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CNN Saturday Morning News

Legal Round Table: Released Child Molester, Detainees' Supreme Court Case

Aired April 17, 2004 - 08:00   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.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now.
And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is April 17. Good morning to you. I'm Renay San Miguel.

CATHERINE CALLOWAY, ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Catherine Calloway. Thanks for being with us.

SAN MIGUEL: We're going to start with a check of the top stories at this hour.

Two kidnapped Japanese citizens were freed by their abductors this morning in Baghdad. Officials say their captors released the two at the Japanese embassy. Three other Japanese hostages were released on Thursday.

Back in the U.S., Terminal 5 at the Los Angeles International Airport is open again this morning after a security alert caused police to close it down. They evacuated the terminal last night after the report of a suspicious package. But it turned out to be a Palm Pilot and a stack of poker chips. Officials cleared flights for takeoff about two hours later.

At least nine people are dead after explosions at a chemical plant in southwestern China. The Chinese government said the cause was leaking chlorine gas. One hundred fifty thousand residents were forced to evacuate. Cleanup crews say they now have the situation under control.

CALLOWAY: We begin this hour with the unsettling image of a missing American soldier in Iraq, suddenly reappearing in a video as a hostage.

Private First Class Matt Maupin shown surrounded by masked gunmen, who say they will trade the soldier for captives in U.S. custody.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is in Maupin's hometown of Batavia, Ohio, where residents held a vigil last night to pray for him and his family -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Catherine.

Here in the area where Matt Maupin grew up, it's a quiet start to this Saturday morning. But his friends and family have not heard anything since that videotape was released on Friday, and some say this morning it's been like torture wondering if he's OK.

Now some of the ribbons, flags, flowers are still standing from last night's rally, where literally hundreds of people from around the area arrived to show their support for Matt Maupin and his family.

Maupin joined the Army Reserve in order to get some money for college. He had been missing for a week and his friends were happy to hear that he's alive in that videotape, also horrified to see him held captive.

Even though his family did not attend the rally, a close friend did read a message from them, basically telling everybody to have faith in Matt.

Many were encouraged from what they saw in that videotape released Friday from Iraq. Maupin looked frightened. He looked down a few times, but he did not appear to be roughed up. And even though his captors were holding rifles and guns behind him, they did not point them at Maupin, and none of them actually threatened to hurt or kill him.

Back here now in Claremont County, you can see some of the flags still standing here. And we spoke earlier this morning with a close friend of the family. She says that Maupin's mother is holding up well. She says that she's been very encouraged by having her younger son released temporarily from duty with the Marine Corps to come back to be with her.

And Army stress counselors have been with the family all week trying to help them through this -- Catherine.

CALLOWAY: All right. Thank you. That's Chris Lawrence in Ohio. Thanks, Chris.

SAN MIGUEL: Well, Matt Maupin is just one of many still missing in Iraq. And just what is the Pentagon doing to find or free them?

For more on that, we turn to our Kathleen Koch, live at the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, let's talk a little bit about this tape. The U.S. military was able to get a look at it before it aired on Al Jazeera television and on later U.S. television.

A copy of the tape was dropped off at the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar and then was taken immediately to U.S. military authorities, who began analyzing it to verify its contents and for any clues.

Now obviously, as we've all seen in this tape, Maupin is sitting on the floor surrounded by his captors. The hostage-takers say on the tape that their captive is, quote, "in good health and being treated based on the tenants of Islamic law for the treatment of soldiers taken hostage."

They only hint at their demands, though, saying that we will keep Maupin, quote, "until we trade him for our prisoners in the custody of the U.S. enemy."

Earlier on Friday, before the tape was received, coalition officials laid out U.S. policy for dealing with hostage-takers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SENOR, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY SPOKESMAN: We are putting everything behind trying to rescue these hostages. We will not negotiate with the terrorists, who are -- who have engaged in the hostage-taking, but we are putting everything behind their release, both from an intelligence standpoint, from a military standpoint and other resources we have at our disposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Maupin has been missing since the attack on his convoy April 9 by a small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Also missing since that time is 40-year-old Sergeant Elmer Krause of Greensboro, North Carolina. Both men were with the Army's 724th Transportation Company out of Bartonsville, Illinois.

