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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Lindsay Lohan Taken to Jail
Aired July 20, 2010 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight Lindsay Lohan locked up. The Hollywood diva was cuffed, stuffed and led to jail. We`ll go inside her circus surrender in a sea of glitter, paparazzi and police.
Lindsay was late for court yet again. So why did the judge shut off the cameras just before she was handcuffed? Tonight we`re asking the big questions. How long will LiLo be in the clinker, and can she pop her prescription pills behind bars?
Plus, turning the tables on George Anthony. Head-spinning reports say Casey Anthony`s defense teams is now investigating her own father, even looking into his suicide attempt. Is Casey Anthony trying to blame her own dad for little Caylee`s death? Is this the ultimate betrayal?
Also, a beautiful teenager vanishes while walking home from school in sunny Southern California. This 17-year-old girl took a shortcut and never returned. What happened to Norma Lopez? Tonight we`ll talk to her frantic, devastated family.
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, chaos in Los Angeles. Lindsay Lohan is finally behind bars as we speak right now. The troubled starlet showed up to court late. She was handcuffed and carted away to jail. But tonight there is new outrage. We just heard this. Could Lindsay serve just 13 to 15 days of her 90-day sentence? That`s what a sheriff`s spokesperson is saying to us.
Lindsay now has a third mug shot to add to her budding collection. Here she is, clad in the classic orange, and she`s smirking. Unbelievable. Is Lindsay still not taking this seriously?
LiLo arrived to court surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi, and she was ten minutes late. Lindsay rolled her eyes and sighed as the judge explained that she is not to be let out on house arrest or anything of the sort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE MARSHA REVEL, L.A. COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: At this time she`ll be remanded to serve her sentence, and the court is going to order that there be no house arrest, no electronic monitoring, no work release, and no work furlough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that was the last we saw of La Lohan. The cameras were ordered cut moments before Lindsay, wearing a shirt that exposed most of her back and a tight corset, was handcuffed. All we have are these sketches. Why is that? Why? Will this be the defining moment that changes Lindsay Lohan`s life? Will it be what she needs to get sober, or will she continue to be able to pop her prescription pills in the slammer?
Cameras and paparazzi followed LiLo, LiLo, LiLo on a wild chase to the courthouse, where she was repped by her original attorney, Shawn Chapmane Holley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAWN CHAPMANE HOLLEY, LINDSAY LOHAN`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think Lindsay is a talented young woman, and I -- I appreciate very much the fact that she`s accepting responsibility and stepping up to the plate and is doing what`s been asked of her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The sheriff`s office says Lindsay was cooperative as she was being booked. Is this a huge reality check, or is she still in denial? I want to hear from you at home: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877- 586-7297.
Lindsay`s dad Michael also showed up and yelled out, "We love you, Lindsay," as the starlet was taken away. Michael`s attorney, Lisa Bloom -- you see her there walking into court -- she was right there with him. And she joins us right now.
Lisa, you walked in with Michael. Tell us what went down after the judge ordered the cameras turned off in court.
LISA BLOOM, MICHAEL LOHAN`S ATTORNEY: Jane, Lindsay was cuffed, and she was taken out of the courtroom. As you say, Michael said to her, "We love you, Lindsay." Because she was cuffed and restrained by a couple of deputies she was not able to turn around. And then she was taken out of the courthouse. And Shawn Chapmane Holley, her attorney, followed her, and that`s the last that we saw of Lindsay, at least for now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Lindsay showed up ten minutes late approximately. Totally, really, spitting in the judge`s face, let`s face it. But the judge did not reprimand her. Why not?
Recently, Lindsay missed a court date while she was yacht-hopping in Cannes. She also violated probation by missing more than half a dozen alcohol education classes, and her SCRAM bracelet went off. And yet she insisted she respected the judge. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I know that I was ordered to go once a week, and I wasn`t -- you know, I wasn`t missing the classes just to hang out and do anything like that. I was working mostly. In Morocco I was working with children. It wasn`t a vacation. It wasn`t some sort of a joke. And I respect you and have been taking it seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. As she was saying that, she had "F-U" written on her fingernails.
Mike Brooks, she was late on this crucial date. The judge said nothing. Isn`t that special treatment?
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I`d say so. Working with children, what does she think, she`s Mother Theresa? No, I don`t think so, Jane. She just basically went like this to the judge, to the whole criminal justice system, because, you know, if she really was taking this seriously, she would have showed up on time. And going back, she would have showed up for the court hearing. But, "Oh, no, I lost my passport."
