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American Morning

Michael Jackson Case

Aired January 19, 2004 - 09:19   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: Now to the Michael Jackson case. It was a spectacle both inside and outside the courtroom, after Jackson's arraignment on child molestation charges Friday. Our own Jeffrey Toobin was only 20 feet away from the scene when it actually happened. You see it here, and he is here now to tell us more about the circus.
All right, what happened here? You said that this was really one of the most incredible moments in your career to see this.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. It was so unexpected. I mean, it was, you know, everybody knew obviously Michael Jackson is an eccentric figure. But that moment when he got up in his sequin shoes and his white armband with 777 on it, when he got up there and you saw the surge of the fans, and what you can't really see in that video is that the police officers were holding up these chain-linked fences with all their might. They were pushing, because the crush of the crowd was so great. I really thought it might be like one of those soccer stadium things in Europe, where people are actually crushed. It was that kind of frenzy, and totally unexpected.

COLLINS: Yes, I guess so. You mentioned the police. The L.A. police chief, I know, was very, angry about his antics. What does it say to people watching this about how seriously Jackson is taking these charges?

TOOBIN: You know, I am confident that Jackson did not have that thought process, that he was thinking to himself, you know, I want to show contempt for the process. He is, you know, an entertainer who responds to his fans. And another point to keep in mind is we are months away from any resolution here. So I doubt memories of this event will be fresh.

But I do think that the people in this community, who, after all, are likely to be the jurors in this case, can't have been impressed by this scene, and since that's the audience that ultimately may be deciding his fate, his lawyers, to the extent they can control him, will probably be saying to him, OK, once was enough, but no more jumping on the SUVs.

COLLINS: And you bring up a great point, what about his lawyers controlling him? He showed up 20 minutes late, and the judge really, you know, got on him for that. Who is in charge here?

TOOBIN: When we were broadcasting live, I had the opportunity to grab Ben Brafman, who was walking by just behind this scene when it was unfolding. I said, are you concerned about the spectacle? He said, look, Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson, we're just the lawyers. They are not in charge of this process the way lawyers are usually in charge of defendants. They were surprised as anyone that he jumped up on that car. They were surprised that he was late. I mean, they are...

COLLINS: What do you think they're thinking inside if they stood there watching him on top of that car?

TOOBIN: I -- they were in the same open-mouthed shock as the rest of us, but I do think they will do their best to say to him, OK, no more lateness, no more jumping on the cars, no more spectacles, but you know, this is a guy who wears sequin shoes. I mean, it's not -- this is not a normal client.

COLLINS: Quickly, February 13th coming up, what are we going to see?

TOOBIN: I think we will probably not see Michael Jackson. He is probably not going to be at that hearing. And what they will probably do is schedule the preliminary hearing, where we will see Michael Jackson, and that will be a very big deal.

COLLINS: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, you were there. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

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 19, 2004 - 09:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the Michael Jackson case. It was a spectacle both inside and outside the courtroom, after Jackson's arraignment on child molestation charges Friday. Our own Jeffrey Toobin was only 20 feet away from the scene when it actually happened. You see it here, and he is here now to tell us more about the circus.
All right, what happened here? You said that this was really one of the most incredible moments in your career to see this.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. It was so unexpected. I mean, it was, you know, everybody knew obviously Michael Jackson is an eccentric figure. But that moment when he got up in his sequin shoes and his white armband with 777 on it, when he got up there and you saw the surge of the fans, and what you can't really see in that video is that the police officers were holding up these chain-linked fences with all their might. They were pushing, because the crush of the crowd was so great. I really thought it might be like one of those soccer stadium things in Europe, where people are actually crushed. It was that kind of frenzy, and totally unexpected.

COLLINS: Yes, I guess so. You mentioned the police. The L.A. police chief, I know, was very, angry about his antics. What does it say to people watching this about how seriously Jackson is taking these charges?

TOOBIN: You know, I am confident that Jackson did not have that thought process, that he was thinking to himself, you know, I want to show contempt for the process. He is, you know, an entertainer who responds to his fans. And another point to keep in mind is we are months away from any resolution here. So I doubt memories of this event will be fresh.

But I do think that the people in this community, who, after all, are likely to be the jurors in this case, can't have been impressed by this scene, and since that's the audience that ultimately may be deciding his fate, his lawyers, to the extent they can control him, will probably be saying to him, OK, once was enough, but no more jumping on the SUVs.

COLLINS: And you bring up a great point, what about his lawyers controlling him? He showed up 20 minutes late, and the judge really, you know, got on him for that. Who is in charge here?

TOOBIN: When we were broadcasting live, I had the opportunity to grab Ben Brafman, who was walking by just behind this scene when it was unfolding. I said, are you concerned about the spectacle? He said, look, Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson, we're just the lawyers. They are not in charge of this process the way lawyers are usually in charge of defendants. They were surprised as anyone that he jumped up on that car. They were surprised that he was late. I mean, they are...

COLLINS: What do you think they're thinking inside if they stood there watching him on top of that car?

TOOBIN: I -- they were in the same open-mouthed shock as the rest of us, but I do think they will do their best to say to him, OK, no more lateness, no more jumping on the cars, no more spectacles, but you know, this is a guy who wears sequin shoes. I mean, it's not -- this is not a normal client.

COLLINS: Quickly, February 13th coming up, what are we going to see?

TOOBIN: I think we will probably not see Michael Jackson. He is probably not going to be at that hearing. And what they will probably do is schedule the preliminary hearing, where we will see Michael Jackson, and that will be a very big deal.

COLLINS: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, you were there. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

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