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American Morning
Interview of Mickey Sherman, Michael Skakel's Attorney
Aired May 07, 2002 - 07:42 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Today is the first day of a highly publicized murder trial. Kennedy cousin, Michael Skakel, charged with killing next door neighbor, Martha Moxley, when both were teenagers back in 1975.
Joining us now from Norwalk, Connecticut is Michael Skakel's attorney, Mickey Sherman -- welcome to AMERICAN MORNING, Mickey.
MICKEY SHERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: We have been given an indication of what the opening statement might be like from the prosecution, basically saying that they are convinced that your client, Michael Skakel, killed Martha Moxley, and they have confessions to prove it. How do you plan to counter their arguments?
SHERMAN: Well, I'm just asking the jury to keep an open mind, to wait and reserve their judgment until they prove these alleged confessions, and let them analyze them in the context of collective human experience, and most importantly use their common sense, and not to be swayed by the emotional impact of the horrific scene.
ZAHN: What do you mean by collective human experience? Because they are going to argue that Michael Skakel himself made a confession, when he was in drug rehab that he killed Martha Moxley, and then I understand you are going to come back and you have a confession from a Skakel family tutor, Kenneth Littleton, that claims he killed Martha Moxley, which the prosecution denies.
SHERMAN: You are right, Paula, but the point is that there are confessions and there are confessions. I am just asking the jury to evaluate what people said in the context in which they said it, and to use their human experience, not to be automatized. That's why we don't have computers. We have people to judge other people, and when you do that, usually the truth comes out, and you find some semblance of justice.
ZAHN: There is a report this morning that the then 15-year-old babysitter, who had an affair with Michael Skakel, will testify for the prosecution. Is that true?
SHERMAN: They put her on their list. We had her on our list I think before then. She is not going to say anything adverse to Michael Skakel. He never confessed to her. She is in our corner. ZAHN: There is a report that perhaps Michael Kennedy admitted to her -- of course, Michael Kennedy now deceased -- that his cousin had admitted to him that he had killed Martha Moxley. Have you seen that report?
SHERMAN: Well, no. Someone from the "Boston Herald" called me, and it was something to the effect that somebody said something to somebody to somebody to Michael Kennedy. I mean, it's like third- hand. It's garbage. And if it was something was really important to chew, don't you think it would have come out sometime before the day the trial started? People just want to get into the act. They want to be part of the big show.
ZAHN: Do you expect Frank Gifford's daughter, Vicky Gifford (ph), who was married to Michael Kennedy at one point, to testify?
SHERMAN: No, I don't, and simply because I don't think she has anything to add to this case. I don't think she would be adverse to Michael Skakel in the least, but there is nothing that she has got to say that's relevant to this case.
ZAHN: So you are essentially saying these stories that we are reading that your client admitted to Michael Kennedy that he had killed Martha Moxley was just made up?
SHERMAN: Totally. Michael Skakel never admitted to Michael Kennedy that he killed anyone. It is totally made up. It is false. It is B.S. I can't be any more specific.
ZAHN: One last question for you. There are a lot of folks who say historically when this much time has elapsed, it favors the defendant. But in this case, that may not hold true. What are your concerns about the amount of time that has lapsed since this murder?
SHERMAN: Well, the time problem hurts us, and it hurts them as well to some extent, is because people have died. Witnesses have lost their memory. Their memory has been contaminated by reading books, seeing television shows, seeing news reports. So that's a problem. You want somebody to be tried within a reasonable period of time so that you can have people with memories fresh. That's not going to happen here.
ZAHN: Mickey Sherman, all eyes will be on you. No cameras in the courtroom, but certainly plenty of them outside the courtroom. Can you see them all there this morning?
SHERMAN: Yes, it's quite a show.
ZAHN: All right -- take care.
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