And the judge didn`t even ask her, Jane, did you lose anything else? What else was stolen? That was never even brought up. So, no, Lindsay, I don`t think so. I don`t think she`s taking it seriously yet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And now we are hearing this breaking news that she will likely serve only 13 to 15 days of a 90-day sentence. Now, that`s only 15 percent of her sentence. Typically inmates serve 25 percent of their sentence. I`m outraged about this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s ridiculous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think it`s absolutely ridiculous. You know, Dylan Howard, senior executive of RadarOnline.com, you cover so much of this celebrity stuff. No matter what, they still get special treatments. And I don`t know who`s on the phone there, but whoever it is, please hang up and be quiet. Dylan Howard.
DYLAN HOWARD, SENIOR EXECUTIVE, RADARONLINE.COM: It`s not me, Jane. But what I can tell you is that they have confirmed that she will serve somewhere between 13 and 15 days.
And while it may raise the question as to whether Lindsay Lohan is getting special treatment, the bottom line is the California prison system at the moment can`t cope with overcrowding. So that`s the reason she`s only serving 13 to 15 days.
The big question, though, Jane, is whether or not that term is going to be enough to change her pattern of behavior and her responsibility. And I think that is the big question.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I have to get back to this 13 to 15 days, because it rubs me the wrong way. Stacey Kaiser.
BLOOM: Jane, it`s not special treatment.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Tell me why, Lisa Bloom.
BLOOM: It`s not. Because the jails are overcrowded, and there`s a consent order in effect that they can only house so many people. When they reach or surpass that number, as they have for many years, the nonviolent misdemeanor offenders get out first, and they get out based on the overcrowding at the time they go in.
Lindsay and everybody like her who goes in today is going to get out in 13 to 15 days. It`s not because she`s a celebrity. It`s because we throw way too many people in jail for nonviolent offenses in this country.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, I don`t think this is, first of all, a nonviolent offense.
BROOKS: Exactly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve all heard about the high-speed chase down Pacific Coast Highway. Two people are suing her, because they say they were trapped in an SUV. They begged her to stop. They say they felt their lives were in danger. She said, "I`m a celebrity. I can do anything I want."
BROOKS: She ran one of them over. Yes, OK.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She raced -- she raced -- raced somebody into the Santa Monica Police Station, which is where she was caught. Any number of people could have died...
BLOOM: But then they need to build more jails, because we just don`t have space for everyone, because we incarcerate so many people. If you believe and the citizens believe that Lindsay Lohan should spend more time in jail, then we have to raise our taxes to build more jails.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say this. Jim Moret, you`ve covered so many of these criminal cases. I think if a poor defendant who was a nobody had done the exact same thing on PCH, I think they would have been changed with carjacking. I think they would have been charged with using a vehicle as a weapon. I think they would have been sent to the clinker for possibly decades.
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Well, but that`s a separate issue from what she`s in jail now for, which is a probation violation.
And I agree with Lisa. Look, she is deemed a nonviolent offender, and there is overcrowding in the jails here. That`s just a fact. Now, Lindsay Lohan is being treated differently because she`s a celebrity in this way. She`s being basically held in solitary confinement. Not because it`s better treatment, but because she would be a target in the general community.
I think that 15 days will be a wake-up call for her. And I also believe, and I believe very strongly, that she needs treatment. I would have been happy if the judge said go in for treatment for 90 days starting tomorrow. She didn`t. She said, "Go in first to jail." Maybe she needs 180 days of treatment.
BLOOM: That`s because Jim Moret has a big heart.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well...
MORET: Thank you, Lisa.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... I have a big heart, too. But when rehab doesn`t work three times, there`s no reason why it will work No. 4.
BROOKS: And when you thumb your nose at the criminal justice system...
MORET: That`s not a fair statement, Jane. Sometimes rehab doesn`t work four or five times. That doesn`t mean the person can`t be redeemed, and you know that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The first thing it has to be is a willingness to change. Do you see a willingness for her to change, Jim Moret?
BROOKS: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean, do you see her willing to change?
MORET: Today I think I saw -- yes, saw a resigned person knowing the end is here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, I`m not always right. I could be wrong.
BROOKS: Or was that more of the Lindsay attitude?
BLOOM: Yes. She seemed resolute today, and she seemed to accept her fate in that courtroom.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I disagree. I disagree as well.
Let me see the panel! Sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jane, I disagree that she looked like she was ready to accept her fate. I saw that eye rolling. I don`t think it`s...
BROOKS: The Lindsay attitude.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think that it has sunk in yet. I still think she was expecting a trap door to open and somehow she was going to escape.
However, I do think that, as we speak, as she is being evaluated there and she`s in that orange jump suit and she`s led into her prison cell, and it really -- she realizes that she`s alone without her cigarettes, her phone, her parents, her enablers, I think it is going to sink in. And we know she`s not going to have any visitors until Saturday. For Lindsay, who hates to be alone...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my God! No visitors until Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Solitary confinement is very hard for anyone.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Look, I`m not necessarily right. I`m just raising these issues. We`re going to have a lot more. And on the other side the break, Jennifer Gimenez, who is the former house manager of VH1 "Sober House," will weigh in. Because we`re going to talk about the pills. Will she be able to bring her pills.
