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American Morning
Judge Clamps Down on Pretrial Publicity in Kobe Bryant Case
Aired July 25, 2003 - 07:15 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is not a gag order, but a Colorado judge wants both sides in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case to watch what they say to the media.
CNN's Josie Burke is live for us in Eagle, Colorado with the latest on that.
Josie -- good morning.
JOSIE BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
For all intents and purposes, it is a gag order, but that's not what the judge here in Eagle County called it when he issued it yesterday. He called it "an order regarding pretrial publicity." And he expressed concern, because of all of the attention that has been focused on this Kobe Bryant case over the past couple of weeks. And really what it is, is a warning to lawyers, to court officers, to law enforcement personnel, even to potential witnesses not to say anything that could compromise the defendant's right to a fair trial.
Now, this order came out publicly after another revelation was made yesterday. The police chief at the University of Northern Colorado confirmed that back in February police officers were called to the room of the alleged victim. They determined that she was a danger to herself, and they ended up transporting her to a medical facility.
Now, investigators have hit town here in Eagle County this week looking to unearth things just like that. There are investigators that were hired by the defense team for Kobe Bryant. They've been talking to acquaintances, friends, potential witnesses, again, trying to learn everything they can about the alleged victim.
One important timetable note for this evening. At midnight tonight, that's the deadline for both sides to file written arguments on the motion about whether to unseal 911 records over the last 12 months of calls that were made from the alleged victim's home. A judge has said that he will look at those written arguments starting on Monday, and that he could have a decision early next week.
And just one last basketball-related note, it was revealed yesterday in a statement from Kobe Bryant's agent that he will not participate in an Olympic qualifying tournament that is scheduled to start in late August. In that statement, there was no reference made to these felony charges against Kobe Bryant; instead, reference was made to the fact that he's rehabbing from two surgeries during the off-season -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Josie Burke for us this morning. Josie, thanks.
Joining us now to talk about the judge's order and other developments in the Bryant case, CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
Nice to see you. Good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
O'BRIEN: So, it's not a gag order, but it is essentially a gag order?
TOOBIN: It's basically a shot across to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the lawyers. It's saying, look, just don't be tempted to go out there and start talking about the evidence in the case. What's a little peculiar is that the lawyers really haven't been talking much about the evidence in the case. All of the evidence has come -- all of the disclosures have come from the news media and the suddenly ubiquitous friends of the accuser who have been interviewed so often.
O'BRIEN: So, if it's just a warning shot then, is it legally binding (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the judge?
TOOBIN: It is. It's certainly binding, but no one, as far as I've been able to tell, has been close to violating it so far. So, it doesn't seem like it's going to have much impact. No one is going to have to change their behavior.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, this case is predicted by many people to get very, very ugly. So, why not then just go ahead and issue a gag order and say, you know what? No one is allowed to talk, period. End of story.
TOOBIN: That is more or less what he has done. I mean, it's not phrased that way, it's not called that, but certainly there is no mistaking that these lawyers are prohibited from doing the kind of things that would jeopardize Bryant's chance at a fair trial.
O'BRIEN: If you essentially put a gag order on the lawyers in the case, then do you sort of turn what's been a trickle of speculation into a flood of speculation because there's no sort of definitive word coming from the people in the case who would really know?
TOOBIN: That's one of the arguments always against gag orders that it sort of reduces the information coming out to the lowest common denominator. It sort of turns over all disclosures to the tabloids or perhaps the better journalistic outlets. But I think many judges feel getting the lawyers themselves out of the business of being on television, speculating in public, attempting to damage the other side is better for the judicial process overall.
O'BRIEN: We heard in Josie's report that new information is coming out about the medical history, to some degree, of this young woman, that police were called, they determined, to her dorm room and determined she was a danger to herself. She was taken to the hospital. Do stories and information like that have any relevance to the case at all?
TOOBIN: Well, it depends how cynical you are. Something like that is almost certainly, in my view, irrelevant as a matter of law. It could not be introduced into court. However, what a lot of what's going on now is going to condition the jury pool. People having heard this are going to find it very difficult to un-hear it, and the jurors who ultimately hear the case may have in the back of their mind or in the front of their mind that, you know, there is something not quite right about this woman. Her credibility obviously is a central issue in the case.
So, I think it is highly significant, any negative information that comes out about her, whether it's admitted in court or not, may affect the results of the case.
O'BRIEN: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thanks for your insights. Appreciate it.
