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It Does Not Appear Ryder Will Spend Time Behind Bars

Aired November 07, 2002 - 11:16   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it does not appear that Winona Ryder will spend any time behind bars. A California jury yesterday found the actress guilty of felony grand theft and vandalism in stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Beverly Hills store last year. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but prosecutors say they're not going to go after jail time. Her sentencing is set for December 6th.
Joining us to talk more about the verdict and the trial from Los Angeles, Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good morning.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: You surprised by the verdict?

LEVIN: No, not at all. And it really is kind of a logical verdict. It really shows that they did their job, because it wasn't an all or nothing thing. They believed that she shoplifted, but they don't believe, or they didn't believe, that when she entered the store, she had the intent to shoplift, at least that wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It really shows that it's a thoughtful jury.

KAGAN: So is that how you explain the difference they found her guilty on felony grand theft and vandalism, but not on the commercial burglary charge?

LEVIN: The two that she was found guilty on, it does not require that the jury believe beyond a reasonable doubt that when she entered the store, she intended to do it, as long as she did it while in the store. But the burglary is a more difficult charge, and again, it's the mark of a thoughtful jury.

KAGAN: But she'll still be a convicted felon for the rest of her life.

LEVIN: Absolutely. You know what, Daryn, I talked -- I don't know if your interested in this, but I talked to one of the jurors for a half hour last night.

KAGAN: What did you find out?

LEVIN: It was really fascinating, he said that, number one, they never talked about the fact that she was a celebrity. It had absolutely no impact. When they went into the jury room, early on, they took an initial vote, and on one count, they all found her guilty unanimously.

KAGAN: Which one was that?

LEVIN: He wouldn't say, but it sounds to me like it was the vandalism one.

KAGAN: The cutting off the tags?

LEVIN: Right, and damaging the clothing. It sounds to me on the grand theft, there was -- he said there was one holdout on one charge; it was 11-1. And it wasn't so much that she was opposed to saying guilty, but she really needed to be convinced. On the other charge, on burglary, they were kind of evenly divided, and that took some discussion, and ultimately, it was all about the fact that they didn't believe that there was proof that she entered the store with the intent.

He also said to me that it wasn't like there was one smoking gun, they believed the witnesses. They really thought they were credible, as he put it, credible and admirable. They thought the videotape was important. But he was especially impressed, and other jurors were, with the physical evidence, looking at that merchandise, seeing the holes in it, and though, cumulatively, he felt the prosecution presented a really good case.

KAGAN: And the prosecution is not going to ask for jail time. Is that a case of a celebrity getting off easy, or is that what a first time offender should expect?

LEVIN: I think the prosecution was really smart here, because I know something about this judge, and there's no way, I think, this judge would give her jail time. And I think the prosecution is anticipating that. They don't want to look too harsh, too mean. They got their convictions, and I think what they did is appropriate, and I think that's what would have happened anyway, even had they asked for jail time.

KAGAN: So what will she get?

LEVIN: She'll get probation. She'll get community service. They'll require her to perform restitution, where she has to give Saks back the money.

But what's really interesting and kind of the wild card here, and this juror told me they didn't discuss this during the deliberations, but afterwards, it was discussed a little bit, why does somebody like this shoplift? Why would a rich, famous woman shoplift?

And, you know, I asked this guy and he said plenty of rich people steal, but you know, she kind of seems to have a problem. There were problems in the past, where she had stopped at Neiman-Marcus, she'd been stopped at Neiman-Marcus, she'd been stopped at Barneys. She clearly didn't need the money. So, you know, you wonder, is counseling going to be part of this? Can the judge order her to through some kind of counseling, since it really never came up during the trial. And I think that's the wildcard. KAGAN: We'll see on that. Hey, you guys at "Celebrity Justice," are you going to go through withdrawal now that you don't have Winona Ryder to lead in the show.

LEVIN: Daryn, you have to trust me on this, because I am a lawyer, there are many, many, many cases we're still following. The problem with "Celebrity Justice" is not a shortage of cases. We have to choose.

KAGAN: And that's the success of your show. Harvey Levin, thanks for all your help. And we'll have to have you back as some of those other hot cases come to light. Appreciate your help on the Winona story.