And we are taking your calls on this. They`re lining up. Hang in there, Paul, Utah. We`re going to get to you.
Plus who is Casey Anthony`s defense team trying to blame for Caylee`s death? It will shock you.
But first, Lindsay Lohan behind bars. What will the starlet`s life be like after the paparazzi turn off their cameras?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REVEL: At this time she`ll be remanded to serve her sentence, and the court is going to order that there be no house arrest, no electronic monitoring, no work release, and no work furlough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLLEY: Good morning. Lindsay is complying with Judge Revel`s orders. She`s completed the alcohol program. She`s gone into custody. She asks for your prayers and support. And she`s stepped up. She`s accepted responsibility. That`s really all I have to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lindsay Lohan behind bars as we speak tonight. Shocking new reports LiLo may only serve 13 to 15 days of her 90-day sentence. Are you as outraged over that as I am? Is justice being served? Lindsay smirked her mug shot and posted a tongue-in-cheek tweak. Just before she turned herself in, she tweeted, "The only bookings that I`m familiar with are Disney films. Never thought I`d be `booking` into jail. Eeks."
What? She hasn`t been in a Disney flick for years. So I mean, gosh, she`s in this new film that -- I think it`s called "Machete" or something? And she`s -- whatever.
Paul, Utah, your question or thought. Hey, Paul, are you there?
All right. I got to ask Bonnie Fuller, what do you make of that tweet?
BONNIE FULLER, EDITOR IN CHIEF, HOLLYWOODLIFE.COM: What I make of that tweet is that she`s still in total denial. She`s trying to joke about it. But it`s not a funny thing. And I think she`s going to quickly realize that when he actually gets into her cell and realizes that she will not see or touch anybody.
I know that 13 to 15 days doesn`t sound like a lot to us, but to Lindsay, we happen to know at Hollywood Life -- we`ve covered her. She hates to be alone. She has to have people sleeping in the same room. And I don`t mean that in a sexual way. I just mean for companionship. She`s terrified. And so this is going to be a very difficult experience for her.
When people are finally allowed to visit her on Saturday, they have to wait in line for four hours. There will be a glass partition between them. She will have to talk to them by phone. That is -- that is going to be shocking for her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cry me a river. OK.
I have another big issue tonight. Pills in prison. Is Lindsay Lohan going to be allowed to keep taking a slew of mood-altering prescription medications while she`s behind bars? Her dad Michael says those pills are the very problem that she`s got.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL LOHAN, LINDSAY`S FATHER: Every time Lindsay went to a rehab, they put her on more and more prescription drugs. She`s got a major problem with prescription drugs now. And we know that, when you mix it with alcohol and other illicit drugs or illegal drugs, you have a toxic combination there. And you don`t know when your last day will be or when you mix the wrong combination of things that it might be fatal or lethal, and I`m not going to let that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: According to her probation report, Lindsay tested positive for and was allowed to take amphetamines and opiates, including the very intense pain killer Dilaudid, which has been compared to heroin. She`s OK to take antidepressants and stimulants under the guise that they`re medically necessary. Her dad tells "Extra" there`s no way Lindsay will get sober in prison if she`s allowed to take these pills.
Jennifer Gimenez, former house manager of VH-1`s "Sober House," of course he`s right. How can you get sober when you`re high?
JENNIFER GIMENEZ, FORMER HOUSE MANAGER, VH-1`S "SOBER HOUSE": Yes. No, I mean, there`s no way you can get sober when you`re high. The thing is, is that Lindsay has obviously abused her medication over and over again. They may give her the prescribed medication in her doses that`s prescribed, but otherwise, the girl is going to be kicking. Plus, she`s going to be kicking nicotine and media and everything. I mean, cell phones. Everything that she suffers addiction from.
I mean, it various on many levels, but I definitely would not want to be her in any way, shape or form. And she`s still not -- like, she`s still making everything a joke, you know. This girl needs a miracle.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me get to -- I want to stick with the pills here. Stacey Kaiser, psychotherapist, Jennifer Gimenez raises such a good point. She says, you know, she can`t just go completely cold tofurkey on these pills, because if she does, she`s going to go into seizures and withdrawals. But by the same token, if she keeps taking all these prescription meds for so-called medical reasons. And we know how that works in Hollywood. She`s not going to get sober. So it`s like, what`s going on here?
