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Bail Set For O.J. Simpson; Ahmadinejad to Visit Ground Zero?; Al Sharpton's Planned Protest in Jena, Lousiana

Aired September 19, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So he came to Las Vegas for a wedding, and then something else happened. And he will be coming back for a hearing, probably several hearings, and eventually a trial.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Today, anytime now, in fact, O.J. Simpson will walk out of jail on bail. And you will see it live right here on CNN.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Kyra Phillips, at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don lemon.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Leaving his jail cell behind, but bracing for a legal battle straight ahead. O.J. Simpson has paid his $125,000 bail and he is expected to leave a Las Vegas jail anytime now.

Earlier, a handcuffed Simpson appeared at his bail hearing. You're looking at the taped pictures where he was asked if he understood the 11 criminal charges he faced, as in alleged armed robbery.

Well, let's go straight to Las Vegas and CNN's Ed Lavandera, who is there in the crush of fans, and I guess those who are really kind of gleaning off this potential downfall image as well -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really hard to say if it's even fans we're talking about. I don't know exactly who all these people are who are showing up to kind of watch this show that is everything that has to do with O.J. Simpson's legal parade through the process here in Las Vegas.

But we want to show you real quickly aerial footage from just around the corner from where I'm standing. And this is the area behind the jail here in Las Vegas, where we're told that we anticipate O.J. Simpson to be leaving from there. Not sure if he will be driven out. I would doubt very seriously that he would just walk out of there.

I'm sure they're arranging for some sort of transportation to whisk -- quickly whisk him away out of this area, as there are still dozens of people standing around, loitering on any corner, just trying to catch a glimpse of O.J. Simpson. He was allowed to -- a judge has allowed him to be released on bail. $125,000 bail. There are a few conditions to that release, however. O.J. Simpson is not allowed to travel outside the country. He has had to turn over his passport. We presume he would be -- start heading back home to Miami, Florida.

Of course, as you mentioned, he had come here to Las Vegas for the weekend to attend a friend's wedding before all of this happened on Thursday night. And the other condition is, is that O.J. Simpson has been barred from having any contact with the victims in this, the alleged victims in this case, other co-defendants and any witnesses as well.

And, of course, these are, in many cases, many people that O.J. Simpson has had a long history with throughout the years in terms of his sports memorabilia and people who have either stood by him along the way throughout his legal troubles over the last 12 years. But O.J. Simpson's attorney spoke with reporters after they wrapped up their brief court hearing this morning, and he says, this is their first victory and they anticipate more victories in this criminal case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YALE GALANTER, ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: What we came here to do this morning, we got accomplished. Our goal was to get what is in my opinion a fair, reasonable bond, allow Mr. Simpson to go home and be with his family. That is going to be accomplished. And we thank everybody who facilitated that in happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touchdown, dude. Touchdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to follow...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And you can kind of get a sense of just what we're dealing with out here when it comes to anything having to do with O.J. Simpson. That was an attorney trying to answer reporters' questions, and there are hecklers and -- and people who are trying to get into the TV shots at any cost here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, it is Las Vegas. And strange things can happen in that town. So, I guess this is no different of an occasion.

All right, thanks so much, Ed Lavandera.

So, Ed mentioned 11 counts, 10 of them felonies. Well, perhaps you want to read the full criminal complaint against O.J. Simpson. You can do so just by logging on to CNN.com. And you can watch any courtroom drama in this case as it unfolds as well. Again, that's CNN.com.

LEMON: From Nevada to Louisiana, where nerves are on edge in the town of Jena. Protesters on their way to the small southern town for tomorrow's show of support for the so-called Jena Six, a group of black students charged in the beating of a white schoolmate.

CNN's Susan Roesgen is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: The Reverend Al Sharpton met today with the first of the Jena Six, the first teenage black student to go to trial and actually be convicted on charges involved with the attack on a white student last December.

Reverend Sharpton said that he's very concerned that there be no violence at the rally on Thursday. He wants this to be a peaceful protest. He wants to continue what he says is the outside pressure on the local legal community to make sure that justice is done here.

Reverend Sharpton says it's not a black/white issue. It's more than that. Here's what Reverend Sharpton said after meeting with Mychal Bell today.

AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: This is not about politics. It's not about black against white. This is about equal protection under the law and justice.

