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CNN Saturday Morning News

Protests in Ireland; Legal Roundtable

Aired June 26, 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.


DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now.
And good morning, from CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta. I'm Drew Griffin. It's Saturday, June 26.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. The war on terror is one but of many -- many of the topics the president is dealing with at the EU summit in Ireland. He's also facing hundreds of protesters, and we'll take you live to Ennis, Ireland. That is coming up. And what can we learn about the Scott Peterson murder trial from juror number five? That is a question on the docket for our legal panel this morning.

Plus, she missed her chance of skating Olympic gold. Now Tonya Harding is on the verge of a different kind of world title. We'll tell you all about it.

GRIFFIN: First, the news at this hour. It's a frosty welcome for President Bush in Ireland today. We're not talking about the weather there. Mr. Bush arriving in Shannon for a one-day meeting with European Union leaders. Thousands of security forces rolled out as Iraq war protesters in Ireland set up camp around the meeting site.

The beheading of a South Korean worker in Iraq has polarized public opinion over the war in Iraq in Seoul. The body of Kim Sun-il has been returned to South Korea. Protester outrage is directed at the government's plans to dispatch another 3,000 South Korean troops to bolster U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Kobe Bryant trial will get under way August 27, at least it's scheduled to start then. Whenever it begins, the trial is expected to last three to four weeks in Eagle, Colorado. A female hotel worker charged the Los Angeles Laker with sexual assault. Bryant claims the sex was consensual.

A gaggle of British sports stars and celebrities carrying the Olympic flame through the streets of London. The stop is the 21st of 33 cities on the torch route to the Athens Olympic Games. Those games begin August 13 -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Now, to our top story. President Bush is in Ireland for a short summit with European Union leaders. Our Frank Buckley is covering the sessions and he joins us from Ennis, Ireland, with the latest there. Hi, Frank. FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Betty. President Bush on the ground here in Ireland for less than 24 hours. As you say, he is meeting with leaders of the European Union, and already, as expected, a number of joint statements have been issued on topics ranging from terrorism to weapons of mass destruction to trade, and, notably, the E.U. has issued with the U.S. a joint declaration in support of the Iraqi people. This is what U.S. officials are primarily working on this trip first here at the E.U.-U.S. summit and later this weekend at the NATO summit in Turkey. The U.S.-E.U. Iraq declaration declares support for training in equipping Iraqi security forces. U.S. officials say they are optimistic that NATO will issue a similar statement of support and offer a commitment to provide training and whatever else is required by the Iraqi leadership.

Back here in Ireland, President Bush is also being confronted with a number of protesters. Here locally today, hundreds of protesters are out to protest and demonstrate against President Bush and the war in Iraq. They are protesting near Dramolin (ph) castle, being kept about two miles away, though, from where the president is.

Last night in Dublin, some 5,000 to 10,000 protesters were on the streets. In response to that and to other security concerns, an unprecedented security force is out. Some 6,000 soldiers and police are protecting the president and other European leaders during this visit -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Frank, you mentioned some 10,000 protesters yesterday, but today just hundreds. Why is there a smaller number today?

BUCKLEY: Well, the protest yesterday was in the larger city of Dublin, and that was the one that was considered to be the large protest that organizers here in Ireland had set up. This one during the weekend is, as expected, in the numbers of a few hundred -- a few hundred protesters, and apparently that's what local organizers were expecting.

NGUYEN: And Frank, this all centers around allowing planes into the Shannon Airport, those planes which eventually go on to Iraq, correct?

BUCKLEY: Right. That's been Ireland's primary contribution to the war effort in Iraq. U.S. military planes that are ferrying troops both into Iraq and into the Afghanistan theater, and then coming back out of those theaters and back into the U.S. are stopping in Shannon, Ireland, just down the road here, where they refuel on their way to and from.

That has been a point of contention with many people in this part of Ireland who are opposed to the war and opposed to President Bush. They've been very upset about that, and that's one of the things they've been protesting. Among those protesting, the local mayor, who was out on the streets last night.

NGUYEN: CNN's Frank Buckley, in Ennis, Ireland. Thank you very much for that report. Next stop, Turkey. President Bush arrives in Ankara this afternoon in advance of the NATO summit. It starts on Monday in Istanbul. Mr. Bush has been meeting European Union officials today in Ireland. He and the Irish prime minister, Bernie Ahern, will talk to reporters and CNN will provide live coverage. That is at 8:45 Eastern -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: A senior American defense official believes Iraq's most wanted terrorist nearly escaped U.S. bombs yesterday in Fallujah. The officials tells CNN a man knocked to the ground but rescued by companions is believed to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

A car bomb exploded today in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, as a Kurdish official's convoy was passing by. One person was killed, 20 wounded. It's not clear if the casualties included that Kurdish official.