STACEY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I mean, I agree with her 100 percent. And I think part of the problem is we have a combination of an overindulged girl, a celebrity who has gotten way too much attention for her drama, and the drugs and alcohol. And so part of what I was hoping would happen while she was in jail is that we`d be able to sort some of this out, because she`d get off of this stuff.
So yes, she may have withdrawals. She may need to be hospitalized while she`s in jail because of that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course. Of course. And Lisa Bloom, isn`t that what always happens with celebrities? They get sick and then they have to go to a hospital, so that`s why they can`t stay in jail? Isn`t that what happened with Paris Hilton?
BLOOM: Yes. And the reason why I agreed to represent Michael Lohan is on this very issue, Jane. And we sent a letter to the court a couple of weeks ago saying we have to get real about prescription drug abuse. We can`t exclude it, for example, from Lindsay`s drug testing. We asked that the judge include her prescription meds. We asked that they be excluded when she go to jail and when she goes to rehab.
Prescription drug abuse is the No. 2 most prevalent kind of drug abuse in this country, only after marijuana. And if we close our eyes to it with Lindsay and everybody else and say, "Well, a doctor prescribed it, so it must be OK, we`re ignoring a major problem in this country."
So the courts have to get serious about prescription drug abuse, especially in drug cases like this one.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course. And it sounds like they don`t know anything about addiction. Unfortunately, I have the dubious honor of being an expert, because I did get sober 15 years ago, but I know what it`s like to have an uncontrollable craving. In my case, it was alcohol. And there`s no way, if she`s popping these mood-altering meds, that she`s going to be able to get sober, because she`s high.
Jim Moret, why do -- why do the courts not understand that?
MORET: Look, I don`t -- you know, Michael Lohan has been screaming for months about his daughter`s problems, and people are not believing him or discounting him in some way. That probation report supported everything he said, and that SCRAM bracelet was testing for alcohol. That is apparently not what her problem is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s unbelievable.
KAISER (?): Does anyone not realize...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re just getting started.
Also, the war on women continues, sadly. A beautiful 17-year-old girl disappears after taking a shortcut home. We`re going to check this case out in a little bit.
But first more on Lindsay Lohan`s life behind bars. We are taking your calls.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANETTE MEYERS, PROSECUTOR: The message to the public is don`t drink and drive. It`s a serious offense. We don`t take it seriously enough. Someone can get killed as a result of it, and hopefully it`s has opened a number of eyes, in terms of the public, of the severity of the offense. And if you do drink and drive and are, in fact, punished for it, you should complete your programs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lindsay Lohan behind bars but how long will she serve? The sheriff`s department Web site says she`s only expected to serve 13 to 15 days, which is approximately 15 -- 1-5 -- percent of her sentence.
Paul, Utah, your question or thought, sir? Paul, are you there, my friend?
All right. We`re going to go to John in California.
CALLER: All right. Just like to say I love your show, real quick.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
CALLER: And about Lindsay Lohan, I`ve actually been to Twin Towers where she`s at. Not as a guest but on the wrong side of the wall. I was going to say that I haven`t heard about -- she`s going to be inside the walls, and it`s still jail and all. But I think about all the connections she`s going to make inside for addicts. If you`re an addict and you go to jail, you just meet up with more addicts and more connections, just like you do...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, she`s going to be in -- she`s going to be in isolation.
CALLER: There`s still ways to talk. There`s still ways to communicate, get notes by. You can even put little pills and stuff on notes and slide them under the doors. There`s still ways to talk to anybody, even if they`re in PC, doesn`t matter.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Dylan Howard, senior executive editor of Radar Online, we`ve watched together many Hollywood tragedies. This is not yet a tragedy. This is a scandal and a big story. But tragedies are, of course, when people die. And she could become a tragic figure if she doesn`t watch it. That`s why we`re so concerned, and we want to practice some tough love here.
HOWARD: Yes, most certainly. It`s disappointing the way her career has gone in a downward trajectory.
But that said, the big question is whether or not she`s going to be able to recover from this. And I think she has the potential to, yes. I think her career -- she`s enormously talented. But the big question mark hanging over when she comes out of this is whether or not the excuses will remain.
And I think for as long as she`s using those prescription meds, that those excuses will continue to be there. And that, while they remain, her career is not going to recover, and people aren`t going to want to pick her up for major projects.
Now, she -- when she jumps outs of the orange jump suit she`s on a one-way ticket to rehab. And that right there could be the one thing that saves her career.
But let`s not also forget, Jane, that as a result of this, Lindsay Lohan`s star is going to reach a new ascent. She`s going to be known from everyone for the next 14 to 15 days, and everyone is going to be watching when she comes out of jail. It`s going to be fascinating to see what happen.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, she could get, according to some reports, a million dollars to tell her story to a media outlet when she gets out. Is she going to be rewarded for her bad behavior?