Now this is also the same attack where the Kellogg, Brown and Root contractor Thomas Hamill was taken captive. He, of course, is still missing.

As to what the Pentagon can do right now, they are still analyzing the tape, obviously looking for any clues that might let them know where it was shot.

But at this point, Iraq is a very large country. Military very cognizant of the fact that it will be very difficult to find these men.

And obviously, many of these hostages who have been released up to this point, it has been through the intervention of Muslim clerics. So no comment yet from the Pentagon as to whether or not that might be a possibility as to gaining the release of those servicemen.

SAN MIGUEL: Kathleen Koch, live at the Pentagon. Thank you very much, Kathleen.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was in Washington this week meeting with President Bush, and afterwards the two leaders appeared at a White House news conference where the president underscored their shared commitments and stand on Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Throughout the last century, the United Kingdom and the United States have stood together when liberty was assaulted and free people were tested. And now in this century our nations see clearly the dangers of our time. And we share a determination to meet them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAN MIGUEL: The president is expected to make a case this week for renewing portions of the Patriot Act, which is intended to thwart terrorist plots in the U.S. That announcement comes after the president met with a key U.S. ally this week.

CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us now from Washington with more on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Renay.

With just 2 1/2 months before that June 30 deadline to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqi people, President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to stick to their plan of handing over power on that date. The president says doing so will demonstrate that the U.S.-led coalition has no interest in occupation.

At the same time, the Bush administration has warned that the closer that date approaches, the more likely the chance of violence by Iraqi insurgents, whom they say do not want democracy to take root.

The president saying in the past that June 30 date provides a convenient excuse to attack, but both leaders are remaining firm. Prime Minister Blair says the coalition will not back down, despite attacks.

The two also discussed the next government of Iraq. Privately Prime Minister Blair has been pushing the president to allow for the United Nations to play a greater role in shaping Iraq's future.

And for his part, President Bush says he is now looking to the U.N. for assistance in establishing an interim government that the Iraqi people will accept.

Now next week, the president continues meetings to try to shore up support for his Iraq and Middle East policies. On Wednesday at the White House he meets with King Abdullah of Jordan -- Renay.

SAN MIGUEL: Elaine Quijano from Washington, thanks so much.

Is it possible to spot a terrorist about to carry out an attack? Authorities at Boston's Logan Airport hope so. They've begun a new surveillance program called behavior pattern recognition.

And basically, security officers scrutinize the actions and appearances of thousands of people passing through the airport each day. Officers are trained to start up conversations with people they suspect might be up to no good.

CALLOWAY: The war on terror has split the Arab community and has often caused deep divisions within families.

And that is the case with Abdurahman Khadr, who grew up playing with the children of his father's long-time friend, Osama bin Laden. Khadr began to pull away from his father when he asked him to die for al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDURAHMAN KHADR, FATHER FRIENDS WITH BIN LADEN: He sat me down with these two people and tried to convinced me to become a suicide bomber. He was, like, you know, "You'd be a pride and this family would be a pride, you know, if you'd do this."

But I was totally against it. I was like, I believe in fighting, you know, someone on the ground and he shoots me and I shoot him, you know, but I don't believe in blowing myself up, killing innocent people. I don't -- I just don't believe in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLOWAY: Khadr's life with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is the subject of a new PBS documentary. And tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9, the producer of frontline's "Son of al Qaeda" will join us to talk about his story. That's tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9 Eastern Time.

SAN MIGUEL: The U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to take up the issue of Guantanamo Bay detainees and whether U.S. courts should have legal jurisdiction. Our legal team ponders the possibilities, coming up.

And if you've got questions, Dr. Gupta has answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLOWAY: Here's your chance. E-mail us your thoughts on how to deal with the hostage situation in Iraq at WAM@CNN.com.

SAN MIGUEL: And good morning, Chicago. Spring comes even to the windy city. We've got your complete weather forecast in just a moment when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLOWAY: Police are looking for self-confessed sex offender Edward Harvey Stokes after he was freed from a California jail last week. The Associated Press reports there is an arrest warrant for Stokes, alleging that he gave a fake address when he applied for a driver's license.

Now Stokes admitted to hundreds of acts of molestation and was serving a life sentence when an appeals court released him, saying that he never had a chance to confront a witness who committed suicide before the trial began.