We spent about 20, 25 minutes just now with Mychal. It breaks our heart to see him handcuffed and in leg shackles. But his spirit is high. He has said that he is very encouraged to know that thousands of people are coming to this little town to stand up for him and his five friends. He asked me to communicate that he is praying, and with the grace of God, he will rejoin us soon.

But he does not want anything to be done in any way tomorrow to disparage his name with violence or a even word that is negative. This is about standing up for justice. This is not about being against anyone.

ROESGEN: We don't know yet how many protesters will actually rally here tomorrow. We have heard figures everything from 5,000 to 50,000 people. We just won't know until Thursday, when the rally actually begins, starting here at 7:00 a.m. local time, right here where I'm standing at the entranceway to the Jena courthouse.

Susan Roesgen, Jena, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Susan.

And rock star David Bowie has donated $10,000 to the NAACP's Jena Six Legal Defense Fund. In a statement from the NAACP, Bowie says there's clearly a separate and unequal judicial process at work here. And the money is his way to fight it.

We will speak to the Reverend Al Sharpton a little bit later on in the CNN NEWSROOM. And tomorrow night CNN goes inside the racial tensions in Jena, Louisiana. Tune in for a "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" report, "Judgment in Jena." It is an investigation. That airs tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: The presence of Iran at ground zero? Ahead of his visit next week to the U.N. headquarters, we're hearing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to tour the site of the 9/11 attack in Lower Manhattan.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick join us with the details.

And what it's going to take in order for his wishes to actually be granted?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's unclear whether, in fact, they will be granted. But we do know that the president did ask the NYPD, Secret Service, and others to see whether he could go down to the actual site, to the pit, what we know as ground zero.

There was a meeting between the Secret Service, the NYPD and the Port Authority. We are told that in fact now by a spokesperson from the NYPD that the request has now been rejected. What is still on the table, what is still open, is the possibility that perhaps Ahmadinejad could go view the site, but, if he does view the site, he is going to have to view it from a position open to all spectators currently.

But, right now, nobody has any plans to stop construction there at the site, as they did last week for the anniversary of 9/11. They're saying he's going to have to go see it just like anybody else -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Deborah. And, so, what's peculiar here is, while, at the U.N., that's kind of considered international property, not necessarily U.S. property. But as soon as he were to leave that facility and, say, go anywhere near, say, ground zero, that opens up a whole new, you know, ball of wax, so to speak, especially since President Bush has made it very clear that this man, the president of Iran, wouldn't necessarily be welcome in this country.

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

And not only that. It's happened in the past. You may remember that when Rudy Giuliani was mayor of the town, he barred Yasser Arafat from attending an event at Lincoln Center. So, things like this do happen. But right now we're being told that the reason that he's not going to be allowed to go there is because of the construction. They don't want to stop the construction. They are certainly not going to have him walking amidst the construction.

You have to think of the symbolic value to have this man at that site. Clearly, the Americans would see it one way. But people in the rest of the world might see it very differently. The fact that he would be standing there, Americans might think it as offensive as if bin Laden himself were to stop by and visit.

WHITFIELD: OK. And apparently Commissioner Ray Kelly had some thoughts that he expressed not long ago. Let's listen to that, Deborah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, I mean, construction is ongoing. So, we did allow obviously on September 11 people to go into the site. Construction is now back in full swing. So, I think it would not be possible to have and go to any area other than the area where most of the public goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right.

FEYERICK: And it's unclear what the motivation was, why he would want to go there, why the president of Iran would want to go there. That's something that is nobody is releasing to us, anyway -- Fred.

FEYERICK: All right, Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much.

LEMON: All right.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, the fallout after a Florida student is Tasered, bro. He's known as a prankster. Was this another one of his stunts? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: A computer chip smaller than a penny that can detect cancer -- details on that straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And, again, we're watching what's taking place and what's not taking place in Las Vegas. Right now, things are at a standstill, as folks wait for O.J. Simpson to be released from the Clark County Detention Center.

We're live from Las Vegas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Fifteen minutes after the hour, here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're expecting O.J. Simpson to leave a Las Vegas jail anytime now. A judge has set a $125,000 bond for Simpson, now facing 11 criminal charges in an alleged armed robbery.

More money, more power. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking a House panel today for better protecting people from faulty products, such as the millions of Chinese-made toys that have recently been recalled.

And Beirut, Lebanon, reeling from a bomb blast that killed an anti-Syrian lawmaker and several other people. The lawmaker is thought to have been the target.