BROOKS: Sure, she will be.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What a shame that would be. But it could happen. It`s Hollywood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Turning the tables on George Anthony. Head-spinning new reports say Casey Anthony`s defense team is now investigating her own father, even looking into his suicide attempt. Is Casey Anthony trying to blame her own dad for little Caylee`s death? Is this the ultimate betrayal?
Also, a beautiful teenager vanishes while walking home from school in sunny southern California. This 17-year-old girl took a shortcut and never returned. What happened to Norma Lopez? Tonight we`ll talk to her frantic, devastated family.
Breaking news: Lindsay Lohan in jail tonight, as we speak and we are now asking how long might she stay in jail. This is the subject of new outrage tonight. Will she get out in 13 to 15 days? Will she get sober in the clinker?
Her dad Michael Lohan was in court today and he tells "Extra" there`s no way Lindsay will sober up behind bars unless they take away the prescription pill cocktail she`s been abusing. She`s been prescribed several powerful drugs including antidepressants and stimulants. One intense painkiller she`s been taking has even been compared to heroin -- heroin. That`s right, heroin.
Why does she get to argue that she medically needs these pills? Lisa Bloom, I heard she had a wisdom tooth pulled. I`ve had a wisdom tooth pulled too. You probably have, too.
LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL LOHAN: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You might need a painkiller for a day. You don`t need to take Dilaudid which has been compared to heroin and morphine for weeks on end. What`s going on here?
BLOOM: When I saw the probation report that she was taking Dilaudid I contacted a couple of dentists and they expressed shock that a dentist would prescribe that even for extreme dental pain. You start with ibuprofen, Advil, you work your way up maybe to Vicodin or Percocet if it`s an extreme kind of pain. But Dilaudid they all said no, absolutely not.
And you know what they said and this is eerie, Jane. They said this is something people take to anesthetize themselves for surgery. What does that remind you of? Propofol, Michael Jackson.
I mean there just no justification for her to take Dilaudid the day after surgery, a week after surgery, a month after surgery. It`s ridiculous.
This is the giant legal loophole that I wrote to the court about on behalf of Michael Lohan. We have to close it in this case and we have to close it in all cases.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I just don`t understand why the court is not listening. It seems crazy to me, Mike Brooks.
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: It does. You know, she`s going to go through a medical examination when she goes into jail. She`s probably already has had that. They`re going to ask her what kind of things you are talking.
But you know what -- same Hollywood story we hear over and over again, Jane. If you have money, you have a doctor that will write you a script, plain and simple.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course, that`s Hollywood.
BLOOM: Those doctors should be investigated.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But the court is co-signing their nonsense. So it`s like the emperor`s new clothes. We`re going through this whole charade. The bottom line is -- and you know this Jennifer Gimenez from "Sober House", half measures avail us nothing. That`s what they say in recovery. Half measures.
There`s no such -- one drink is not enough. A thousand is not enough and one drink is too many. We cannot take half measures. If we`re going to get sober, that means no mood-altering substances period whatsoever. Correct?
JENNIFER GIMENEZ, FORMER HOUSE MANAGER "SOBER HOUSE": Correct. I agree with you 100 percent. You know, the one thing here is like this girl is seconds and inches away from dying. Like, this human being is going to die if she doesn`t get it together.
And the bottom line, jails, institutions, she`s done both of them. The next one is death. There`s this thing called -- I hope she reads if when she does have time to read in there. I hope she reads the first 164 pages of this really great book that I read that has saved my life. You know?
I mean we`re still like --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is it the big book?
GIMENEZ: Yes, the big book about -- yes. The big book. And it saved my life. And you know, working -- being in recovery is the only thing that`s going to help her.
When she goes -- she can be in jail and she can still be on her drugs and then she gets out and she goes to another facility and will keep pill- seeking or drug-seeking or alcohol-seeking. It doesn`t matter. But this girl is going to die.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jane, Michigan, your question or thought, ma`am.
JANE, MICHIGAN: Hi, I love your show.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
JANE: You`re welcome. I got convicted of a DUI years ago and it was in Monroe, Michigan. They sentenced me to a year-probation, three times a week AA programs and then 90-day outpatient program.
I got caught drinking again. They sent me to jail for 90 days. I had to spend 78 days in jail. There was no early release. We had girls sleeping on the floor because we were so overcrowded there wasn`t enough beds.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`re proving my point exactly.
BLOOM: It`s a different state, though. Different court orders in effect in Michigan versus Los Angeles.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what? I mean, look -- look. Here`s my big issue. There`s a double standard here. Why, for example, were those cameras turned off when Lindsay was handcuffed? Why was she given the luxury of that privacy? Plenty of people are videotaped -- Americans of all sorts -- usually poor usually not famous. They are perp-walked all over the place. We see them and we`re seeing them right there. Why wasn`t Lindsay treated like everybody else?