Authorities are not sure where Stokes went after being released.

Now this California molester case is one of the subjects on the docket this morning for our legal panel. And joining us this morning is Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, who is a civil liberties attorney from New York, and Nelda Blair, a former Texas prosecutor who's joining us from Texas this morning.

Ladies, thanks for being with us.

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Thank you.

LIDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, CIVIL LIBERTIES ATTORNEY: Good morning.

CALLOWAY: Good morning to you. Lida, let's start with you, your thoughts on the Stokes case.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: This is a miserable example of the police and the prosecutor messing up.

What happened here was that Mr. Stokes went to trial without the ability to cross-examine the witness, who was the only witness to the crime, the 16-year-old victim in this case.

And the reason that that happened is because the prosecutors and the police failed to turn over an 83-page police report. It took them four years to turn this report over, and this report contained inconsistencies between the testimony that had been given by Mr. Kerry.

So what ended up happening is that this young man committed suicide because of the horror of what he had gone through, but the police never turned over the report, thus forcing the court, because every American has a right to confront his accuser, it forced the court to reverse the conviction.

Shame on the prosecution and shame on the police on this one.

CALLOWAY: And Nelda, let me ask you about...

BLAIR: Please do.

CALLOWAY: ... about Stokes and your thoughts on the case. But also, this man, reportedly, confessed to hundreds of molestations...

BLAIR: Hundreds.

CALLOWAY: ... to his counselor.

BLAIR: Hundreds of molestations he confessed to in writing to a counselor, by the way.

Lida, this is not the fault of the prosecution or police. This is the fault of a liberal California appeals court. Period. They're the ones that put this man out on the street.

He's a confessed sex offender. He's convicted prior to this time, numerous times, of rape, sodomy to runaways, normally children, or younger children under 18.

This is a horrible situation by a court that wasn't thinking. Just because this man's accuser has committed suicide, does not mean that he has the right to go free on the streets. No. 1, there's other evidence against him and No. 2, if we went through that and said that about every case, then every murder victim who's also dead and who can't be cross-examined by their murderer would -- the murderer would be set free. That's a crazy idea.

CALLOWAY: All right. And Lida, let me ask you now, what about Stokes and they knew he was a level -- apparently a level three molester. He hasn't registered anywhere, as he's required to by law. So what now?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: What now is he has 30 days, apparently, to register in the state of Washington, which is the time allotted for out of state sex offenders.

And basically right now he is facing more time. More time for having given a false driver's license -- address when he applied for a driver's license than he faced the last time he was convicted for murder and rape. He faced only three years. Now he faces five.

There's something very ironic when in America you can spend more time in jail for giving a false driver's license address than you can for rape.

CALLOWAY: Well, I don't know if it's ironic, but it is certainly a travesty, don't you think, Nelda?

BLAIR: It's a travesty that the court of appeals let him out, because he was serving a life sentence under California law for what he did.

CALLOWAY: All right. Let's move on to the Supreme Court now. Taking up on Tuesday the question of whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over the detention of foreign nationals that have been captured abroad.

Of course, we're talking about Guantanamo, about 600 men being held there from 40 countries, being held in Cuba.

Again, let's start with you, Lida on your thoughts on what's going to happen in this case.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: This is a very basic, fundamental case for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is being asked to decide only the following question, whether United States courts have the jurisdiction, that means the power and the authority, to determine whether other branches of government have violated the Constitution or international law.

This is a very basic question. This has nothing to do with the merits of the case. This simply has to do with whether or not these guys get their day in court.

And the interesting thing about this is that former and current military officials and POWs have all written briefs to the court in favor of the detainees and in favor of giving them their day in court. We will not allow and cannot allow, the executive branch to be judge, jury and executioner here. We've got to give them their day in court.

CALLOWAY: But Nelda, should they receive a day in U.S. court...

BLAIR: Absolutely not.

CALLOWAY: ... when they're being held on foreign soil?

BLAIR: There's absolutely no reason for these people to receive a day in U.S. court. Lida, not everybody in the world has a Fifth Amendment right. These men have never even set foot on U.S. soil. There is no reason we should have them in our courts.

