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American Morning

Peterson Case Grabs National Attention

Aired April 22, 2003 - 09:03   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The disappearance of Laci on Christmas Eve while she was expecting a baby brought nationwide publicity. Want to talk more about the case and how the hometown is reacting. Michael Bryant, legal correspondent for "Extra" is live now in Modesto.
Good morning. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, Michael. I wish we could talk about other matters, but this is what we're dealing with today. Modesto, California. Not a big town, not a small town. Reaction there is what right now?

MICHAEL BRYANT, "EXTRA" LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really -- it's unbelievable. And you've seen it over the past few months building, and I think the ultimate arrest of Scott Peterson has just kind of put the period on the end of a really sad sentence for this town.

HEMMER: We are talking about evidence here that indicates tidal charts may have been found that indicates Scott Peterson doing some homework on that area of water in northern California, talking about traces of concrete in the bottom of his boat. The D.A. earlier today said there are a lot of reports out there right now that are simply not true. Are these two of the reports that aren't true, or are you hearing the same thing?

BRYANT: Well, we are hearing a lot of the same stuff. And if I could draw a parallel to the Blake case down in Los Angeles where so many of the police officers and the law enforcement officers and the prosecutors were so tightlipped before an arrest was made -- they weren't telling anybody anything, but as soon as the arrest was made, well, then we started learning everything. And I anticipate -- whether those two stories are true or not, we are going to find out relatively soon, and we are going to find out more about the case.

HEMMER: Listen, Michael, last hour Jeffrey Toobin says the best thing for the defense right now is to take a giant step backwards, and allow the emotions to cool right now. How hot, how heated, how high are those emotions?

BRYANT: Yes. You see people that don't know the Peterson family or are many times removed from them. Maybe they have just watched the stories unfold over the months on CNN, and they act as if they have lost one of their own. And I think, over the three months, the frustration we saw with the family during the press conference yesterday is the similar thing that a lot of folks are feeling here, even though that far removed from the family. It has just been building so long and so intensely, and even though giving Scott Peterson the benefit of the doubt, everybody has focused on him as the suspect, even if the police wouldn't admit it, and now that he has been arrested, that emotion is just flooding out and you can't tell the relatives from the people who feel as close as relatives.

HEMMER: Listen, on Friday, the attorney general in California said this case is a -- quote -- "slam dunk." Are investigators talking with that level of confidence there as well?

BRYANT: They really are. And slam dunk, although we all know it in terms of basketball, has been kind of adopted as a term of art in the legal community. When we say "slam dunk," it almost means unopposed. You don't say slam dunk unless you are so sure of what you have got that you have no chance of losing. It is a strong statement.

HEMMER: Michael Bryant, correspondent for "Extra," working that story in Modesto. Thanks, Michael. We'll talk again, OK? Appreciate your time and getting up early today.

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 April 22, 2003 - 09:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The disappearance of Laci on Christmas Eve while she was expecting a baby brought nationwide publicity. Want to talk more about the case and how the hometown is reacting. Michael Bryant, legal correspondent for "Extra" is live now in Modesto.
Good morning. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, Michael. I wish we could talk about other matters, but this is what we're dealing with today. Modesto, California. Not a big town, not a small town. Reaction there is what right now?

MICHAEL BRYANT, "EXTRA" LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really -- it's unbelievable. And you've seen it over the past few months building, and I think the ultimate arrest of Scott Peterson has just kind of put the period on the end of a really sad sentence for this town.

HEMMER: We are talking about evidence here that indicates tidal charts may have been found that indicates Scott Peterson doing some homework on that area of water in northern California, talking about traces of concrete in the bottom of his boat. The D.A. earlier today said there are a lot of reports out there right now that are simply not true. Are these two of the reports that aren't true, or are you hearing the same thing?

BRYANT: Well, we are hearing a lot of the same stuff. And if I could draw a parallel to the Blake case down in Los Angeles where so many of the police officers and the law enforcement officers and the prosecutors were so tightlipped before an arrest was made -- they weren't telling anybody anything, but as soon as the arrest was made, well, then we started learning everything. And I anticipate -- whether those two stories are true or not, we are going to find out relatively soon, and we are going to find out more about the case.

HEMMER: Listen, Michael, last hour Jeffrey Toobin says the best thing for the defense right now is to take a giant step backwards, and allow the emotions to cool right now. How hot, how heated, how high are those emotions?

BRYANT: Yes. You see people that don't know the Peterson family or are many times removed from them. Maybe they have just watched the stories unfold over the months on CNN, and they act as if they have lost one of their own. And I think, over the three months, the frustration we saw with the family during the press conference yesterday is the similar thing that a lot of folks are feeling here, even though that far removed from the family. It has just been building so long and so intensely, and even though giving Scott Peterson the benefit of the doubt, everybody has focused on him as the suspect, even if the police wouldn't admit it, and now that he has been arrested, that emotion is just flooding out and you can't tell the relatives from the people who feel as close as relatives.

HEMMER: Listen, on Friday, the attorney general in California said this case is a -- quote -- "slam dunk." Are investigators talking with that level of confidence there as well?

BRYANT: They really are. And slam dunk, although we all know it in terms of basketball, has been kind of adopted as a term of art in the legal community. When we say "slam dunk," it almost means unopposed. You don't say slam dunk unless you are so sure of what you have got that you have no chance of losing. It is a strong statement.

HEMMER: Michael Bryant, correspondent for "Extra," working that story in Modesto. Thanks, Michael. We'll talk again, OK? Appreciate your time and getting up early today.

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