And gunmen attacked two party offices this morning in Baquba, north of Baghdad. Two guards were shot to death at one of those offices. There were no injuries in the other attack.

Four days until the official transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. Our e-mail question to you this morning: What should the U.S. role in Iraq be after that handover? You can tell us what you think, by messaging us at wam, weekend a.m., @cnn.com, and we hope to hear from you sometime soon.

Well, from sovereignty to Iraq to security here at home. The Department of Homeland Security asking law officers nationwide to be extra alert over the July 4 weekend for possible terrorism. A six- page bulletin issued last evening outlines security for public gatherings in for places like dams and nuclear power plants. The alert not based on any specific intelligence.

NGUYEN: Also, today across America, the Agriculture Department says initial tests of an animal carcass are inconclusive for mad cow disease. Tissue samples are being sent to a lab in Iowa for more tests. Those results should be available in the next four to seven days. The USDA hasn't revealed where the animal was, or whether it was a cow, steer or bull. This comes six months after a cow from Canada was found to have mad cow.

The FBI is investigating this police arrest caught on tape in Compton, California. The incident is drawing comparisons to the Rodney King case. A suspect on the run suddenly stops and appears to be cooperating, but then he's tackled to the ground, kicked and hit 11 times by a police officer with a flashlight, as you see here.

GRIFFIN: Prosecutors in New York have filed drug and weapons charges against rapper DMX. They say he was posing as an FBI agent when he and a man tried to carjack a man at Kennedy Airport Thursday night. The men face up to seven years in prison if convicted on those charges.

NGUYEN: Well, with juror number five off the panel, we'll get some clues about the course of the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Our legal roundtable, that's live here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: And the oddsmakers are sure to have fun with this one. Britney Spears is about to do it again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN FALCONER, DISMISSED JUROR: From day one when they hold us -- you know, they gave us the instruction, it is our understanding, you know, he is innocent until, you know, the state (ph) proves him -- proves him guilty and he hasn't done that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's the infamous juror number five in the Scott Peterson double murder trial, dismissed after he was taped by TV cameras talking to the brother of murder victim Laci Peterson. But the judge gave no reason for sending Justin Falconer home.

GRIFFIN: The Scott Peterson murder trial and the expanded Wal- Mart class action lawsuit on our legal docket today. Our regular legal combatants join us now, always from cool places. Civil liberties attorney Lida Rodriguez-Taseff is in Miami; former prosecutor Nelda Blair, she is in Vegas this morning. Good morning, counselors.

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

GRIFFIN: Let's begin with you, Nelda. How did this juror ever get on this panel? He turns out to be a kind of a glory-seeking, rush to judgment juror.

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, as it turns out he probably shouldn't have been on this panel and he certainly should be keeping his mouth shut now, but he's decided not to do that. He took the judge's instructions that he was not supposed to talk about the case quite too literally. Says he didn't talk about the case, he just talked to Scott Peterson's (sic) brother, not a real smart idea. And now he's out talking about facets of the case when it's still going on, the prosecution is still building their whole story. It is not a good thing for this particular case.

GRIFFIN: Lida, grounds for a mistrial?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Absolutely grounds for a mistrial. Let's remember this -- on Monday -- oh, come on, now, Nelda, you've been gambling for far too long today. You know, she was up all night anyway. Anyway, but what happened here is on Monday, the judge refused to dismiss him, said, hey, no big deal, no problem. Then on Wednesday, gee, something happens and, all of a sudden, this guy is out, no explanation, no reason why. The one thing we do know is that he apparently talked to his girlfriend about the media coverage. Yet it's unclear why this judge would dismiss him after he had already agreed to leave him on, and, more importantly, I think that the defense right now is sitting there feeling good about themselves because they're thinking this is a guy who is saying that, so far, they would have voted for the defense.

BLAIR: Of course, they lost that guy too. I'm sure they're kicking themselves because they're wondering why they even protested in the first place, because he was obviously going for the defense.

But certainly not grounds for a mistrial, Lida. All you defense lawyers think a hangnail is grounds for a mistrial.