(CROSS TALKING)
GIMENEZ: Let`s see what happens.
BROOK: They took the blue tarp over the sally port so you couldn`t see her either.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on. One at a time. Hold on. If you guys keep talking I`m going to have to bring out the big gavel. Wait a second, you have to see it here. Somebody sent me this.
BLOOM: Not the big gavel.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The big gavel. It`s a lot bigger than the other one.
BLOOM: It doesn`t reach all the way to Los Angeles, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Mike Brooks, make your point if you would.
BROOKS: I`m right with you on this, Jane. When they pulled into the central facility, they opened the gate, she drove in, they closed the gate. Then as she drove into the far left sallyport. I saw the helicopter. You saw the blue tarp. Just so no one could even catch a glimpse of her as a perp walk.
So did she receive special treatment? If it were you or I would that blue tarp be up there? Absolutely not.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jim Moret when we covered the Michael Jackson case together and we stood side by side, you remember when Michael Jackson showed up late they said they were going to issue an arrest warrant. They did issue an arrest warrant for him.
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": But I do -- I take issue with you. I think the judge showed compassion and class today to turn those cameras off. This is a young girl who would be haunted by that for the rest of her life. She wants to punish her in the proper way. She doesn`t want to give her a life sentence with that photo that would never go away.
She is a public figure. Let`s just face it. And she`s not getting treated any differently than you or I would in California if we`re a nonviolent offender.
BLOOM: You know what else is different about Lindsay, why the judge is mad at the press? Because the last time around the camera zoomed in on her private notes at counsel table. And I think as a result of that, the judge does not trust the press to do what it`s supposed to do in the courtroom.
She has control over that courtroom and she made that decision I think as a result of Lindsay`s notes being exposed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I just want to say thank you fabulous panel and I want to add one thing. I`m very concerned that she`s given 24 hours after she leaves jail to check into rehab. As a recovering alcoholic myself I know 24 hours is a heck of a lot of time to get into some serious trouble and she should be watched during that 24-hour time period. I really hope that.
BROOKS: And the ankle bracelet put back on before she steps out of that prison.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you. Yes.
BROOKS: Of that jail, I should say. Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Thank you fantastic panel for your great insights.
We`re going to switch to another wild and crazy story right this second.
We`re talking bizarre -- and I mean bizarre developments in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Casey`s defense team spending thousands of dollars investigating -- are you sitting down -- Casey`s own father. That`s right, George; in particular George Anthony`s 2009 suicide attempt.
Local affiliate WSTV reports the defense is gunning for George Anthony. Could they turn the tables on him and try to connect him to his granddaughter`s death?
Adorable little Caylee Anthony vanished in June of 2008. Her remains were later found buried near the home of her grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. George Anthony is the person who recognized the smell in Casey`s car as rotting flesh. Casey`s mom said so on the witness stand last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one who told you that it smelled like there`s been a dead body in the damn car was your husband George, correct?
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: He told me that that was his first thought, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And then there`s the outraged George Anthony defending his daughter to no end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ANTHONY: If you say "her remains" one more time I`m walking out this door. How dare you say that about my granddaughter? How dare you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What information does George Anthony hold that could hurt his daughter`s case? And could the defense establish that George Anthony is unstable and, therefore save Casey`s life?
I`m taking your calls on this -- 1-877-JVM-SAYS.
Straight out to my expert panel; we begin with reporter Drew Petrimoulx with WDBO Radio. So what is the defense trying to prove by investigating George Anthony`s suicide attempt?
DREW PETRIMOULX, WDBO RADIO: Well, receipts show that they sent one of their investigators out to the Daytona Beach Hotel where George Anthony tried to commit suicide. They also went to the Daytona Beach Police Department. That obviously set off speculation over what exactly they`re looking to do with that information.
But when Jose Baez was reached for comment today he said that information would be used in the mitigation part of the trial after -- if she is convicted to maybe try to keep her off death row.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, George Anthony can hurt his daughter`s case because of his own words. Let`s listen to his own words.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
G. ANTHONY: I got within three feet of my daughter`s car and the worst that you could possibly smell in this -- in this world. And I`ve smelled that odor before. It smelled like a decomposed body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: George Anthony is a former cop.
Stacy Kaiser, isn`t it going to be difficult to discredit the statements he made about the smell in Casey`s car given who he is?
STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I think that that`s true. And I also think there`s something to be said for every parent would literally take a bullet for their child. And so if you hear a parent that`s literally going against their own kid, then something isn`t right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Listen, stay right where you are. We`re just getting started.
Also where is 17-year-old Norma Lopez? ISSUES continues to take on the war on women.