What we have is a military situation. We are at war against terrorism. And when that is the situation, the president has the right to hold detainees such as these.

There are briefs written, that's true, on the other side. But let me say this. There are two courts before the Supreme Court that have upheld the president's right to detain these people, and I think the Supreme Court will do the same thing.

CALLOWAY: All right. Quick yes or no. How is this going to -- I guess you can't say yes or no, but how is this going to come out, Lida, quickly?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to slit its own throat. It's not going to do it. It's not going to give up the jurisdiction to rule on whether or not it has the authority and whether or not the laws of the United States have been violated.

CALLOWAY: Nelda, do you agree?

BLAIR: Well, the Supreme Court is not going to slit its own throat; it's going to uphold the laws during military.

CALLOWAY: All right. Lida and Nelda, thank you very much for being with us again this morning. I wish we had more time. I always wish we had more time with you ladies.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Thank you.

CALLOWAY: Terrific thoughts on these developing stories. Thank you very much -- Renay.

SAN MIGUEL: Now if you haven't yet gotten the chance, please share your thoughts on the hostage situation in Iraq by e-mailing us at WAM -- W-A-M -- at CNN dot com.

And on a much, much lighter note, the season's first face-off between the Red Sox and the Yankees does not disappoint. That's coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sergeant Chad Shevlin (ph) first met his daughter Mikala (ph) a year ago. She was two months old, born while he was in Kuwait getting ready for war in Iraq. The meeting almost didn't happen. In Baghdad, Sergeant Shevlin came within inches of losing his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took about 5 to 6 RPG hits in the track itself before one came up underneath the hats and blasted me in the face.

I put my hand up on my neck and I realized that my finger went into my neck. And it was kind of...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pope John Paul II has reigned over the Catholic Church for the last 25 years, becoming the third longest serving pontiff in history.

He's confronted communism, survived an assassination attempt and taken his message on the road, traveling tirelessly throughout the world and speaking out passionately on issues he believes in, becoming the most well traveled pope in history.

Known for a demand for discipline, he stayed firm, following the traditional Catholic stances on issues such as sexuality, divorce, abortion and the role of women in the church, prompting criticism that he's out of touch with modern life.

His reign has seen its share of change and controversy, the most recent one being the sexual abuse scandals in the United States.

The 83-year-old suffers from Parkinson's, among other ailments, and though he has sometimes appeared frail and sickly, he's still speaking out and shaping the future of the Catholic Church.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SAN MIGUEL: Time for a check of the top stories this hour. He is scared, but otherwise in good condition. That's what a top military official says about kidnapped U.S. soldier Matt Maupin. The Arab language TV network Al Jazeera showed a videotape Friday in which Maupin appears surrounded by armed men.

And two kidnapped Japanese citizens were freed by their abductors this morning in Baghdad. Officials say their captors released their -- released the two at the Japanese embassy. Three other Japanese civilians were released on Thursday.

CALLOWAY: And we've been asking you all morning about what you think about the hostages in Iraq and what the U.S. should do about it.

SAN MIGUEL: And that's at WAM@CNN.com.

This is what Brenda in Richmond, Virginia, says, "Since I have already lost a loved one in this campaign, I understand loss. We must never negotiate with terrorists. The past has shown that, rather than making progress toward conflict resolution, negotiating simply empowers them more."

CALLOWAY: And keep sending them to us and we'll put them on the air for you.

SAN MIGUEL: There's the address, WAM@CNN.com.

They won one battle, but the war has just begun. We're talking sports here.

In the first of 19 games this year, Boston bombed the Bronx Bombers in Beantown. The final score, Red Sox six, Yankees two. The Sox yanked the game away on the arm of its pitcher, Tim Wakefield, who pitched seven strong innings.

And in another twist, everybody wondering about Alex Rodriquez, the newest Yankee, the newest million-dollar Yankee. He was zero for four for the game.

CALLOWAY: If you are just settling down, there's much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time -- that means in just about a minute, the latest on hormone replacement therapy on "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And then at 9:30 a.m., Tony, Oscar and Emmy Award winning composer Marvin Hamlisch. What's left? I think he's won everything.

SAN MIGUEL: I think so.