GRIFFIN: Guys, the quality of the prosecution case is being called to mind because of this juror and what he's saying. Let's take a look to this comment that this juror number five made about whether he would convict or not convict based on what he's seen so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALCONER: Well, I mean, if you gave me, you know, the information I've gotten so far and, you know, and asked me to go in and deliberate it now, there is no way that you could possibly convict him. There is no way. And there is no way that I would even believe that he was guilty for doing anything. So you know, but that's just the information we've gotten so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: He called the prosecution's case boring and weak. Don't you think other jurors are thinking the same thing and also maybe coming to their own conclusion before they should?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Absolutely, they are. You know, what was great about his answer is that his answer was, if you look at the evidence so far. Not I never thought he was guilty from the start, nothing like that. It was, if you look at the evidence so far. That shows the defense that they are right on target with their case, and the prosecution is boring and completely off target.

BLAIR: This is not a TV case. This is a case set to 12 jurors, not to the nation at large or the media. It doesn't matter how boring it is. What the prosecution is doing is building their wall brick-by- brick, and they're not through yet, and when they do get through, then the jurors can decide whether or not there is enough evidence there to find beyond a reasonable doubt.

GRIFFIN: Let's go to Wal-Mart, Nelda Blair. Class action lawsuit finally engaged, allowing up to 700,000 female workers who may have been discriminated against, certainly paid less than their male counterparts at Wal-Mart. Nelda, is this a real case or is this just attorneys looking for their next big lawsuit?

BLAIR: Oh, no, no, this is a real case. There isn't any question. You know, this case has been on file for quite a while, but now it's gone from six plaintiffs to a reported possible 1.6 million plaintiffs. It's a huge difference. It's a big, big deal that this case has been classified as a class action. These lawyers not only are capable of now representing all of those possible plaintiffs, but Wal-Mart is possibly going to have punitive damages against it, if it can be shown that it knew it was discriminating against women, which is what the case is all about, and did nothing about it. Many of these cases settle, as I'm sure Lida will tell you, but they often settle for big bucks.

GRIFFIN: Lida?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: She's absolutely right. Nelda, I agree with you for once. Absolutely correct. This is a statistics case, and statistics don't lie. What the numbers show is that Wal-Mart employed about 70 percent of women in the hourly category. But less than 33 percent of them were managers and that the management track was a tap on the shoulder, which usually means women need not apply and good old boy network.

The other interesting thing that happened here, as Nelda will tell you, is that Wal-Mart's defense to the class action was, oh, too big and unwieldy. And the judge said, too bad. If you're going to play in the big leagues and employ that many people, you better be prepared to be sued by that many people at once.

GRIFFIN: And a big warning to other companies out there, I imagine.

BLAIR: Absolutely. And this is going to be going on for a long time, too. Wal-Mart will appeal this classification and no telling when we'll be hearing about this one.

GRIFFIN: All right, get back to the tables, Nelda, and Lida, you take it easy too down there in Miami. Thanks for joining us.

BLAIR: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, guys.

NGUYEN: Ten bucks for me, Nell!

GRIFFIN: Betty?

NGUYEN: In Vegas, how fun is that? Thanks for getting up early for us, Nelda.

Irish eyes are on the president today. The E.U. summit coming up in today's headlines. That's on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: Plus, she went from a shot at being the best female ice skater in the world to a chance at a championship boxing title. Can she do it? America's self-proclaimed bad girl's big night next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: And we want to invite you to stay with CNN SATURDAY MORNING. At 9:00 this morning, we are waiting to hear a news conference from Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt and Dan Senor, the coalition's spokesperson. This conference will be coming to you live from Baghdad just four days before the handover. GRIFFIN: Here is an update on our top story this morning. Thousands of protesters greeted President Bush as he arrived in Ireland for a summit with European Union leaders there. Talks are expected to focus on the Iraq war.

The body of a South Korean worker kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq was returned home today. Grieving relatives and a police honor guard were at the airport.

The Olympic flame arrived in London for a 31-miles relay across the British capital. It is part of a six-week worldwide journey before the flame returns to Athens for the Olympic Games next month.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a good thing the flame wasn't traveling through the southeast over these past couple of days, because we've gotten a lot of rain.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, she is doing it again. Britney Spears' publicist says the pop singer is engaged to her dancer boyfriend Kevin Federline. No details yet on when or where they will tie the knot. Wonder if that's going to be in Vegas. You might recall just six months ago her surprise marriage to a childhood friend was annulled after a short time, and I understand that Federline has one child and another one on the way with one of the stars from "Moesha," so a bit of a relationship triangle there. Interesting for Miss Britney!

GRIFFIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I wonder if Britney knows about all those characters?

NGUYEN: Oh, I'm sure she does, because the girlfriend or the ex- girlfriend now has been talking a lot about it.

GRIFFIN: Oh, really?

NGUYEN: Yeah. Drama. Drama from Britney. Are you surprised, though?

GRIFFIN: I'm surprised you know so much about this, actually, Betty.

NGUYEN: Hey, it's in the news, it's part of what I need to know.

All right, moving on. Bad girl of boxing Tonya Harding gets pummeled in the ring. She was knocked out by 22-year-old Amy Johnson in Edmonton. The beating came in the third round when Johnson pushed Harding against the ropes and punched her repeatedly in the face. This fight was stopped one minute, four seconds into the round. Oh, check it out!

Harding, who is 33, suffered a black eye, a swollen nose. She made $25,000 for Friday's bout, but she had hoped to use the fight as a launching pad for a big money title fight next spring. Harding traded in her figure skates for boxing gloves two years ago. Only a minute and knocked her out. GRIFFIN: I wonder if Britney Spears and that other ex -- ex could do that.

NGUYEN: Maybe get in the ring together?

GRIFFIN: Yeah. We have an e-mail question for you this morning that we've been asking about. "What should the U.S. role in Iraq be after the handover four days from now?"

Amy writes in, and she says this: "Our role in Iraq is to act as big brother until the Iraqis' democratic strength comes of age."

Thanks, Amy. If you want to write in and let us know what your thoughts are, you can write us at wam@cnn.com. We would be happy to hear from you.

Living with asthma can sometimes be traumatic, but it doesn't always have to be. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells you what he thinks in his HOUSECALL at 8:30 Eastern.

Next hour, though, a first of its kind event sponsored by the man "Time" magazine calls the next Billy Graham. A look at Bishop T.D. Jakes' megafest. It's next hour. And it was just a word or was it? CNN's Jeanne Moose on the "f" word uttered by Vice President Dick Cheney. That's coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 26, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now.
And good morning, from CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta. I'm Drew Griffin. It's Saturday, June 26.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. The war on terror is one but of many -- many of the topics the president is dealing with at the EU summit in Ireland. He's also facing hundreds of protesters, and we'll take you live to Ennis, Ireland. That is coming up. And what can we learn about the Scott Peterson murder trial from juror number five? That is a question on the docket for our legal panel this morning.

Plus, she missed her chance of skating Olympic gold. Now Tonya Harding is on the verge of a different kind of world title. We'll tell you all about it.

GRIFFIN: First, the news at this hour. It's a frosty welcome for President Bush in Ireland today. We're not talking about the weather there. Mr. Bush arriving in Shannon for a one-day meeting with European Union leaders. Thousands of security forces rolled out as Iraq war protesters in Ireland set up camp around the meeting site.

The beheading of a South Korean worker in Iraq has polarized public opinion over the war in Iraq in Seoul. The body of Kim Sun-il has been returned to South Korea. Protester outrage is directed at the government's plans to dispatch another 3,000 South Korean troops to bolster U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Kobe Bryant trial will get under way August 27, at least it's scheduled to start then. Whenever it begins, the trial is expected to last three to four weeks in Eagle, Colorado. A female hotel worker charged the Los Angeles Laker with sexual assault. Bryant claims the sex was consensual.

A gaggle of British sports stars and celebrities carrying the Olympic flame through the streets of London. The stop is the 21st of 33 cities on the torch route to the Athens Olympic Games. Those games begin August 13 -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Now, to our top story. President Bush is in Ireland for a short summit with European Union leaders. Our Frank Buckley is covering the sessions and he joins us from Ennis, Ireland, with the latest there. Hi, Frank. FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Betty. President Bush on the ground here in Ireland for less than 24 hours. As you say, he is meeting with leaders of the European Union, and already, as expected, a number of joint statements have been issued on topics ranging from terrorism to weapons of mass destruction to trade, and, notably, the E.U. has issued with the U.S. a joint declaration in support of the Iraqi people. This is what U.S. officials are primarily working on this trip first here at the E.U.-U.S. summit and later this weekend at the NATO summit in Turkey. The U.S.-E.U. Iraq declaration declares support for training in equipping Iraqi security forces. U.S. officials say they are optimistic that NATO will issue a similar statement of support and offer a commitment to provide training and whatever else is required by the Iraqi leadership.