LEMON: Several developing stories happening here in the CNN NEWSROOM today. It's all or nothing in the L.A. murder trial of legendary record producer Phil Spector. The judge says he won't let the deadlocked jury consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. He won't do that.

CNN senior producer Paul Vercammen was in the courtroom for that decision and he joins us now by phone.

Paul, we are understanding that the judge's ruling is seen as a break for the defense. Why is that?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Absolutely, because the lesser charge of manslaughter would in a sense suggest that the prosecution would be able to invoke its will. What the prosecution wants after all is for Spector to spend...

LEMON: Paul, we're going to get back to you. We're going now to Las Vegas.

O.J. Simpson walking out of jail. Let's just sort of listen in to see what folks are saying now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Nicole. Justice for Ron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O.J., you're the man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut the Juice loose!

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: After a few hours -- a few hours after the judge set bail for $125,000, we're now seeing him being released. Earlier, we had learned that his attorneys brought a suit for him.

LEMON: And that's his attorney driving the car this morning...

WHITFIELD: That's true.

LEMON: ... the attorney that held such a press conference this morning.

WHITFIELD: Exactly.

LEMON: Along with the fellow there next to him, probably one of these guys who is screaming "Set the Juice loose."

WHITFIELD: Right.

LEMON: But you are looking at O.J. Simpson there being released in that gray car.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yale Galanter being that attorney who stated the case for him and managed to convince the judge to allow him to not only hand over his passport, so that he would not be a flight risk, but still able to fly within the continental U.S. and able to get out on bond of $125,000. That attorney making it very clear that because he's tied down with another pretty big case in Washington, D.C., it will be quite a few months before he can thoroughly pore over all the details of this O.J. Simpson case. It may be some time early next year before this case moves forward in court.

LEMON: Yes, and we just want to -- we want to replay that video just moments ago, looking at O.J. Simpson getting out of jail, out of this detention center in Las Vegas. This is as it happened. You can hear the people there screaming. Their reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Nicole. Justice for Ron.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: "Justice for Nicole. Justice for Ron. Justice for Nicole" again, one person screaming, again, "Set the Juice loose!"

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Even his attorney made it very clear earlier that it's going to be difficult. Even though he is facing criminal charges involving this alleged armed robbery, it's difficult for O.J. Simpson to escape some pretty deep-rooted feelings throughout this country on the case of him being exonerated of the death of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Eleven counts, Fred, 10 of them, of course, felonies, that we have been telling you about, and one added last night, which was kidnapping, which was sort of...

WHITFIELD: Right, first-degree kidnapping.

LEMON: ... one that surprised everyone, yes.

WHITFIELD: With the use of a deadly weapon.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: This all starting, of course, Fred, when he said he was going to Las Vegas. He was in Las Vegas for a wedding. Got word that someone was selling his stuff that he believed was stolen, taken from him. He thought it was his. That's what he's saying. And then he, along with several other men, burst into this hotel room and demanded the stuff be returned to him.

There are accusations of guns, at least one gun and possibly two in all this.

WHITFIELD: Right.

And reminiscent now of the scene that we remember years ago in Los Angeles on the highways there of the aerial shots of the vehicle and the police chase, if you will, or the pursuit of O.J. Simpson at the time in a white Bronco. This time we're seeing him a light- colored sedan vehicle.

And even before this transpired over the weekend, there was a poll that was taken about O.J. Simpson, kind of strange coincidence in this month, perhaps, most directly tied to the fact that the Goldman family has managed to publish the book "If I Did It."

Well, here is a question that was asked during this CNN poll, whether people still believed, whether the majority of folks believed that the murder charges against O.J. Simpson would still hold, whether or not people thought he was, indeed, guilty; 80 percent of Americans felt like he is guilty of the crime that he was acquitted on, and only 14 percent believing it not to be true.

LEMON: Yes, and that was before this incident.

Just real quickly, Fredricka, want to give folks a breakdown of the charges against O.J. Simpson. As we said, it's 11 criminal counts in all, 10 of them felonies, right?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: The most serious, two counts of first-degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, a charge that carries a possible life sentence in all of this, as we watch these live pictures of O.J. Simpson leaving this Las Vegas jail here, again, and also two counts of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with the use of a deadly weapon, and one burglary count. Simpson also faces a felony coercion charge and three conspiracy counts. One of them is a misdemeanor.