LEVIN: Really my pleasure, Daryn.

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 November 7, 2002 - 11:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it does not appear that Winona Ryder will spend any time behind bars. A California jury yesterday found the actress guilty of felony grand theft and vandalism in stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Beverly Hills store last year. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but prosecutors say they're not going to go after jail time. Her sentencing is set for December 6th.
Joining us to talk more about the verdict and the trial from Los Angeles, Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good morning.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: You surprised by the verdict?

LEVIN: No, not at all. And it really is kind of a logical verdict. It really shows that they did their job, because it wasn't an all or nothing thing. They believed that she shoplifted, but they don't believe, or they didn't believe, that when she entered the store, she had the intent to shoplift, at least that wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It really shows that it's a thoughtful jury.

KAGAN: So is that how you explain the difference they found her guilty on felony grand theft and vandalism, but not on the commercial burglary charge?

LEVIN: The two that she was found guilty on, it does not require that the jury believe beyond a reasonable doubt that when she entered the store, she intended to do it, as long as she did it while in the store. But the burglary is a more difficult charge, and again, it's the mark of a thoughtful jury.

KAGAN: But she'll still be a convicted felon for the rest of her life.

LEVIN: Absolutely. You know what, Daryn, I talked -- I don't know if your interested in this, but I talked to one of the jurors for a half hour last night.

KAGAN: What did you find out?

LEVIN: It was really fascinating, he said that, number one, they never talked about the fact that she was a celebrity. It had absolutely no impact. When they went into the jury room, early on, they took an initial vote, and on one count, they all found her guilty unanimously.

KAGAN: Which one was that?

LEVIN: He wouldn't say, but it sounds to me like it was the vandalism one.

KAGAN: The cutting off the tags?

LEVIN: Right, and damaging the clothing. It sounds to me on the grand theft, there was -- he said there was one holdout on one charge; it was 11-1. And it wasn't so much that she was opposed to saying guilty, but she really needed to be convinced. On the other charge, on burglary, they were kind of evenly divided, and that took some discussion, and ultimately, it was all about the fact that they didn't believe that there was proof that she entered the store with the intent.

He also said to me that it wasn't like there was one smoking gun, they believed the witnesses. They really thought they were credible, as he put it, credible and admirable. They thought the videotape was important. But he was especially impressed, and other jurors were, with the physical evidence, looking at that merchandise, seeing the holes in it, and though, cumulatively, he felt the prosecution presented a really good case.

KAGAN: And the prosecution is not going to ask for jail time. Is that a case of a celebrity getting off easy, or is that what a first time offender should expect?

LEVIN: I think the prosecution was really smart here, because I know something about this judge, and there's no way, I think, this judge would give her jail time. And I think the prosecution is anticipating that. They don't want to look too harsh, too mean. They got their convictions, and I think what they did is appropriate, and I think that's what would have happened anyway, even had they asked for jail time.

KAGAN: So what will she get?

LEVIN: She'll get probation. She'll get community service. They'll require her to perform restitution, where she has to give Saks back the money.

But what's really interesting and kind of the wild card here, and this juror told me they didn't discuss this during the deliberations, but afterwards, it was discussed a little bit, why does somebody like this shoplift? Why would a rich, famous woman shoplift?

And, you know, I asked this guy and he said plenty of rich people steal, but you know, she kind of seems to have a problem. There were problems in the past, where she had stopped at Neiman-Marcus, she'd been stopped at Neiman-Marcus, she'd been stopped at Barneys. She clearly didn't need the money. So, you know, you wonder, is counseling going to be part of this? Can the judge order her to through some kind of counseling, since it really never came up during the trial. And I think that's the wildcard. KAGAN: We'll see on that. Hey, you guys at "Celebrity Justice," are you going to go through withdrawal now that you don't have Winona Ryder to lead in the show.

LEVIN: Daryn, you have to trust me on this, because I am a lawyer, there are many, many, many cases we're still following. The problem with "Celebrity Justice" is not a shortage of cases. We have to choose.

KAGAN: And that's the success of your show. Harvey Levin, thanks for all your help. And we'll have to have you back as some of those other hot cases come to light. Appreciate your help on the Winona story.

LEVIN: Really my pleasure, Daryn.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com