CALLOWAY: He shares some of his thoughts on an accomplished career. Nine forty-five, we'll discuss the challenges of recruitment in a time of war and the new role of the National Guard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 17, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now.
And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is April 17. Good morning to you. I'm Renay San Miguel.

CATHERINE CALLOWAY, ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Catherine Calloway. Thanks for being with us.

SAN MIGUEL: We're going to start with a check of the top stories at this hour.

Two kidnapped Japanese citizens were freed by their abductors this morning in Baghdad. Officials say their captors released the two at the Japanese embassy. Three other Japanese hostages were released on Thursday.

Back in the U.S., Terminal 5 at the Los Angeles International Airport is open again this morning after a security alert caused police to close it down. They evacuated the terminal last night after the report of a suspicious package. But it turned out to be a Palm Pilot and a stack of poker chips. Officials cleared flights for takeoff about two hours later.

At least nine people are dead after explosions at a chemical plant in southwestern China. The Chinese government said the cause was leaking chlorine gas. One hundred fifty thousand residents were forced to evacuate. Cleanup crews say they now have the situation under control.

CALLOWAY: We begin this hour with the unsettling image of a missing American soldier in Iraq, suddenly reappearing in a video as a hostage.

Private First Class Matt Maupin shown surrounded by masked gunmen, who say they will trade the soldier for captives in U.S. custody.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is in Maupin's hometown of Batavia, Ohio, where residents held a vigil last night to pray for him and his family -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Catherine.

Here in the area where Matt Maupin grew up, it's a quiet start to this Saturday morning. But his friends and family have not heard anything since that videotape was released on Friday, and some say this morning it's been like torture wondering if he's OK.

Now some of the ribbons, flags, flowers are still standing from last night's rally, where literally hundreds of people from around the area arrived to show their support for Matt Maupin and his family.

Maupin joined the Army Reserve in order to get some money for college. He had been missing for a week and his friends were happy to hear that he's alive in that videotape, also horrified to see him held captive.

Even though his family did not attend the rally, a close friend did read a message from them, basically telling everybody to have faith in Matt.

Many were encouraged from what they saw in that videotape released Friday from Iraq. Maupin looked frightened. He looked down a few times, but he did not appear to be roughed up. And even though his captors were holding rifles and guns behind him, they did not point them at Maupin, and none of them actually threatened to hurt or kill him.

Back here now in Claremont County, you can see some of the flags still standing here. And we spoke earlier this morning with a close friend of the family. She says that Maupin's mother is holding up well. She says that she's been very encouraged by having her younger son released temporarily from duty with the Marine Corps to come back to be with her.

And Army stress counselors have been with the family all week trying to help them through this -- Catherine.

CALLOWAY: All right. Thank you. That's Chris Lawrence in Ohio. Thanks, Chris.

SAN MIGUEL: Well, Matt Maupin is just one of many still missing in Iraq. And just what is the Pentagon doing to find or free them?

For more on that, we turn to our Kathleen Koch, live at the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, let's talk a little bit about this tape. The U.S. military was able to get a look at it before it aired on Al Jazeera television and on later U.S. television.

A copy of the tape was dropped off at the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar and then was taken immediately to U.S. military authorities, who began analyzing it to verify its contents and for any clues.

Now obviously, as we've all seen in this tape, Maupin is sitting on the floor surrounded by his captors. The hostage-takers say on the tape that their captive is, quote, "in good health and being treated based on the tenants of Islamic law for the treatment of soldiers taken hostage."

They only hint at their demands, though, saying that we will keep Maupin, quote, "until we trade him for our prisoners in the custody of the U.S. enemy."

Earlier on Friday, before the tape was received, coalition officials laid out U.S. policy for dealing with hostage-takers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SENOR, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY SPOKESMAN: We are putting everything behind trying to rescue these hostages. We will not negotiate with the terrorists, who are -- who have engaged in the hostage-taking, but we are putting everything behind their release, both from an intelligence standpoint, from a military standpoint and other resources we have at our disposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Maupin has been missing since the attack on his convoy April 9 by a small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Also missing since that time is 40-year-old Sergeant Elmer Krause of Greensboro, North Carolina. Both men were with the Army's 724th Transportation Company out of Bartonsville, Illinois.

Now this is also the same attack where the Kellogg, Brown and Root contractor Thomas Hamill was taken captive. He, of course, is still missing.