Let's talk -- as we continue -- we're going to continue to watch this, continue to stay with this.

But the memorabilia that's in question here that Simpson and his co-defendants were after when they allegedly crossed the line into the Palace Station Hotel had more than sentimental value, probably a lot more.

And CNN's Joe Johns takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the world of sports memorabilia, the O.J. Simpson trading card from his rookie NFL season doesn't bring much these days, 45 bucks or so.

(on camera): Yes, so, you don't have a lot of O.J. stuff.

BILL HUGGINS, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: I don't need a lot.

JOHNS (voice-over): But that's only the beginning of the story. Bill Huggins runs the House of Cards in Silver Spring, Maryland, a modest storefront, to say the least. But his online sports memorabilia online auction business is one of the biggest in the country. The way he sees it, there are three markets in this business, sales of the ordinary legit stuff, pieces of some of the legends of sport that you will see in the showcases. And, like fine wine, there's good stuff in the vault. This rare baseball card could be worth $10,000 in the next auction.

And then there's the underworld, with its fake signatures, jerseys and such, things sold by people the Justice Department likes to drag before a judge.

But then, as Huggins sees it, there's O.J.'s world, a world unto itself where a fallen hero, unable to escape from his ruined reputation, slinks around in the shadows, seemingly cashing in on the fast buck of his former fame. Huggins remembers O.J. two years ago in Chicago at the biggest sports memorabilia show in the country. Huggins was there, and he says, so was O.J.

HUGGINS: I heard that he was -- had set up a table and had started signing autographs. I don't know who was taking the money or who was providing it and whatever, but then the promoters of the show basically escorted him out of the building.

And I understand -- or I know for a fact he went across the street to the Embassy Suites Hotel and set up shop in one of the rooms there and was signing autographs for several hours. I don't know what he was charging, but there was a line outside this door.

JOHNS: So, yes, there are people who will buy this stuff. But how much Simpson gets dropping in on memorabilia shows, selling his signature, is, frankly, anybody's guess. A Cal Ripken signature goes for about $125.

The spontaneity of these for-profit O.J. autograph appearances is no doubt by design. After all, a civil court ordered O.J. to pay every penny he earns, outside of his pensions, in a judgment. The quick all-cash world of an O.J. appearance at a memorabilia show is hard to catch.

DAVID COOK, COLLECTIONS ATTORNEY FOR GOLDMAN FAMILY: These are cash transactions. And, for that flash of a moment, if the funds you're receiving from individuals, that is, retail customers, then we would need to send physically the sheriff there to intercept that money when it gets there.

JOHNS: Simpson's lawyer says, Simpson is abiding by the rules, despite the Goldman family's protests.

RONALD SLATES, ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: We have a system here. The system was followed. He has a right to collect. We have a right to protect.

JOHNS: So, how much could we be talking about here? Any other Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Hall of Famer -- and Simpson is both -- could easily fetch more than $100 for each and every signature he writes on a football jersey. It could all add up. In fact, it should add up on Simpson's tax returns.

HUGGINS: I know for a fact several guys who have taken money put it in their pockets, cash-cash, and the tax people have come after them for not reporting it, you know. So, it's actually a job, which, you know, you're getting paid for. And, a lot of times, though, yes, they do get paid in folding green dollars, and just walk away and drive off in their Lexus or their Bentley, and away they go.

JOHNS (on camera): One problem is that no one really knows specifically what memorabilia Simpson owns, what he may have sold or where it is. There's no formal charge that Simpson failed to report income. And, again, his lawyer says he's done what he was supposed to do.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now O.J. Simpson, as a reminder, in one of those light-colored vehicles heading possibly to the airport, after being released from the Clark County Detention Center there in Las Vegas. You see images there that were taped just moments ago to the sound of hecklers outside.

And also outside of the Clark County Detention Center, our Ed Lavandera, who got an idea to -- idea of eyewitnessing this as it happened.

So, Ed, pretty anticlimactic, but I don't know what the expectations were upon his exiting out of the building.

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, if anyone watched the white Bronco chase 13 years ago, they can certainly get flashbacks as they're watching this happen.

