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CNN Live Saturday
Kansas State Quarterback Acussed Of Sexual Assault
Aired January 03, 2004 - 14:32 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.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Roberson case tops our look at high-profile legal cases this month. Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey is in Miami to put some perspective on all of these cases. Good to see you, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Hey good afternoon.
WHITFIELD: All right the Ell Roberson case, Kansas State did their own investigation. They felt like they weren't able to solve the case, so to speak. So they allowed him to start in the game last night in the Fiesta Bowl. Fair game?
COFFEY: Well, presumed innocent until proven guilty. But meanwhile, what the authorities are looking at is whether the alleged victim, the accuser, has basically a credible set of allegations.
And lets face it, as we've learned from watching the Kobe Bryant case, you don't need much more than the single accusing witness to make a criminal charge in a case such as rape. So too early to tell what's going to happen here, but certainly, there has got to be a lot of concern in the life of Roberson right now.
WHITFIELD: And the investigation is ongoing. However, he's still allowed to play, you know, or he was able to play in that game. It's unclear just how the University as a whole may treat the rest of its school year as well.
COFFEY: Well, it's very hard for a University to really second guess what the authorities are doing or even do anything until the authorities have acted. And let's face it, Kobe Bryant is playing his NBA season.
So it certainly is premature to impose anything on Roberson, but we'll be watching. Because a charging decision in this kind of case can happen within a matter of days or weeks.
WHITFIELD: All right, another high-profile case, all eyes are on the Scott Peterson case out in Modesto. Prosecutors say that they shouldn't be granted a change of venue, because it's the defense team, including the attorney who have only further publicized this case?
COFFEY: Well, and they are also arguing sort of like the judge pointed out in the case of the American Taliban John Walker Lindh. You'd have to be on the planet Pluto not to have heard of this case.
They're saying, sure, there is a lot of publicity, a lot of opinions all around Modesto, but there are opinions everywhere in the country, everywhere in California, and the prosecution focuses that the defense has not demonstrated that there is another county which would be that much more unbiased, that much more fair about a trial for Scott Peterson.
WHITFIELD: All right, the case of Marjorie Knoller? She was given a four-month sentence, after her dogs killed Dianne Whipple in the San Francisco area. She served out 14 months of her sentence and now on probation. Should her new neighbors be informed about her presence, given that there are some restrictions on her living conditions?
COFFEY: Well, it certainly would be fair to do so. One of the restrictions, is she's not supposed to be living with her husband, who is also apparently a felon. She is also not allowed to be back in the area where the crime took place and can't own any dogs.
Meanwhile, it's up in the air, because, remember, the judge had thrown out the second-degree murder conviction. That's still on appeal. So conceivably, maybe not likely but conceivably, that conviction could be reinstated, and she could be returning to prison if she loses that part of the appeal.
WHITFIELD: The Martha Stewart case. She is expected to be in court later on this month. The potential jury poll is already starting to receive some of the questionnaires. What are some of the questions that they're being asked?
COFFEY: Well, they're going to be asked the basic stuff. Mostly focusing on how much have they heard about the case? And what indications are that they might have some kind of predispositions. Again we are going to be seeing a matter where everybody has heard of Martha Stewart and one of the key things to look for in jury selection is going to be the gender makeup of the jury.
Lets face it, if you're the prosecution; you want a lot of grouchy, middle-aged guys. If you are on the defense side, you would love to have a jury filled with women who have been victimized or experienced firsthand a very male dominated business world that can sometimes be unfair.
Jury selection is going to be key in this case, because it's very close in terms of the strength of the prosecution evidence versus the strength of the defense.
WHITFIELD: Kendall Coffey thanks very much.
COFFEY: Thanks for including me.
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 January 3, 2004 - 14:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Roberson case tops our look at high-profile legal cases this month. Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey is in Miami to put some perspective on all of these cases. Good to see you, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Hey good afternoon.
WHITFIELD: All right the Ell Roberson case, Kansas State did their own investigation. They felt like they weren't able to solve the case, so to speak. So they allowed him to start in the game last night in the Fiesta Bowl. Fair game?
COFFEY: Well, presumed innocent until proven guilty. But meanwhile, what the authorities are looking at is whether the alleged victim, the accuser, has basically a credible set of allegations.
And lets face it, as we've learned from watching the Kobe Bryant case, you don't need much more than the single accusing witness to make a criminal charge in a case such as rape. So too early to tell what's going to happen here, but certainly, there has got to be a lot of concern in the life of Roberson right now.
WHITFIELD: And the investigation is ongoing. However, he's still allowed to play, you know, or he was able to play in that game. It's unclear just how the University as a whole may treat the rest of its school year as well.
COFFEY: Well, it's very hard for a University to really second guess what the authorities are doing or even do anything until the authorities have acted. And let's face it, Kobe Bryant is playing his NBA season.
So it certainly is premature to impose anything on Roberson, but we'll be watching. Because a charging decision in this kind of case can happen within a matter of days or weeks.
WHITFIELD: All right, another high-profile case, all eyes are on the Scott Peterson case out in Modesto. Prosecutors say that they shouldn't be granted a change of venue, because it's the defense team, including the attorney who have only further publicized this case?
COFFEY: Well, and they are also arguing sort of like the judge pointed out in the case of the American Taliban John Walker Lindh. You'd have to be on the planet Pluto not to have heard of this case.
They're saying, sure, there is a lot of publicity, a lot of opinions all around Modesto, but there are opinions everywhere in the country, everywhere in California, and the prosecution focuses that the defense has not demonstrated that there is another county which would be that much more unbiased, that much more fair about a trial for Scott Peterson.
WHITFIELD: All right, the case of Marjorie Knoller? She was given a four-month sentence, after her dogs killed Dianne Whipple in the San Francisco area. She served out 14 months of her sentence and now on probation. Should her new neighbors be informed about her presence, given that there are some restrictions on her living conditions?
COFFEY: Well, it certainly would be fair to do so. One of the restrictions, is she's not supposed to be living with her husband, who is also apparently a felon. She is also not allowed to be back in the area where the crime took place and can't own any dogs.
Meanwhile, it's up in the air, because, remember, the judge had thrown out the second-degree murder conviction. That's still on appeal. So conceivably, maybe not likely but conceivably, that conviction could be reinstated, and she could be returning to prison if she loses that part of the appeal.
WHITFIELD: The Martha Stewart case. She is expected to be in court later on this month. The potential jury poll is already starting to receive some of the questionnaires. What are some of the questions that they're being asked?
COFFEY: Well, they're going to be asked the basic stuff. Mostly focusing on how much have they heard about the case? And what indications are that they might have some kind of predispositions. Again we are going to be seeing a matter where everybody has heard of Martha Stewart and one of the key things to look for in jury selection is going to be the gender makeup of the jury.
Lets face it, if you're the prosecution; you want a lot of grouchy, middle-aged guys. If you are on the defense side, you would love to have a jury filled with women who have been victimized or experienced firsthand a very male dominated business world that can sometimes be unfair.
Jury selection is going to be key in this case, because it's very close in terms of the strength of the prosecution evidence versus the strength of the defense.
WHITFIELD: Kendall Coffey thanks very much.
COFFEY: Thanks for including me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
