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American Morning

Michael Jackson in Court Today for Arraignment

Aired January 16, 2004 - 07:07   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson will have another high-profile attorney at his side today, when he's arraigned on child molestation charges. Benjamin Brafman is joining his legal team.
Brafman is best known for getting Sean "P Diddy" Combs acquitted of weapons charges.

Charles Feldman has more from Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Michael Jackson were like most criminal defendants, his arraignment -- where he is expected to enter a not guilty plea to charges of child molestation -- would be barely noted. But because this case is about the former king of pop, it has all of the hoopla of a three-ring circus, grafted onto a Hollywood premiere and then merged with a political rally -- in other words, pure spectacle.

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's no way for a potential juror to avoid the media onslaught or to avoid information about this case. I mean, it's everywhere. It's 24/7. It's on every station and every channel, and it's going to continue to be so for the next several months.

FELDMAN: Although this case is supposed to be about whether Jackson sexually molested a young male cancer patient he'd befriended, other issues have recently moved to the forefront. A business meeting earlier this week of various Jackson attorneys and advisors seemed partly designed to show that contrary to some media reports, the nation of Islam had not hijacked Jackson's formidable business empire. But since Nation of Islam official Leonard Mohammad (ph) sat at the table, that tactic just added fuel to the speculation.

Certainly in court, lawyer Mark Geragos seems in charge of the case. What is not known is what advice, if any, Mohammad (ph) or other Nation of Islam officials might be giving toward Jackson's defense. Although Jackson did defend himself during a "60 Minutes" interview, for the most part he is letting family surrogates and fans speak for him.

Charles Feldman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What is the significance of another high-profile lawyer joining Jackson's defense team just one day before his arraignment? Well, joining us from Santa Maria, California, now to talk about that and give us a preview of what might happen today is CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.

Good morning to you -- Jeffrey. Thanks so much.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Heidi, how are you doing?

COLLINS: I'm doing great. Hey, is this a good move? And why is Brafman needed?

TOOBIN: This is a sensational move for Michael Jackson. Heidi, I have -- I'm often asked, like, "Who is the best trial lawyer you have ever seen?" And the answer I always give is Ben Brafman. This guy is an absolutely great lawyer. I've seen him in action many times.

He's mostly an organized crime lawyer in New York City. And in big cases, it's often common to have several prominent lawyers defending a client. Ben Brafman worked with Johnnie Cochran on the Sean Combs case. So, it's no surprise that Mark Geragos picked another lawyer, and Michael Jackson is very fortunate he picked Ben Brafman.

COLLINS: Yes, we're looking at some of his accomplishments right now there on the screen. He began prosecuting white collar crimes in New York, turned to defense work in the '80s, voted best criminal defense lawyer by "New York" magazine. And we see some of the high- profile clients that he has defended.

Let's go ahead and listen just for a moment, if we could, Jeffrey, from, Firpo Carr, a friend of Michael Jackson, who we've been hearing a lot from during all of this, of his opinion about the addition to this legal defense team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIRPO CARR, FRIEND OF MICHAEL JACKSON: In this case, the more the merrier. Whenever you have specialists of any kind who have been added to the team, then it cannot help but to bolster his position, and that is one of innocence. So, I think it's a good move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We are going to hear more from Firpo Carr a little bit later on, Jeffrey. But what does this mean to Mark Geragos? Is this kind of a snub to him? Or do you think he may very well have other plans?

TOOBIN: Well, as we all know, he's also involved in the Scott Peterson case, so he's got a plenty full plate. But, you know, I think it's actually a sign of intelligence on Mark Geragos' part. You know, yes, it takes the spotlight away from him a little bit, but, you know, these big cases, there is often plenty of work for everybody. I mean, of course, everybody probably remembers the dream team for O.J. Simpson, which included Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey and Robert Shapiro and Barry Scheck. That was certainly the biggest criminal defense team I've ever seen for a violent crime. This, a second lawyer is far from unusual, and I think just an intelligent move on Geragos' part.

COLLINS: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, thanks so much for that. We'll talk with you again a little bit later on as well.