But first, George Anthony in the spotlight: what is Casey`s defense team trying to prove by investigating him? I want to know. Give me a call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you outraged about an issue you`ve seen on our show ISSUES? Well, then please send me a video rant. You can use an iPhone. You can use a Blackberry. You can also use a flip cam.
You just do the video and then you plug it into your computer and you can download it and send it right off to us. Mail it to Jane@CNN.com. We will air the most passionate ISSUES rants live on our show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
G. ANTHONY: How can you get involved in a criminal case when this is a civil matter? Explain that to me, sir, when you keep on fishing for more stuff. Do you want -- is just 15 minutes of fame so important to you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A not to happy George Anthony giving a deposition in a civil suit against his daughter Casey. Zenaida Gonzalez, you may remember, sued Casey for naming her as the babysitter who had kidnapped little Caylee.
Of course, police believe that the Zenaida Gonzalez person is fictional and that there was no Zenaida Gonzalez ever and that Casey made up that story. So now we see the defense pointing in another direction.
Jayne Weintraub, I know you`re very defensive of the defense in this case. What do you make of this latest development?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY (via telephone): Well, I don`t think it`s really any big deal other than some media hype from a particular news station. I think that a $4,000 bill for the defense, Jane, is -- is nothing and not unusual at all. It`s for the entire case, not just for George.
But in defense of what they`re doing, of course for preparation of a mitigation in case there`s a God forbid death penalty phase, one has to prepare if they`re going to put a witness on the witness stand.
And being prepared, they have to know what to anticipate on cross- examination. They will always do a background check and have an investigator look into it.
And also in this case Jane --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes but wait do they need to go to the hotel where he considered and made a half-hearted attempt at suicide? I mean, really, what are they going to learn at the hotel?
WEINTRAUB: Well, I think they can learn something really important at the hotel and I think that no stone --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What -- what -- what?
WEINTRAUB: -- no stone -- left unturned.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- what can they learn at the hotel?
WEINTRAUB: Maybe if they`re really going to -- what if he was going to really kill himself? If he was really going to kill himself, maybe, just maybe he told somebody something really important before he went into that hotel room.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right --
WEINTRAUB: Maybe. We still don`t know how she died and -- and --
(CROSS TALKING)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here is my big issue tonight. Is this the ultimate betrayal? Here`s a dad who has stood by his daughter to the bitter end. I mean, watch him give a deposition in a civil suit connected to the case and George can barely keep his emotions in check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
G. ANTHONY: I have no idea, sir. I have no idea. I just answered that for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually I asked --
G. ANTHONY: Yes -- no, you asked me sir, if I had given my daughter money to pay and I said no. You asked if my wife did. And I said I have no idea, you have to ask her. Did somebody ask her that question sir? But I don`t -- be nice, now. Be nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: George Anthony, this poor guy constantly fighting off the media. He has to yell and scream just to keep strangers off his property. Of course he`s got a lot of stress; his daughter`s arrest, his granddaughter`s death. Of course he -- it makes sense that he contemplated suicide in 2009 or attempted it even.
BROOKS: Sure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean, now this suicide attempt could be used against him? Levi Page, is this the ultimate betrayal?
LEVI PAGE, HOST, "THE LEVI PAGE SHOW" ON BLOG TALK RADIO: I think it is. And I think that Casey Anthony is a sick, twisted, evil individual who is self centered. She cares about nobody but herself. She threw her father under the bus. This is a waste of taxpayer money.
And what is that matter that George Anthony contemplated suicide in the -- in the death penalty phase or whether or not she should get the death penalty? George Anthony is not on trial. Casey Anthony is on trial.
And I think what we`re seeing now is how heartless this sick individual is who, by the way, accused George Anthony and her brother Lee of molesting her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that -- you get to my next point. And you know some would say the first betrayal occurred when Casey wrote to another jail inmate that her father and brother had allegedly molested her by fondling her breast as a child.
She claimed her brother would walk into her room at night feel her breasts. She wrote, "This went on for over three years before I finally stood up to Lee and told him if he ever came into my room again, I`d kill him." And Casey also that she thought her father George did the same thing to her when she was much younger.
So Mike Brooks, do you think that Casey might have been setting up a scenario where she could eventually point to her father and say he`s responsible knowing that he`s never going to be charged?
BROOKS: Well, Jane, we`ve seen it from the very beginning. It`s all about Casey Anthony. And the defense is reaching here. First of all, we had Jessie Grund (ph). Oh, well, maybe he was responsible. Oh, yes, they were pointing fingers at him. Then you had Roy Kronk.
Now you got -- now you have George Anthony. They are reaching. Because -- oh, let`s not forget about Zanny the nanny.