As to what the Pentagon can do right now, they are still analyzing the tape, obviously looking for any clues that might let them know where it was shot.

But at this point, Iraq is a very large country. Military very cognizant of the fact that it will be very difficult to find these men.

And obviously, many of these hostages who have been released up to this point, it has been through the intervention of Muslim clerics. So no comment yet from the Pentagon as to whether or not that might be a possibility as to gaining the release of those servicemen.

SAN MIGUEL: Kathleen Koch, live at the Pentagon. Thank you very much, Kathleen.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was in Washington this week meeting with President Bush, and afterwards the two leaders appeared at a White House news conference where the president underscored their shared commitments and stand on Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Throughout the last century, the United Kingdom and the United States have stood together when liberty was assaulted and free people were tested. And now in this century our nations see clearly the dangers of our time. And we share a determination to meet them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAN MIGUEL: The president is expected to make a case this week for renewing portions of the Patriot Act, which is intended to thwart terrorist plots in the U.S. That announcement comes after the president met with a key U.S. ally this week.

CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us now from Washington with more on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Renay.

With just 2 1/2 months before that June 30 deadline to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqi people, President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to stick to their plan of handing over power on that date. The president says doing so will demonstrate that the U.S.-led coalition has no interest in occupation.

At the same time, the Bush administration has warned that the closer that date approaches, the more likely the chance of violence by Iraqi insurgents, whom they say do not want democracy to take root.

The president saying in the past that June 30 date provides a convenient excuse to attack, but both leaders are remaining firm. Prime Minister Blair says the coalition will not back down, despite attacks.

The two also discussed the next government of Iraq. Privately Prime Minister Blair has been pushing the president to allow for the United Nations to play a greater role in shaping Iraq's future.

And for his part, President Bush says he is now looking to the U.N. for assistance in establishing an interim government that the Iraqi people will accept.

Now next week, the president continues meetings to try to shore up support for his Iraq and Middle East policies. On Wednesday at the White House he meets with King Abdullah of Jordan -- Renay.

SAN MIGUEL: Elaine Quijano from Washington, thanks so much.

Is it possible to spot a terrorist about to carry out an attack? Authorities at Boston's Logan Airport hope so. They've begun a new surveillance program called behavior pattern recognition.

And basically, security officers scrutinize the actions and appearances of thousands of people passing through the airport each day. Officers are trained to start up conversations with people they suspect might be up to no good.

CALLOWAY: The war on terror has split the Arab community and has often caused deep divisions within families.

And that is the case with Abdurahman Khadr, who grew up playing with the children of his father's long-time friend, Osama bin Laden. Khadr began to pull away from his father when he asked him to die for al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDURAHMAN KHADR, FATHER FRIENDS WITH BIN LADEN: He sat me down with these two people and tried to convinced me to become a suicide bomber. He was, like, you know, "You'd be a pride and this family would be a pride, you know, if you'd do this."

But I was totally against it. I was like, I believe in fighting, you know, someone on the ground and he shoots me and I shoot him, you know, but I don't believe in blowing myself up, killing innocent people. I don't -- I just don't believe in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLOWAY: Khadr's life with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is the subject of a new PBS documentary. And tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9, the producer of frontline's "Son of al Qaeda" will join us to talk about his story. That's tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9 Eastern Time.

SAN MIGUEL: The U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to take up the issue of Guantanamo Bay detainees and whether U.S. courts should have legal jurisdiction. Our legal team ponders the possibilities, coming up.

And if you've got questions, Dr. Gupta has answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLOWAY: Here's your chance. E-mail us your thoughts on how to deal with the hostage situation in Iraq at WAM@CNN.com.

SAN MIGUEL: And good morning, Chicago. Spring comes even to the windy city. We've got your complete weather forecast in just a moment when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLOWAY: Police are looking for self-confessed sex offender Edward Harvey Stokes after he was freed from a California jail last week. The Associated Press reports there is an arrest warrant for Stokes, alleging that he gave a fake address when he applied for a driver's license.

Now Stokes admitted to hundreds of acts of molestation and was serving a life sentence when an appeals court released him, saying that he never had a chance to confront a witness who committed suicide before the trial began.