TOOBIN: Thank you, Soledad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Case>
Aired July 25, 2003 - 07:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is not a gag order, but a Colorado judge wants both sides in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case to watch what they say to the media.
CNN's Josie Burke is live for us in Eagle, Colorado with the latest on that.
Josie -- good morning.
JOSIE BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
For all intents and purposes, it is a gag order, but that's not what the judge here in Eagle County called it when he issued it yesterday. He called it "an order regarding pretrial publicity." And he expressed concern, because of all of the attention that has been focused on this Kobe Bryant case over the past couple of weeks. And really what it is, is a warning to lawyers, to court officers, to law enforcement personnel, even to potential witnesses not to say anything that could compromise the defendant's right to a fair trial.
Now, this order came out publicly after another revelation was made yesterday. The police chief at the University of Northern Colorado confirmed that back in February police officers were called to the room of the alleged victim. They determined that she was a danger to herself, and they ended up transporting her to a medical facility.
Now, investigators have hit town here in Eagle County this week looking to unearth things just like that. There are investigators that were hired by the defense team for Kobe Bryant. They've been talking to acquaintances, friends, potential witnesses, again, trying to learn everything they can about the alleged victim.
One important timetable note for this evening. At midnight tonight, that's the deadline for both sides to file written arguments on the motion about whether to unseal 911 records over the last 12 months of calls that were made from the alleged victim's home. A judge has said that he will look at those written arguments starting on Monday, and that he could have a decision early next week.
And just one last basketball-related note, it was revealed yesterday in a statement from Kobe Bryant's agent that he will not participate in an Olympic qualifying tournament that is scheduled to start in late August. In that statement, there was no reference made to these felony charges against Kobe Bryant; instead, reference was made to the fact that he's rehabbing from two surgeries during the off-season -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Josie Burke for us this morning. Josie, thanks.
Joining us now to talk about the judge's order and other developments in the Bryant case, CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
Nice to see you. Good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
O'BRIEN: So, it's not a gag order, but it is essentially a gag order?
TOOBIN: It's basically a shot across to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the lawyers. It's saying, look, just don't be tempted to go out there and start talking about the evidence in the case. What's a little peculiar is that the lawyers really haven't been talking much about the evidence in the case. All of the evidence has come -- all of the disclosures have come from the news media and the suddenly ubiquitous friends of the accuser who have been interviewed so often.
O'BRIEN: So, if it's just a warning shot then, is it legally binding (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the judge?
TOOBIN: It is. It's certainly binding, but no one, as far as I've been able to tell, has been close to violating it so far. So, it doesn't seem like it's going to have much impact. No one is going to have to change their behavior.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, this case is predicted by many people to get very, very ugly. So, why not then just go ahead and issue a gag order and say, you know what? No one is allowed to talk, period. End of story.
TOOBIN: That is more or less what he has done. I mean, it's not phrased that way, it's not called that, but certainly there is no mistaking that these lawyers are prohibited from doing the kind of things that would jeopardize Bryant's chance at a fair trial.
O'BRIEN: If you essentially put a gag order on the lawyers in the case, then do you sort of turn what's been a trickle of speculation into a flood of speculation because there's no sort of definitive word coming from the people in the case who would really know?
TOOBIN: That's one of the arguments always against gag orders that it sort of reduces the information coming out to the lowest common denominator. It sort of turns over all disclosures to the tabloids or perhaps the better journalistic outlets. But I think many judges feel getting the lawyers themselves out of the business of being on television, speculating in public, attempting to damage the other side is better for the judicial process overall.
O'BRIEN: We heard in Josie's report that new information is coming out about the medical history, to some degree, of this young woman, that police were called, they determined, to her dorm room and determined she was a danger to herself. She was taken to the hospital. Do stories and information like that have any relevance to the case at all?
TOOBIN: Well, it depends how cynical you are. Something like that is almost certainly, in my view, irrelevant as a matter of law. It could not be introduced into court. However, what a lot of what's going on now is going to condition the jury pool. People having heard this are going to find it very difficult to un-hear it, and the jurors who ultimately hear the case may have in the back of their mind or in the front of their mind that, you know, there is something not quite right about this woman. Her credibility obviously is a central issue in the case.
So, I think it is highly significant, any negative information that comes out about her, whether it's admitted in court or not, may affect the results of the case.
O'BRIEN: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thanks for your insights. Appreciate it.
TOOBIN: Thank you, Soledad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Case>