WEINTRAUB: They`re investigating. Mike Brooks you`re an investigator.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
BROOKS: Please. What about Zanny the nanny that never existed?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
BROOKS: It`s all -- you know they`re reaching, they`re reaching, seriously.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jayne Weintraub, answer -- let`s one at a time. I want to be fair here. What`s the response?
WEINTRAUB: You know the lawyers -- the lawyers are being responsible lawyers by investigating absolutely everything that they think is reasonable to investigate. That does not necessarily translate that their client told them to go investigate and should not be visited on the client.
That`s number one.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
WEINTRAUB: And number two is why isn`t George a suspect? Why isn`t Kronk a suspect? They don`t have somebody killing the child.
BROOKS: What about Zanny who they first blamed it on who doesn`t exist, Jayne?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right hold on one second.
WEINTRAUB: They don`t have the killer and they don`t have the manner of death or cause of death. So why in a death penalty case would a lawyer not look at absolutely everything before anything else happen --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to bring Stacy Kaiser, a psychotherapist into this. How do you think George Anthony feels tonight finding out he`s being investigated by his daughter`s defense team?
STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I agree with you 100 percent, Jane. I think this is the ultimate betrayal. This guy has had two losses. He`s lost his granddaughter; in a sense he lost his daughter. This girl is definitely lost.
And so, on top of that, on top of having to deal with the media and everything else, this guy -- I`m not surprised he tried to kill himself and I wouldn`t be surprised if he tried to do it again.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And remember, there`s a lot of evidence that ties to his home: the heart-shaped sticker and the duct tape and a lot of stuff came from his home.
BROOKS: The hamper, yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, so.
(CROSS TALKING)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Can you say reasonable doubt? Thank you, fantastic panel.
Next the war on women rages on. We have breaking news, horrific news in the case of a California teenager next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, very, very sad breaking news out of Riverside, California. Has the war on women claimed yet another victim? It appears so.
Cops have found human remains in an area close to where 17-year-old high school student Norma Lopez went missing just last Thursday. Those remains have not yet been identified.
Norma vanished after leaving class at Moreno Valley California High School. Cops think Norma simply took a shortcut through a field where several of her personal items were later found. Norma`s sister pleaded for her safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONJA LOPEZ, SISTER OF NORMA LOPEZ: If you`re watching, sis, please call us. We need you back. We`re not going to be mad at you or anything. I want to thank everyone out there that is trying to help us out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Was Norma abducted? The 17-year-old, 5`7, 110 pounds, dark hair, brown eyes; she was last seen wearing the shirt you see in this photo, and jeans with no holes. How sick is it that a girl can`t take a short cut on her way home from school without putting her life in danger?
I`m joined by HLN law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks, and psychotherapist, Stacy Kaiser.
Mike, it doesn`t look good, and for many reasons. Can you elaborate?
BROOKS: No, it doesn`t look good. And apparently Riverside Sheriff`s Department has confirmed to CNN HLN that human remains were found there in Moreno Valley, California, there in Riverside County -- the same vicinity. They have not said whether it is this beautiful 17-year-old girl.
But, you know, you`ve had the FBI involved in this investigation, Jane. They`re there right now along with Riverside working the crime scene with the FBI`s Evidence Response Team. Hopefully, hopefully they can find some kind of evidence to link back to where they believe she was cutting across this field on the way home from summer school.
Just so tragic tonight.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, it`s so tragic. Look at this beautiful girl. And her family was going to appear on our show and talk to us tonight, but for obvious reasons they are in seclusion and our hearts go out to them.
We want to say here on ISSUES, this is an obscenity. This beautiful girl, we pray that by some miracle perhaps it`s not her, but certainly it doesn`t look good because she disappeared in the very area where these human remains were found.
Cops do have significant evidence if these remains turn out to be Norma`s. They`re asking, begging for information about a green newer model SUV that was seen speeding away from the area on Thursday. Cops say they found personal items that, quote, "you would not leave behind in the field where she took that shortcut". So clearly it appears that she was abducted.
Stacy Kaiser, how many times -- I refuse to cover these things as business as usual because this is such an obscenity. This has to be a wakeup call for our country that there`s something drastically wrong.
KAISER: I agree with you 100 percent. You know, I dream of the day when a woman can cut across a field for a short cut and be ok.
So for the time being because we do seem to hear about these things over and over again, I must say to your viewers, please, please, there is safety in numbers.
BROOKS: Yes.
KAISER: Don`t take a shortcut across a field. It is just not worth it.
BROOKS: And also, Jane, if you do go the same route every day, try to vary your route because a lot of times you`ll get predators who will see someone and they`ll hone in on that person and then they`ll say -- expect them to come across here at a certain time and they become a target unfortunately.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve got to leave it there. It`s so sad.
BROOKS: It is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you so much.
You`re watching ISSUES on HLN.
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