We're not exactly sure where O.J. Simpson is going right now, perhaps to the airport, maybe leaving Las Vegas, or if he's going to some hotel, or who knows what exactly is going on. But he is being driven, we understand, by his attorney. And O.J. Simpson just left here a short while ago, just a couple of hours after a judge here in Las Vegas ordered that he be released on bail as long as he meets some conditions, one of which that he turn over his passport.

He's done that already. And he's not allowed to travel outside the United States. He is however allowed to travel within the continental United States. And O.J. Simpson, of course, lives in Miami. So, we presume perhaps that he will be headed that way as well.

There were several family members that were with him in the courtroom today. Not sure if they were in the car with him this afternoon, as he was starting to leave the jailhouse here. And then, of course, one of the other conditions that O.J. must meet is that he have no contact with the other defendants, witnesses, or the victims in this case. And we anticipate that O.J. Simpson will now huddle together with his attorney and start figuring out what to do next. His attorney had been saying that they were mainly focused on the last couple of days on just getting O.J. Simpson released from jail here in Las Vegas. Three other defendants that had been arrested and charged with the same crimes that O.J.'s been charged have already been booked and released from this jail as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ed, kind of paint a picture for us. Now that O.J. has already left the building and left the premises, you know, is there still the onslaught of folks out there? I mean, what's the scene?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, it's -- it comes and goes. You know, not to put too fine a point on it, this is just kind of a bizarre town already, to be quite frank.

WHITFIELD: Right.

LAVANDERA: And they have already -- there have been plenty of people out here who have been holding signs.

I have heard "The Juice is loose" more times than I, you know, care to hear it so far this morning. So, you know, that is the scene that follows O.J. Simpson. And if you know, you don't like it, get ready for the next couple of months.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, yes, this is just the beginning, people, right?

LAVANDERA: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, not quite the white Bronco, but definitely reminiscent of that as we watch these live pictures, Fredricka, of O.J. Simpson going -- headed down the interstate with his attorney in the car, released from jail, as we said, just moments ago.

Our Jeffrey Toobin, is he there? There he goes. Jeffrey has been on top of this case. He's our senior legal analyst. He's going to break down all of it, talk about the charges, what is going on, why we're paying so much attention to this. And what are -- what's O.J.'s chances of maybe beating these charges? We will check in with Jeffrey in a little bit.

Also, a racial dispute that started with a tree plays out on the national stage. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we will talk with the Reverend Al Sharpton about this growing debate. Why are we doing that? Well, he met with the accused this morning in a jail cell. We will talk to him about that on the other side of the break.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, developing news here in the CNN NEWSROOM".

That picture that you're looking at, that's from Jena, Louisiana. That's the Reverend Al Sharpton. He's going to join us in just a little bit. But take a look at this. O.J. Simpson being released from the detention center in Las Vegas.

I just want you to listen to this, what people are screaming here. New video.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Ron! Justice for Nicole! Justice for Ron! Justice for Nicole! Justice for Ron!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Set the juice loose!

LEMON: So, as you heard our Ed Lavandera and you witnessed there yourself, people were saying "Justice for Ron!". Obviously, they're talking about Ron Goldman. "Justice for Nicole!," Nicole Brown Simpson. Both killed. And O.J. Simpson went on trial for it and was found not guilty. But then, in a civil case, of course, found guilty.

His belongings and possessions are supposed to be used to pay the Brown family back and -- the Goldman family back, I should say. And that's at the center of this case, these -- this sports memorabilia, who it belonged to.

This is live pictures of O.J. Simpson there on the interstate. His attorney driving that car. You're not going to miss any of this. We're going to bring it all to you.

But we want to talk to you about another, another high profile case -- a high profile visitor for one of the Jena 6, the Reverend Al Sharpton.

He organized tomorrow's rally.

He met with Mychal Bell this morning.

And Reverend Sharpton now joins us from Jena, Louisiana.

You met with Mychal Bell this morning. You said his spirits are high. I want this to know if you heard from the attorneys at all, anyone close to this case, Reverend Sharpton, his chances of being -- possibly being released. He's still in jail, even though the charges have been downgraded.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Well, the attorneys were in the meetings with Michael Baisden, the radio personality who has really helped to drive this. And we have worked closely together on this. And the attorneys indicated to us that they are fighting with motions. And the district attorney, even with the reduced charges from adult to juvenile, is still fighting back with other motions.