Back here in Ireland, President Bush is also being confronted with a number of protesters. Here locally today, hundreds of protesters are out to protest and demonstrate against President Bush and the war in Iraq. They are protesting near Dramolin (ph) castle, being kept about two miles away, though, from where the president is.

Last night in Dublin, some 5,000 to 10,000 protesters were on the streets. In response to that and to other security concerns, an unprecedented security force is out. Some 6,000 soldiers and police are protecting the president and other European leaders during this visit -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Frank, you mentioned some 10,000 protesters yesterday, but today just hundreds. Why is there a smaller number today?

BUCKLEY: Well, the protest yesterday was in the larger city of Dublin, and that was the one that was considered to be the large protest that organizers here in Ireland had set up. This one during the weekend is, as expected, in the numbers of a few hundred -- a few hundred protesters, and apparently that's what local organizers were expecting.

NGUYEN: And Frank, this all centers around allowing planes into the Shannon Airport, those planes which eventually go on to Iraq, correct?

BUCKLEY: Right. That's been Ireland's primary contribution to the war effort in Iraq. U.S. military planes that are ferrying troops both into Iraq and into the Afghanistan theater, and then coming back out of those theaters and back into the U.S. are stopping in Shannon, Ireland, just down the road here, where they refuel on their way to and from.

That has been a point of contention with many people in this part of Ireland who are opposed to the war and opposed to President Bush. They've been very upset about that, and that's one of the things they've been protesting. Among those protesting, the local mayor, who was out on the streets last night.

NGUYEN: CNN's Frank Buckley, in Ennis, Ireland. Thank you very much for that report. Next stop, Turkey. President Bush arrives in Ankara this afternoon in advance of the NATO summit. It starts on Monday in Istanbul. Mr. Bush has been meeting European Union officials today in Ireland. He and the Irish prime minister, Bernie Ahern, will talk to reporters and CNN will provide live coverage. That is at 8:45 Eastern -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: A senior American defense official believes Iraq's most wanted terrorist nearly escaped U.S. bombs yesterday in Fallujah. The officials tells CNN a man knocked to the ground but rescued by companions is believed to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

A car bomb exploded today in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, as a Kurdish official's convoy was passing by. One person was killed, 20 wounded. It's not clear if the casualties included that Kurdish official.

And gunmen attacked two party offices this morning in Baquba, north of Baghdad. Two guards were shot to death at one of those offices. There were no injuries in the other attack.

Four days until the official transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. Our e-mail question to you this morning: What should the U.S. role in Iraq be after that handover? You can tell us what you think, by messaging us at wam, weekend a.m., @cnn.com, and we hope to hear from you sometime soon.

Well, from sovereignty to Iraq to security here at home. The Department of Homeland Security asking law officers nationwide to be extra alert over the July 4 weekend for possible terrorism. A six- page bulletin issued last evening outlines security for public gatherings in for places like dams and nuclear power plants. The alert not based on any specific intelligence.

NGUYEN: Also, today across America, the Agriculture Department says initial tests of an animal carcass are inconclusive for mad cow disease. Tissue samples are being sent to a lab in Iowa for more tests. Those results should be available in the next four to seven days. The USDA hasn't revealed where the animal was, or whether it was a cow, steer or bull. This comes six months after a cow from Canada was found to have mad cow.

The FBI is investigating this police arrest caught on tape in Compton, California. The incident is drawing comparisons to the Rodney King case. A suspect on the run suddenly stops and appears to be cooperating, but then he's tackled to the ground, kicked and hit 11 times by a police officer with a flashlight, as you see here.

GRIFFIN: Prosecutors in New York have filed drug and weapons charges against rapper DMX. They say he was posing as an FBI agent when he and a man tried to carjack a man at Kennedy Airport Thursday night. The men face up to seven years in prison if convicted on those charges.

NGUYEN: Well, with juror number five off the panel, we'll get some clues about the course of the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Our legal roundtable, that's live here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: And the oddsmakers are sure to have fun with this one. Britney Spears is about to do it again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN FALCONER, DISMISSED JUROR: From day one when they hold us -- you know, they gave us the instruction, it is our understanding, you know, he is innocent until, you know, the state (ph) proves him -- proves him guilty and he hasn't done that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's the infamous juror number five in the Scott Peterson double murder trial, dismissed after he was taped by TV cameras talking to the brother of murder victim Laci Peterson. But the judge gave no reason for sending Justin Falconer home.