Authorities are not sure where Stokes went after being released.

Now this California molester case is one of the subjects on the docket this morning for our legal panel. And joining us this morning is Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, who is a civil liberties attorney from New York, and Nelda Blair, a former Texas prosecutor who's joining us from Texas this morning.

Ladies, thanks for being with us.

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Thank you.

LIDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, CIVIL LIBERTIES ATTORNEY: Good morning.

CALLOWAY: Good morning to you. Lida, let's start with you, your thoughts on the Stokes case.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: This is a miserable example of the police and the prosecutor messing up.

What happened here was that Mr. Stokes went to trial without the ability to cross-examine the witness, who was the only witness to the crime, the 16-year-old victim in this case.

And the reason that that happened is because the prosecutors and the police failed to turn over an 83-page police report. It took them four years to turn this report over, and this report contained inconsistencies between the testimony that had been given by Mr. Kerry.

So what ended up happening is that this young man committed suicide because of the horror of what he had gone through, but the police never turned over the report, thus forcing the court, because every American has a right to confront his accuser, it forced the court to reverse the conviction.

Shame on the prosecution and shame on the police on this one.

CALLOWAY: And Nelda, let me ask you about...

BLAIR: Please do.

CALLOWAY: ... about Stokes and your thoughts on the case. But also, this man, reportedly, confessed to hundreds of molestations...

BLAIR: Hundreds.

CALLOWAY: ... to his counselor.

BLAIR: Hundreds of molestations he confessed to in writing to a counselor, by the way.

Lida, this is not the fault of the prosecution or police. This is the fault of a liberal California appeals court. Period. They're the ones that put this man out on the street.

He's a confessed sex offender. He's convicted prior to this time, numerous times, of rape, sodomy to runaways, normally children, or younger children under 18.

This is a horrible situation by a court that wasn't thinking. Just because this man's accuser has committed suicide, does not mean that he has the right to go free on the streets. No. 1, there's other evidence against him and No. 2, if we went through that and said that about every case, then every murder victim who's also dead and who can't be cross-examined by their murderer would -- the murderer would be set free. That's a crazy idea.

CALLOWAY: All right. And Lida, let me ask you now, what about Stokes and they knew he was a level -- apparently a level three molester. He hasn't registered anywhere, as he's required to by law. So what now?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: What now is he has 30 days, apparently, to register in the state of Washington, which is the time allotted for out of state sex offenders.

And basically right now he is facing more time. More time for having given a false driver's license -- address when he applied for a driver's license than he faced the last time he was convicted for murder and rape. He faced only three years. Now he faces five.

There's something very ironic when in America you can spend more time in jail for giving a false driver's license address than you can for rape.

CALLOWAY: Well, I don't know if it's ironic, but it is certainly a travesty, don't you think, Nelda?

BLAIR: It's a travesty that the court of appeals let him out, because he was serving a life sentence under California law for what he did.

CALLOWAY: All right. Let's move on to the Supreme Court now. Taking up on Tuesday the question of whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over the detention of foreign nationals that have been captured abroad.

Of course, we're talking about Guantanamo, about 600 men being held there from 40 countries, being held in Cuba.

Again, let's start with you, Lida on your thoughts on what's going to happen in this case.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: This is a very basic, fundamental case for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is being asked to decide only the following question, whether United States courts have the jurisdiction, that means the power and the authority, to determine whether other branches of government have violated the Constitution or international law.

This is a very basic question. This has nothing to do with the merits of the case. This simply has to do with whether or not these guys get their day in court.

And the interesting thing about this is that former and current military officials and POWs have all written briefs to the court in favor of the detainees and in favor of giving them their day in court. We will not allow and cannot allow, the executive branch to be judge, jury and executioner here. We've got to give them their day in court.

CALLOWAY: But Nelda, should they receive a day in U.S. court...

BLAIR: Absolutely not.

CALLOWAY: ... when they're being held on foreign soil?

BLAIR: There's absolutely no reason for these people to receive a day in U.S. court. Lida, not everybody in the world has a Fifth Amendment right. These men have never even set foot on U.S. soil. There is no reason we should have them in our courts.

What we have is a military situation. We are at war against terrorism. And when that is the situation, the president has the right to hold detainees such as these.