So this march and rally tomorrow is very necessary because despite the outpouring, despite now even presidential candidates weighing in, this local prosecutor is almost like out of the history books -- is fighting to preserve this inequity of justice. And we really need to show the nation and the world that we're not going to allow the clock to be turned back in America and in Jena, Louisiana.

LEMON: And, Reverend Al, do you think that people understand this case?

Because there's, you know, lots of things have been drawn here. They talked about the nooses. They talked about the fighting and what have you. The U.S. attorney down there is saying you know what, the fighting and the nooses -- or the fight and the nooses -- they don't, they're not necessarily -- they don't necessarily go together. You can't draw a line between the two, at least legally.

Do you think folks understand that?

SHARPTON: I think that the U.S. attorney -- who I had a conversation with and was a very bright guy -- but I don't think he understands the line that is being drawn. The line that is being drawn is that how do you have a city and a single prosecutor who cannot indict or charge anyone for a hate crime with hanging nooses on a tree, does not charge anyone seriously for assaulting black kids or pulling a gun on black kids, but can then charge black kids the same age in the same school as adults

LEMON: Right.

SHARPTON: And charge them with attempted murder.

LEMON: Right.

SHARPTON: That's what he doesn't understand. No one's connecting the crimes. No -- someone is saying how do you have a two-tier criminal justice system?

LEMON: Right.

OK.

Let's talk about the climate and the mood there in Jena, Louisiana -- a small town, 3,000, 4,000 people. You've got all these people coming, no one knows, 50,000 -- it could be 10,000, it could be 50,000. They're concerned about possibly some people overtaking their town. They're concerned about violence.

I want to show you this. We've got a picture of someone's home here. And hanging from that home is a flag. And it is a fairly nice home -- a confederate flag.

What kind of message do you think people are leaving, business people, people who live there, this confederate flag hanging out on someone's home, what kind of message does that send to the masses about Jena, the mood, the attitude there?

SHARPTON: It sends more of a message of racism and hate than anything. We're coming, but we're asking for equal protection under the law. We're not saying kids have the right to beat each other up or fight. We're saying the prosecutor should be even-handed.

When you see nooses hung -- and now, as we come town, confederate flags hung -- that is what underscores the racism involved. We're not coming here with hate symbols. We're not coming here saying anything about against people's races. But to hang a confederate flag in our faces after hanging the nooses, they're saying more to the nation about Jena than we could ever say.

LEMON: Can you understand, though, reverend, why people might be a little bit nervous, a little bit concerned about this, you know, influx -- and that's a light word -- just this hordes of people who could be coming to their town?

Do you understand the concern and the possible nervousness?

SHARPTON: Well, what I think -- I think, you know, I was asked here to come here by the parents of Mychal Bell. This is the third time I've been here and each time we've had big rallies. And we've told the townspeople to come in. We've had no violence. We've invited them to come in.

But you have to remember, it was people in the town that asked us to come in. Mychal Bell's parents went on my radio show and asked us to come in.

LEMON: OK...

SHARPTON: Don't they have rights, too?

LEMON: OK. All right. So in all of this, obviously you're -- you want equal justice under the law for everyone involved there...

SHARPTON: That's all.

LEMON: And then, on the other side of that, once the legal process has played out, what do you want to get from this? What are you hoping -- the bottom line is, I would imagine, people would grow, their understanding, some dialogue.

What do you want to get from this?

SHARPTON: We want, like we said, equal protection under the law. Racial justice always wants to see racial harmony. You can't have recovery until you have the surgery. We must have a fair and even playing field in the courtroom, and then we must have harmony. But you can't get to harmony without making it an even playing field.

LEMON: I know you're a very busy man. And if you do speak with Mychal Bell and he does come out, will you come back and share your conversation and have him here on the CNN NEWSROOM for us?

SHARPTON: I will let him know of your invitation, Don.

LEMON: All right.

Thank you. It's always good to talk to you.

We wish you the best.

And, also, as you said, we stress a peaceful, right -- you're saying a peaceful march...

SHARPTON: Absolutely.

LEMON: ...whatever your intentions are there, no violence.

SHARPTON: That's why Martin Luther King's two children will be here. It must be in the spirit of Dr. King.

LEMON: OK. Well, we hope it is peaceful and we hope that everything works out for everyone involved, including the people in the town of Jena, those who are native to the town, whatever side of the issue you are on, whatever race you are.