GRIFFIN: The Scott Peterson murder trial and the expanded Wal- Mart class action lawsuit on our legal docket today. Our regular legal combatants join us now, always from cool places. Civil liberties attorney Lida Rodriguez-Taseff is in Miami; former prosecutor Nelda Blair, she is in Vegas this morning. Good morning, counselors.

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

GRIFFIN: Let's begin with you, Nelda. How did this juror ever get on this panel? He turns out to be a kind of a glory-seeking, rush to judgment juror.

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, as it turns out he probably shouldn't have been on this panel and he certainly should be keeping his mouth shut now, but he's decided not to do that. He took the judge's instructions that he was not supposed to talk about the case quite too literally. Says he didn't talk about the case, he just talked to Scott Peterson's (sic) brother, not a real smart idea. And now he's out talking about facets of the case when it's still going on, the prosecution is still building their whole story. It is not a good thing for this particular case.

GRIFFIN: Lida, grounds for a mistrial?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Absolutely grounds for a mistrial. Let's remember this -- on Monday -- oh, come on, now, Nelda, you've been gambling for far too long today. You know, she was up all night anyway. Anyway, but what happened here is on Monday, the judge refused to dismiss him, said, hey, no big deal, no problem. Then on Wednesday, gee, something happens and, all of a sudden, this guy is out, no explanation, no reason why. The one thing we do know is that he apparently talked to his girlfriend about the media coverage. Yet it's unclear why this judge would dismiss him after he had already agreed to leave him on, and, more importantly, I think that the defense right now is sitting there feeling good about themselves because they're thinking this is a guy who is saying that, so far, they would have voted for the defense.

BLAIR: Of course, they lost that guy too. I'm sure they're kicking themselves because they're wondering why they even protested in the first place, because he was obviously going for the defense.

But certainly not grounds for a mistrial, Lida. All you defense lawyers think a hangnail is grounds for a mistrial.

GRIFFIN: Guys, the quality of the prosecution case is being called to mind because of this juror and what he's saying. Let's take a look to this comment that this juror number five made about whether he would convict or not convict based on what he's seen so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALCONER: Well, I mean, if you gave me, you know, the information I've gotten so far and, you know, and asked me to go in and deliberate it now, there is no way that you could possibly convict him. There is no way. And there is no way that I would even believe that he was guilty for doing anything. So you know, but that's just the information we've gotten so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: He called the prosecution's case boring and weak. Don't you think other jurors are thinking the same thing and also maybe coming to their own conclusion before they should?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Absolutely, they are. You know, what was great about his answer is that his answer was, if you look at the evidence so far. Not I never thought he was guilty from the start, nothing like that. It was, if you look at the evidence so far. That shows the defense that they are right on target with their case, and the prosecution is boring and completely off target.

BLAIR: This is not a TV case. This is a case set to 12 jurors, not to the nation at large or the media. It doesn't matter how boring it is. What the prosecution is doing is building their wall brick-by- brick, and they're not through yet, and when they do get through, then the jurors can decide whether or not there is enough evidence there to find beyond a reasonable doubt.

GRIFFIN: Let's go to Wal-Mart, Nelda Blair. Class action lawsuit finally engaged, allowing up to 700,000 female workers who may have been discriminated against, certainly paid less than their male counterparts at Wal-Mart. Nelda, is this a real case or is this just attorneys looking for their next big lawsuit?

BLAIR: Oh, no, no, this is a real case. There isn't any question. You know, this case has been on file for quite a while, but now it's gone from six plaintiffs to a reported possible 1.6 million plaintiffs. It's a huge difference. It's a big, big deal that this case has been classified as a class action. These lawyers not only are capable of now representing all of those possible plaintiffs, but Wal-Mart is possibly going to have punitive damages against it, if it can be shown that it knew it was discriminating against women, which is what the case is all about, and did nothing about it. Many of these cases settle, as I'm sure Lida will tell you, but they often settle for big bucks.

GRIFFIN: Lida?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: She's absolutely right. Nelda, I agree with you for once. Absolutely correct. This is a statistics case, and statistics don't lie. What the numbers show is that Wal-Mart employed about 70 percent of women in the hourly category. But less than 33 percent of them were managers and that the management track was a tap on the shoulder, which usually means women need not apply and good old boy network.