There are briefs written, that's true, on the other side. But let me say this. There are two courts before the Supreme Court that have upheld the president's right to detain these people, and I think the Supreme Court will do the same thing.

CALLOWAY: All right. Quick yes or no. How is this going to -- I guess you can't say yes or no, but how is this going to come out, Lida, quickly?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to slit its own throat. It's not going to do it. It's not going to give up the jurisdiction to rule on whether or not it has the authority and whether or not the laws of the United States have been violated.

CALLOWAY: Nelda, do you agree?

BLAIR: Well, the Supreme Court is not going to slit its own throat; it's going to uphold the laws during military.

CALLOWAY: All right. Lida and Nelda, thank you very much for being with us again this morning. I wish we had more time. I always wish we had more time with you ladies.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Thank you.

CALLOWAY: Terrific thoughts on these developing stories. Thank you very much -- Renay.

SAN MIGUEL: Now if you haven't yet gotten the chance, please share your thoughts on the hostage situation in Iraq by e-mailing us at WAM -- W-A-M -- at CNN dot com.

And on a much, much lighter note, the season's first face-off between the Red Sox and the Yankees does not disappoint. That's coming up.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sergeant Chad Shevlin (ph) first met his daughter Mikala (ph) a year ago. She was two months old, born while he was in Kuwait getting ready for war in Iraq. The meeting almost didn't happen. In Baghdad, Sergeant Shevlin came within inches of losing his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took about 5 to 6 RPG hits in the track itself before one came up underneath the hats and blasted me in the face.

I put my hand up on my neck and I realized that my finger went into my neck. And it was kind of...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pope John Paul II has reigned over the Catholic Church for the last 25 years, becoming the third longest serving pontiff in history.

He's confronted communism, survived an assassination attempt and taken his message on the road, traveling tirelessly throughout the world and speaking out passionately on issues he believes in, becoming the most well traveled pope in history.

Known for a demand for discipline, he stayed firm, following the traditional Catholic stances on issues such as sexuality, divorce, abortion and the role of women in the church, prompting criticism that he's out of touch with modern life.

His reign has seen its share of change and controversy, the most recent one being the sexual abuse scandals in the United States.

The 83-year-old suffers from Parkinson's, among other ailments, and though he has sometimes appeared frail and sickly, he's still speaking out and shaping the future of the Catholic Church.

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SAN MIGUEL: Time for a check of the top stories this hour. He is scared, but otherwise in good condition. That's what a top military official says about kidnapped U.S. soldier Matt Maupin. The Arab language TV network Al Jazeera showed a videotape Friday in which Maupin appears surrounded by armed men.

And two kidnapped Japanese citizens were freed by their abductors this morning in Baghdad. Officials say their captors released their -- released the two at the Japanese embassy. Three other Japanese civilians were released on Thursday.

CALLOWAY: And we've been asking you all morning about what you think about the hostages in Iraq and what the U.S. should do about it.

SAN MIGUEL: And that's at WAM@CNN.com.

This is what Brenda in Richmond, Virginia, says, "Since I have already lost a loved one in this campaign, I understand loss. We must never negotiate with terrorists. The past has shown that, rather than making progress toward conflict resolution, negotiating simply empowers them more."

CALLOWAY: And keep sending them to us and we'll put them on the air for you.

SAN MIGUEL: There's the address, WAM@CNN.com.

They won one battle, but the war has just begun. We're talking sports here.

In the first of 19 games this year, Boston bombed the Bronx Bombers in Beantown. The final score, Red Sox six, Yankees two. The Sox yanked the game away on the arm of its pitcher, Tim Wakefield, who pitched seven strong innings.

And in another twist, everybody wondering about Alex Rodriquez, the newest Yankee, the newest million-dollar Yankee. He was zero for four for the game.

CALLOWAY: If you are just settling down, there's much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time -- that means in just about a minute, the latest on hormone replacement therapy on "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And then at 9:30 a.m., Tony, Oscar and Emmy Award winning composer Marvin Hamlisch. What's left? I think he's won everything.

SAN MIGUEL: I think so.

CALLOWAY: He shares some of his thoughts on an accomplished career. Nine forty-five, we'll discuss the challenges of recruitment in a time of war and the new role of the National Guard.

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