Thank you very much for joining us today in the CNN NEWSROOM, Reverend Al.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

LEMON: CNN goes inside the racial tensions in Jena, Louisiana. Tune in for a CNN Special Investigations Unit report, "Judgment in Jena". That's tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Only here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: And the other big case we're following for you, this one out of Las Vegas. Just moments ago, inside the last hour, we saw this man right here, former NFL star O.J. Simpson, emerging from the Clark County Detention Center, after posting $125,000 bail. But this is just the beginning of his legal battle.

Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, will be along to give us his point of view -- hi, Jeffrey.

We'll see you in a bit.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

LEMON: Hi, Jeffrey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Just moments ago, O.J. Simpson, former NFL star, was released from the detention center in Clark County there in Las Vegas. And outside were a whole lot of people -- many folks who were cheering for him and others who were jeering him, as well, as he exited there in a suit, whereas earlier in the day we saw him in a navy jumpsuit in court at a bail hearing, where his attorney managed to convince the judge to allow him to post $125,000 bond.

Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is in New York and you're watching all the proceedings all day long, as well, just like the rest of America. And so we're talking about 11 criminal offenses, 10 of which are felonies. And his attorney has made it clear that not even he has been able to go through all of the evidence. But we do understand at least there will be some eyewitness accounts and we all know that there is an audio tape recording of O.J. Simpson as well in that hotel, demanding his memorabilia.

How difficult, Jeffrey, is this case going to be for prosecutors?

TOOBIN: Well, you know, it depends on how you look at the case. Because if you look at this case as sort of a random crime or possible crime that took place in a hotel room in Las Vegas, I think it would be pretty darned difficult. I think the circumstances of this crime appear to be ambiguous. It's not clear to me who the good guys and who the bad guys are. There were lots of people inside this hotel room, in an obviously chaotic situation. I think it would be a difficult case for the prosecution to prove, based on what I know now.

However, this is not just some random person. This is O.J. Simpson, one of the most widely despised people in the United States, who will go into any jury, I think, with people ill-disposed toward him, which will give the prosecution a tremendous advantage.

WHITFIELD: Right.

TOOBIN: So that...

WHITFIELD: This is what's going to make it so difficult for his defense, because even though this is an entirely different case. And we're talking about one of the more serious charges of first degree kidnapping with an armed weapon. What's going to be difficult -- and his attorneys even said it -- is removing the public opinion already about the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ron Goldman case.

It's almost going to be like trying him all over again, even though these are different circumstances, yes?

TOOBIN: CNN just came out with a poll that said 80 percent of the people believe Simpson was guilty of the murders of Ron Goldman and...

WHITFIELD: Right.

TOOBIN: ...and his ex-wife, that's

Nicole.

That is an enormous national consensus. Eighty percent of Americans don't agree on much of anything. But they certainly agree about this. And that's going to make jury selection a big challenge.

But, you know, it is my experience that jurors, by and large, do follow directions, do listen when the judge says look Michael Jackson jury, don't listen to whatever else you've heard about Michael Jackson, just decide the case on the evidence. And, at least in the Michael Jackson child molestation case, that case came out in Jackson's favor. WHITFIELD: Right.

TOOBIN: So a lot of publicity doesn't always translate into a guilty verdict. But certainly I wouldn't want to be Simpson's lawyers, in any case, given how unpopular he is.

WHITFIELD: And what does this mean or how much more difficult or, perhaps easier, does it make it for his defense team that the initial charges, there were just a handful and it surrounded and was more specific to the attempted armed robbery? And then it expanded to 11 charges as a whole, involving first degree kidnapping, much more serious charges.

Is this the prosecution's attempt at saying let's just throw everything out there and hope that at least something, one thing, sticks and at least we have him on at least one thing or, you know, is this a very desperate attempt on the attempt of the prosecutors to perhaps help taint a jury pool?

TOOBIN: I don't think that's going to matter down the road. I think we need to keep in mind how long this process is going to be. No one will remember , when in this case ultimately goes before a jury, if it does, that the charges evolved in these first few days.

One of the most interesting things we learned today was that Yale Galanter, O.J.'s lead attorney, has a trial elsewhere that's going to occupy him for three months.

WHITFIELD: Right.

TOOBIN: He says he's not even going to file motions in the case until next year, much less get to the point where there will be an actual trial.

So this case is on a slow boat. It would move very quickly -- you had the crime, alleged crime on Thursday. You had the arrest on Sunday. You have O.J. Being released from prison on Wednesday. Things are going to slow down a lot now.

