct it as something positive and something that's going to be long lasting? Because once all the cameras are gone, once we're gone, once the parents are alone, you're still going to have these issues and these problems that precipitated this tragedy.

LEMON: Right.

GRANDERSON: What are you going to do to fix these problems?

LEMON: LZ Granderson, Donna Brazile, thank you very much. I appreciate both of you.

Ashleigh, we are here. And at first we thought it wasn't - you know, they weren't going to end on time, but the pastor skipped a whole bunch of people and I'm sure some people are happy that he did that. I think this may be in -- close to being on time, 1:00 Eastern. So we'll see

BANFIELD: I love the music that I've been hearing. It's so uplifting.

LEMON: Amazing.

BANFIELD: Can I ask you a really quick question, Don, about just what you're seeing around you?

LEMON: Sure.

BANFIELD: When I saw the number of people that were coming, and clearly that's a civic issue for St. Louis. They had to dispatch St. Louis Police just to maintain, you know, security, et cetera. How is that going down, that the police officers who have been dispatched to the actual church area?

LEMON: You can look around. We're looking around. I mean, seriously, there is no issue at all. Every single person we have come in contact with. You know, there are your outliers, the people who are a little bit odd, but you have that. You know, people who show up because it's a spectacle, but you have that.

But pretty much it's been - it's been amazing. We've had a member of a motorcycle - members of a motorcycle club, who have pointed out to us that they're not a gang, but they -- I'm glad that they came because you don't usually see things like that here. And so support is coming from all areas, all facets, all walks of life, and that's really what it's about. It's not just about us, African-Americans, journalists, pundits, sitting on television, commentators. It's about all of us, Ashleigh, every single hue and ethnicity in the country. This is an issue for all of us. This is an American issue that we're talking about.

BANFIELD: I'm glad that it is peaceful and I'm glad that it's calm. And it's a homegoing, as you said. It's not political. This is mourning the loss of a child for parents.

Don Lemon, thank you for that.

LEMON: Right.

BANFIELD: By the way, Don has been working so incredibly hard. After the break, I'm going to show you what he was able to do yesterday. He met up with three mothers who are in the kind of club no one wants to belong to. It is the club of having a child shot dead by the police. We're going to hear that interview in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: At this hour, Michael Brown's mom is attending her son's funeral. Today, she's going to lay him to rest. And there are at least two other women in that church with her who wholly understand what she's going through. One is the mother of Trayvon Martin. And the - and you'll remember Trayvon was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watchman. And then the other mother is the mom of Sean Bell, who was shot and killed by police back in 2006. The three moms met for the first time for an exclusive interview with our Don Lemon. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: Well, the hardest part for her is going to be the homegoing service. As I have said, that is the absolutely worst day of her life as a mother, because there is no words that can bring comfort to her as a mother by seeing her son in the casket.

LEMON: Do you go around the house in the kitchen, do you talk to Trayvon?

FULTON: Absolutely.

VALERIE BELL, SEAN BELL'S MOTHER: Yes.

FULTON: Absolutely.

LEMON: Do you?

BELL: Yes. (INAUDIBLE). If I know something has to be done, ma, I got this. His favorite saying, "ma, I got this."

LEMON: Do you do the same thing, Lesley?

LESLEY MCSPADDEN, MICHAEL BROWN'S MOTHER: Especially when it rain. Yep.

LEMON: When it rains. Why?

MCSPADDEN: Something about the rain. Something about it.

LEMON: That makes you want to --

MCSPADDEN: I feel him.

FULTON: He's there. He's there. He's watching over you.

LEMON: What was it like meeting her?

BELL: I'm glad I get to meet you. It brought back memories of my son and I just thought of your son.

FULTON: It's hurtful. But at the same time it's -- it's comforting because I know she needs people that understand what she's going through.

LEMON: And, Lesley, what was it like meeting these ladies? They've been say everything, how they feel about you. What's it like meeting them? What do you want to say to them?

MCSPADDEN: I'm sorry you had to go through it.

And I'm sorry about yours too.

LEMON: Thank you all.

FULTON: We got you. We got you, baby. We got you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The mothers of Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin and, of course, in the middle, the mother of Michael Brown.

And while the politics rages around whatever case may emerge from this, it is critical to remember on a day like this, when Michael Brown's funeral is underway, those are mothers that never did anything. They lost their kids. And they are mourning. And it is excruciating.

Thanks so much for watching, everybody. It's been great to have you here from Los Angeles. I'm going to turn things over to my colleague, Wolf, who starts right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington.

There's lots of news happening this hour. Meanwhile, family and friends, clergy members and celebrities, they all came together today for the funeral of Michael Brown. The service for the unarmed black teen who was fatally shot by a white police officer, that service