The other interesting thing that happened here, as Nelda will tell you, is that Wal-Mart's defense to the class action was, oh, too big and unwieldy. And the judge said, too bad. If you're going to play in the big leagues and employ that many people, you better be prepared to be sued by that many people at once.

GRIFFIN: And a big warning to other companies out there, I imagine.

BLAIR: Absolutely. And this is going to be going on for a long time, too. Wal-Mart will appeal this classification and no telling when we'll be hearing about this one.

GRIFFIN: All right, get back to the tables, Nelda, and Lida, you take it easy too down there in Miami. Thanks for joining us.

BLAIR: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, guys.

NGUYEN: Ten bucks for me, Nell!

GRIFFIN: Betty?

NGUYEN: In Vegas, how fun is that? Thanks for getting up early for us, Nelda.

Irish eyes are on the president today. The E.U. summit coming up in today's headlines. That's on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: Plus, she went from a shot at being the best female ice skater in the world to a chance at a championship boxing title. Can she do it? America's self-proclaimed bad girl's big night next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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NGUYEN: And we want to invite you to stay with CNN SATURDAY MORNING. At 9:00 this morning, we are waiting to hear a news conference from Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt and Dan Senor, the coalition's spokesperson. This conference will be coming to you live from Baghdad just four days before the handover. GRIFFIN: Here is an update on our top story this morning. Thousands of protesters greeted President Bush as he arrived in Ireland for a summit with European Union leaders there. Talks are expected to focus on the Iraq war.

The body of a South Korean worker kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq was returned home today. Grieving relatives and a police honor guard were at the airport.

The Olympic flame arrived in London for a 31-miles relay across the British capital. It is part of a six-week worldwide journey before the flame returns to Athens for the Olympic Games next month.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a good thing the flame wasn't traveling through the southeast over these past couple of days, because we've gotten a lot of rain.

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NGUYEN: Well, she is doing it again. Britney Spears' publicist says the pop singer is engaged to her dancer boyfriend Kevin Federline. No details yet on when or where they will tie the knot. Wonder if that's going to be in Vegas. You might recall just six months ago her surprise marriage to a childhood friend was annulled after a short time, and I understand that Federline has one child and another one on the way with one of the stars from "Moesha," so a bit of a relationship triangle there. Interesting for Miss Britney!

GRIFFIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I wonder if Britney knows about all those characters?

NGUYEN: Oh, I'm sure she does, because the girlfriend or the ex- girlfriend now has been talking a lot about it.

GRIFFIN: Oh, really?

NGUYEN: Yeah. Drama. Drama from Britney. Are you surprised, though?

GRIFFIN: I'm surprised you know so much about this, actually, Betty.

NGUYEN: Hey, it's in the news, it's part of what I need to know.

All right, moving on. Bad girl of boxing Tonya Harding gets pummeled in the ring. She was knocked out by 22-year-old Amy Johnson in Edmonton. The beating came in the third round when Johnson pushed Harding against the ropes and punched her repeatedly in the face. This fight was stopped one minute, four seconds into the round. Oh, check it out!

Harding, who is 33, suffered a black eye, a swollen nose. She made $25,000 for Friday's bout, but she had hoped to use the fight as a launching pad for a big money title fight next spring. Harding traded in her figure skates for boxing gloves two years ago. Only a minute and knocked her out. GRIFFIN: I wonder if Britney Spears and that other ex -- ex could do that.

NGUYEN: Maybe get in the ring together?

GRIFFIN: Yeah. We have an e-mail question for you this morning that we've been asking about. "What should the U.S. role in Iraq be after the handover four days from now?"

Amy writes in, and she says this: "Our role in Iraq is to act as big brother until the Iraqis' democratic strength comes of age."

Thanks, Amy. If you want to write in and let us know what your thoughts are, you can write us at wam@cnn.com. We would be happy to hear from you.

Living with asthma can sometimes be traumatic, but it doesn't always have to be. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells you what he thinks in his HOUSECALL at 8:30 Eastern.

Next hour, though, a first of its kind event sponsored by the man "Time" magazine calls the next Billy Graham. A look at Bishop T.D. Jakes' megafest. It's next hour. And it was just a word or was it? CNN's Jeanne Moose on the "f" word uttered by Vice President Dick Cheney. That's coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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