WHITFIELD: All right, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Thanks so much for your time, from New York.

TOOBIN: All right, see you later.

WHITFIELD: OK -- Don.

LEMON: And this just in, another developing story, Fredricka, on the legal front.

Dan Rather, according to the "New York Times" has filed a $70 million lawsuit against the network, CBS, its corporate parent and three of his former superiors. It is over that unsubstantiated report questioning President Bush's Vietnam era National Guard service.

Now, here's what the "New York Times" is reporting. Dan Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on "60 Minutes" after forcing him to step down as an anchor of the CBS Evening News. That happened in March of 2005.

He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a biased and incomplete investigation of the flawed guard broadcast and, in the process, seriously damaged his reputation.

Now, he names as plaintiffs in this CBS; its chief executive, Les Moonves; Viacom and its chief executive, Sumner Redstone; and Andrew Heyward, the former president of CBS News.

Again, Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS.

Coming up tomorrow night on "LARRY KING," none other than Dan Rather will be a guest. That's tomorrow night, Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, a high tech computer chip smaller than a penny that can detect cancer. Details on that straight ahead in "THE NEWSROOM".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's all or nothing in the L.A. murder trial of legendary record producer Phil Spector. The judge says he won't let the deadlocked jury consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. Spector is charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of the actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion in 2003. But jurors say they're still divided after a week of deliberating. Now the judge is considering lawyers' arguments on ways to clarify the existing jury instructions. Jurors say they're split seven to five, but we don't know which way they're leaning.

LEMON: Another court appearance of note today. Lisa Nowak, U.S. Navy captain and former astronaut, she's asking that key evidence be tossed out. Nowak was arrested in February after allegedly driving from Texas to Florida to confront a woman about a love interest they both shared. She's asking a judge to throw out her post-arrest police interview and evidence found in her car. Her lawyer says she didn't consent to the search and wasn't read her rights before questioning.

WHITFIELD: A computer chip could one day make diagnosing cancer as easy as telling time.

Here's CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is something that really fascinates me quite a bit. This is a little chip that I'm holding up here. I'm actually holding it in a pair of tweezers this thing is so small. It's called the ACuRay and it's not something that's going to be widely available quite yet. But researchers have been focusing on this particular chip as a way to detect cancer very, very early.

Again, it's called the ACuRay. You can take at it there. What it is specifically is 140 different electrodes actually bound together by zinc oxide. The theory a simple one -- basically, if you have cancer molecules in your blood and you wash your blood over the sensor, the way that those cancer molecules bind to this

ACuRay gives off a certain resonance, a certain frequency that can be measured. If you have cancer molecules, it's going to sound different than if you don't have cancer molecules in your blood. The whole idea is that you want to detect cancer as early as possible.

Now what does this all mean?

There could be a day when doctors have several different little devices like this in their office and you walk in, you give a drop of blood and they immediately screen to tell if you have any cancer molecules in your bloodstream. It could be used, perhaps, in the future for infectious diseases, as well.

Again, as I mentioned, it's not something we may see in our lifetimes as a general way of practicing, but this whole idea you might be able to find cancer early, earlier than ever before, before it shows up on a C.T. scan or an MRI, when it's just a few still a few molecules in your blood is sort of the holy grail of cancer detection and screening.

Could this be the answer?

Possibly one day. It's something that we're certainly going to keep an eye on -- back to you.

LEMON: All right, Sanjay.

It's time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

WHITFIELD: Yes, in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- what do you have on tap?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": All right, guys, thanks very much.

The Republican presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, has a message for MoveOn.org -- bring it on. He talks about his high profile spat with the liberal anti-war group in an exclusive one-on-one interview with our chief national correspondent, John King. That's coming up.

Also, Reverend Jesse Jackson says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama -- and I'm quoting now -- "is acting like he's white." We'll show you what's behind that controversial comment.

Also, carefree lives in the face of unimaginable suffering. There are some disturbing newly released images of the men and women who ran the Nazi Auschwitz death camp. All that and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you.

LEMON: All right, Wolf, we'll be watching.

Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: That means Susan Lisovicz is standing by...

WHITFIELD: Yes, it does.

LEMON: With a final look at the trading day.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: It's time to turn it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM," of course, and Mr. Wolf Blitzer -- hi, Wolf.

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