TOOBIN: OK.

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 January 16, 2004 - 07:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson will have another high-profile attorney at his side today, when he's arraigned on child molestation charges. Benjamin Brafman is joining his legal team.
Brafman is best known for getting Sean "P Diddy" Combs acquitted of weapons charges.

Charles Feldman has more from Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Michael Jackson were like most criminal defendants, his arraignment -- where he is expected to enter a not guilty plea to charges of child molestation -- would be barely noted. But because this case is about the former king of pop, it has all of the hoopla of a three-ring circus, grafted onto a Hollywood premiere and then merged with a political rally -- in other words, pure spectacle.

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's no way for a potential juror to avoid the media onslaught or to avoid information about this case. I mean, it's everywhere. It's 24/7. It's on every station and every channel, and it's going to continue to be so for the next several months.

FELDMAN: Although this case is supposed to be about whether Jackson sexually molested a young male cancer patient he'd befriended, other issues have recently moved to the forefront. A business meeting earlier this week of various Jackson attorneys and advisors seemed partly designed to show that contrary to some media reports, the nation of Islam had not hijacked Jackson's formidable business empire. But since Nation of Islam official Leonard Mohammad (ph) sat at the table, that tactic just added fuel to the speculation.

Certainly in court, lawyer Mark Geragos seems in charge of the case. What is not known is what advice, if any, Mohammad (ph) or other Nation of Islam officials might be giving toward Jackson's defense. Although Jackson did defend himself during a "60 Minutes" interview, for the most part he is letting family surrogates and fans speak for him.

Charles Feldman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What is the significance of another high-profile lawyer joining Jackson's defense team just one day before his arraignment? Well, joining us from Santa Maria, California, now to talk about that and give us a preview of what might happen today is CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.

Good morning to you -- Jeffrey. Thanks so much.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Heidi, how are you doing?

COLLINS: I'm doing great. Hey, is this a good move? And why is Brafman needed?

TOOBIN: This is a sensational move for Michael Jackson. Heidi, I have -- I'm often asked, like, "Who is the best trial lawyer you have ever seen?" And the answer I always give is Ben Brafman. This guy is an absolutely great lawyer. I've seen him in action many times.

He's mostly an organized crime lawyer in New York City. And in big cases, it's often common to have several prominent lawyers defending a client. Ben Brafman worked with Johnnie Cochran on the Sean Combs case. So, it's no surprise that Mark Geragos picked another lawyer, and Michael Jackson is very fortunate he picked Ben Brafman.

COLLINS: Yes, we're looking at some of his accomplishments right now there on the screen. He began prosecuting white collar crimes in New York, turned to defense work in the '80s, voted best criminal defense lawyer by "New York" magazine. And we see some of the high- profile clients that he has defended.

Let's go ahead and listen just for a moment, if we could, Jeffrey, from, Firpo Carr, a friend of Michael Jackson, who we've been hearing a lot from during all of this, of his opinion about the addition to this legal defense team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIRPO CARR, FRIEND OF MICHAEL JACKSON: In this case, the more the merrier. Whenever you have specialists of any kind who have been added to the team, then it cannot help but to bolster his position, and that is one of innocence. So, I think it's a good move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We are going to hear more from Firpo Carr a little bit later on, Jeffrey. But what does this mean to Mark Geragos? Is this kind of a snub to him? Or do you think he may very well have other plans?

TOOBIN: Well, as we all know, he's also involved in the Scott Peterson case, so he's got a plenty full plate. But, you know, I think it's actually a sign of intelligence on Mark Geragos' part. You know, yes, it takes the spotlight away from him a little bit, but, you know, these big cases, there is often plenty of work for everybody. I mean, of course, everybody probably remembers the dream team for O.J. Simpson, which included Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey and Robert Shapiro and Barry Scheck. That was certainly the biggest criminal defense team I've ever seen for a violent crime. This, a second lawyer is far from unusual, and I think just an intelligent move on Geragos' part.

COLLINS: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, thanks so much for that. We'll talk with you again a little bit later on as well.

TOOBIN: OK.

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