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CNN Live Saturday
Gloria Allred Asks California Authorities To Seize Michael Jackson's Children
Aired November 22, 2003 - 14:14 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson's problems have gone from bad to worse, attorney Gloria Allred ask California officials to have Jackson's children taken from him. Allred says that she's justified in that request because of recent allegations and because of what she says is Jackson's past behavior with children. And CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Henderson, Nevada with the latest on this -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you their Catherine? We are in Henderson at the Green Valley Ranch Casino, where we have been here the last couple of days and where we believe Mr. Jackson may have been the last couple of days or may still be here. He may not for here for long though, there are some conflicting reports that Mr. Jackson may meet with his attorney, Mark Geragos, today possibly at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara or possibly here in Las Vegas.
One thing is clear, though, with the Jackson's, seeing their brother handcuffs and his mug shot out there it has stirred something in these people. And they are coming together to support their brother and their son, Michael Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: I feel that when you handcuff my brother, you are handcuffing my whole family. It's not right and it's not -- it's just a big, fat lie. And I think it's a personal vendetta how they handled this from the very beginning. There is no justice. This is a joke. They made it a joke, and they wanted to see him in handcuffs, but I promise you, that they will pay. I am asking and requesting a state and federal investigation of the investigators because this is not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: And the Jackson clan maybe getting some help from their fans. They were out here in force when Mr. Jackson arrived here in Las Vegas a couple days ago. The fan Web site is calling for vigils in the cities like L.A., Phoenix, San Francisco, New York, Paris, London, right here in Las Vegas, we are expecting a vigil tonight between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Pacific time. Back to you.
CALLAWAY: All right, Miguel, thank you very much. And this is just the latest in a long line of legal challenges for the pop star. For a look at what's next in this and another high-profile case with turn to Georgetown University Professor Adam Rosman he is joining us from Washington this morning. Thanks for being with us. ADAM ROSMAN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Hi Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Well, Michael Jackson's problems just continue to grow. Lets start off first with what will happen after Thanksgiving when the charges are formally filed? What are prosecutors doing now and how are they likely to proceed in this case?
ROSMAN: Well we'll certainly know a lot more once the charges are filed. The key for the prosecution in this type of case is to build corroborating evidence. The problem with this type of case is they; generally speaking have the victim's testimony and nothing else. That's a hard case for the prosecutors. They have to find other evidence. Either other testimony's evidence, someone else who saw something or perhaps they found something in the searches of his ranch, a picture, video, something like that to corroborate the child's testimony.
CALLAWAY: Gloria Allred as heard is now saying is asking California officials to have Jackson's children removed. How likely is this to happen?
ROSMAN: Hard to say, because we don't know the nature of her complaint and the California authorities as they should be are being completely silent on it. All we know for sure, the California authorities will as in every case like this, whenever there's an allegation like this, they will look into it. And the standard will be, whether he's fit to be a parent, I imagine the children will stay with him.
CALLAWAY: Will we be see likely other allegations and suggestions coming from some of these well-publicized attorneys in the next few weeks?
ROSMAN: Hard to know. I mean, there's going to be, as you well know, coverage of this every day, every moment. So the media is going to be coming at this from all angles. I think it's going to be hard to keep the 12-year-old's identity a secret for too long, because their will are so many people looking into this.
CALLAWAY: Speaking of high-profile attorney, Mark Geragos is representing Michael Jackson, but he is also representing Scott Peterson. Is it unusual for a defense attorney to be handling such two high-profile cases like this at the same time?
ROSMAN: It's not, particularly because in the Peterson matter, that is entering a quiet phase. Because it was bound over for trial, so there is not much going on right now in the Peterson trial. So Geragos, who's an accomplished attorney, obviously, can handle both at once. And that's the norm, and he has plenty of able associates who can do the groundwork for him. It is not like he is going to be out pounding the pavement.
CALLAWAY: It is not just he, right? He's got lots of help.
ROSMAN: No, exactly, he has a whole legal time. CALLAWAY: We're running out of time, Adam. But I did want to touch on the music producer Phil Spector's case, now he is charged with murder, charged on Thursday. Preliminary hearing set January 23rd. He waived his right to a speedy trial. Is this unusual?
ROSMAN: It is not that unusual. Because it actually -- especially when someone is out on bail, when someone is being held before trial they want the trial to go forward as quickly as possible. But because he's out, he wants to give defense lawyers a chance to investigate the case themselves and help build his defense. So I think that was probably a smart move on his part. The key is whether the government is going to be able to come out with a first-degree charge against him or a second-degree? It's likely to be a second-degree murder charge.
CALLAWAY: All right, Adam thank you very much. Lots of high- profile cases to keep you busy.
ROSMAN: Good to be here.
CALLAWAY: Thanks Adam Rosman. 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
Jackson's Children>
Aired November 22, 2003 - 14:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson's problems have gone from bad to worse, attorney Gloria Allred ask California officials to have Jackson's children taken from him. Allred says that she's justified in that request because of recent allegations and because of what she says is Jackson's past behavior with children. And CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Henderson, Nevada with the latest on this -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you their Catherine? We are in Henderson at the Green Valley Ranch Casino, where we have been here the last couple of days and where we believe Mr. Jackson may have been the last couple of days or may still be here. He may not for here for long though, there are some conflicting reports that Mr. Jackson may meet with his attorney, Mark Geragos, today possibly at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara or possibly here in Las Vegas.
One thing is clear, though, with the Jackson's, seeing their brother handcuffs and his mug shot out there it has stirred something in these people. And they are coming together to support their brother and their son, Michael Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: I feel that when you handcuff my brother, you are handcuffing my whole family. It's not right and it's not -- it's just a big, fat lie. And I think it's a personal vendetta how they handled this from the very beginning. There is no justice. This is a joke. They made it a joke, and they wanted to see him in handcuffs, but I promise you, that they will pay. I am asking and requesting a state and federal investigation of the investigators because this is not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: And the Jackson clan maybe getting some help from their fans. They were out here in force when Mr. Jackson arrived here in Las Vegas a couple days ago. The fan Web site is calling for vigils in the cities like L.A., Phoenix, San Francisco, New York, Paris, London, right here in Las Vegas, we are expecting a vigil tonight between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Pacific time. Back to you.
CALLAWAY: All right, Miguel, thank you very much. And this is just the latest in a long line of legal challenges for the pop star. For a look at what's next in this and another high-profile case with turn to Georgetown University Professor Adam Rosman he is joining us from Washington this morning. Thanks for being with us. ADAM ROSMAN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Hi Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Well, Michael Jackson's problems just continue to grow. Lets start off first with what will happen after Thanksgiving when the charges are formally filed? What are prosecutors doing now and how are they likely to proceed in this case?
ROSMAN: Well we'll certainly know a lot more once the charges are filed. The key for the prosecution in this type of case is to build corroborating evidence. The problem with this type of case is they; generally speaking have the victim's testimony and nothing else. That's a hard case for the prosecutors. They have to find other evidence. Either other testimony's evidence, someone else who saw something or perhaps they found something in the searches of his ranch, a picture, video, something like that to corroborate the child's testimony.
CALLAWAY: Gloria Allred as heard is now saying is asking California officials to have Jackson's children removed. How likely is this to happen?
ROSMAN: Hard to say, because we don't know the nature of her complaint and the California authorities as they should be are being completely silent on it. All we know for sure, the California authorities will as in every case like this, whenever there's an allegation like this, they will look into it. And the standard will be, whether he's fit to be a parent, I imagine the children will stay with him.
CALLAWAY: Will we be see likely other allegations and suggestions coming from some of these well-publicized attorneys in the next few weeks?
ROSMAN: Hard to know. I mean, there's going to be, as you well know, coverage of this every day, every moment. So the media is going to be coming at this from all angles. I think it's going to be hard to keep the 12-year-old's identity a secret for too long, because their will are so many people looking into this.
CALLAWAY: Speaking of high-profile attorney, Mark Geragos is representing Michael Jackson, but he is also representing Scott Peterson. Is it unusual for a defense attorney to be handling such two high-profile cases like this at the same time?
ROSMAN: It's not, particularly because in the Peterson matter, that is entering a quiet phase. Because it was bound over for trial, so there is not much going on right now in the Peterson trial. So Geragos, who's an accomplished attorney, obviously, can handle both at once. And that's the norm, and he has plenty of able associates who can do the groundwork for him. It is not like he is going to be out pounding the pavement.
CALLAWAY: It is not just he, right? He's got lots of help.
ROSMAN: No, exactly, he has a whole legal time. CALLAWAY: We're running out of time, Adam. But I did want to touch on the music producer Phil Spector's case, now he is charged with murder, charged on Thursday. Preliminary hearing set January 23rd. He waived his right to a speedy trial. Is this unusual?
ROSMAN: It is not that unusual. Because it actually -- especially when someone is out on bail, when someone is being held before trial they want the trial to go forward as quickly as possible. But because he's out, he wants to give defense lawyers a chance to investigate the case themselves and help build his defense. So I think that was probably a smart move on his part. The key is whether the government is going to be able to come out with a first-degree charge against him or a second-degree? It's likely to be a second-degree murder charge.
CALLAWAY: All right, Adam thank you very much. Lots of high- profile cases to keep you busy.
ROSMAN: Good to be here.
CALLAWAY: Thanks Adam Rosman. 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
Jackson's Children>
