Transcript from THE ABRAMS REPORT
Aired Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Subjects: Scott Peterson Case, Michael Jackson Child Molestation Case

ANNOUNCER: From Modesto, California, this is THE ABRAMS REPORT. Here now is Dan Abrams.

DAN ABRAMS, host: Hi, everyone. Tonight Scott Peterson tells a Colorado judge he is innocent when asked about charges that he murdered his wife and unborn child. And some fireworks inside the courtroom today as well. The convicted rapist charged with kidnapping a North Dakota coed makes his first court appearance as hundreds of people search for her through snowy fields. Anxious family and friends wonder whether this guy may have the answers as to where Dru Sjodin is. And the fascination with rich kids. Inadvertent porn star Paris Hilton has a new primetime show. Tonight we'll tackle that all important question, why is Paris so hot? But, first, I'm in Modesto tonight where Scott Peterson was back in court to answer the ultimate question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that correct, Mr. Peterson, you're pleading not guilty to the two charges of murder plus (UNINTELLIGIBLE) denying these special obligations.

SCOTT PETERSON, CHARGED WITH MURDER: That's correct, your honor. I'm innocent.

ABRAMS: And some key rulings in court today as well. A trial date has been set for January the 26th. The prosecution now must return Peterson's truck that they've had locked for nearly a year. The judge rejected an argument from prosecutors that jurors should be able to see the actual truck. The protective or gag order remains in place. Arrest and search warrants as well as the autopsy photos remain sealed, and Scott Peterson gets back his cash -- $15,000 that was confiscated from him the night he was arrested. So to discuss all of these developments I am joined now by NBC analyst and criminal defense attorney Roy Black and defense attorney Howard Weitzman and here in Modesto is Gloria Allred, attorney for Peterson's girlfriend, Amber Frey. All right, Roy Black, before we get into the issue of the truck and all the details, January the 26th, Scott Peterson supposed to go on trial. Is that actually going to happen?

ROY BLACK, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Dan, I sincerely doubt that. Unless he has a team like O.J. Simpson did, you know you can use speedy trial rules like that to get a quick trial. This would be a big mistake. So I imagine there is going to be a big delay.

ABRAMS: When you say big delay, what are you talking about that? Six months?

BLACK: No I would think more than that. Nine months to a year.

ABRAMS: Howard Weitzman, do you agree?

HOWARD WEITZMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well I'm very surprised they're doing it this quick. If Geragos has got it together and he wants to push forward, all the more power to him. If it was me I'd want more time.

ABRAMS: Gloria Allred, what do you make -- January -- they were talking about it today in court as if it were a real date.

GLORIA ALLRED, AMBER FREY'S ATTORNEY: Yes, I don't know. I don't know what Mark Geragos' strategy is because as we have learned, Dan, just because he says he might want something doesn't mean he necessarily wants it. For example, when he was hinting that he might call Amber Frey to testify and then didn't. So maybe suggesting that he's ready to go, that he wants a speedy trial, but maybe he isn't really ready. Maybe he thinks that that's not going to happen on that date anyway, so why worry about it. It's hard to say. But you know what? Even if his client, Scott Peterson, wants a speedy trial because he's sitting there basically in the Stanislaus County jail, not a happy camper, the question, too is, is Mark Geragos even ready for a speedy trial? He's got the commitment to Michael Jackson...

ALLRED: ... he's got a lot of other cases. Of course, attorneys handle cases all the time, but is he really ready?

ABRAMS: He's got to, Roy Black, never, I assume, mention the two words Michael Jackson inside this courtroom in Modesto. I mean if he ever has to ask for a delay, something like that, I've got to believe he will never use the two words, Michael Jackson. Do you agree with me?

BLACK: No, I agree with you. He couldn't afford to do that. But you know the only way he could go to trial January 26, if he had a team of lawyers like O.J. Simpson did who could get ready that quickly. He by himself or with the counsel he has now could never take on the burden of getting this case ready by then. So I don't believe there's any chance this case is going to trial anytime soon.

ABRAMS: All right...

WEITZMAN: ... I mean the only thing I want to say...

ABRAMS: Go ahead Howard.

WEITZMAN: ... say is one thing, Dan. There may be something we don't know. There are times as Roy knows when you push to get the trial early, but it's when you really have all the cards in your hip pocket and you're ready to go. And from what I've seen it's hard to believe that Mark has everything he needs to move forward in a case like this.

ABRAMS: Let's talk about this truck, Scott Peterson's truck. The defense team has been saying we want it back. We don't want to pay the car payments. We want to be able to sell this truck. You guys are just holding it there. Here is what prosecutor Distaso had to say about what they wanted to do with that truck.

RICK DISTASO, SENIOR DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTY.: There was blood found in the truck I believe in a doorjamb or a map pocket or something, as well as on a visor that matched the defendant.

ABRAMS: They went on to say that Peterson's truck was used to transport Laci's body to his warehouse and then the bay. That Peterson's blood found inside the truck, that he received wounds to his hands during or after the murder, that cement like material was found in the truck bed. Gloria, were you surprised that the judge here said, look, you can do it with pictures? This is the way they do it in every other case. You don't need to actually bring the jurors on some field trip to go out and look at the truck.

ALLRED: Well in a way, yes. Because I think that the prosecution did make a strong argument why they would want the jurors to see the truck. But on the other hand, there is an argument that they could look at the photographs. So the judge did make that concession of returning the truck to Scott Peterson. But I thought it was a little bit strange that actually Mr. Geragos even made the motion, because then it let out in the public that there was blood from his client...

ABRAMS: We knew that...

ALLRED: ... yes, we knew it, but still it emphasized that once again, you know it reminds me of O.J. Simpson. Remember when his blood was also found in the car.

ABRAMS: Well that's what I want to ask Howard Weitzman about. Howard, briefly represented O.J. Simpson. Here is what Scott Peterson had to say about why there might have been his blood in the truck. Quote -- "Plenty of blood from there, the truck, from me. I work on farms and you can take a look at my hands now and they have cuts all over them." Good defense, Howard?

WEITZMAN: Well not from my perspective. I recall, by the way, there is some question as to whether or not the judge in Simpson's case let the blood into evidence that was found in the truck. It seems to me if there was blood in the truck it is only a negative for someone charged with a crime Scott Peterson is charged with, if it's -- assuming it's his blood, which I presume it is.

ABRAMS: Yes, which they say it is. All right, let's move on. Case two, moving on to Mark Geragos' other big client, Michael Jackson. Defense sources telling me that they're doing a number of things. They are beginning their investigation. One of the things they're doing is they're looking into private investigator Anthony Pellicano now serving time in a federal prison. Now we've known that this was going to come up because he was retained by Jackson back in 1993 when another boy made accusations of molestation. That case was settled. It will probably come up in the new case. The D.A. today saying he expects that it will and now they're investigating whether Pellicano may have given Michael Jackson some bad advice and whether he might have had a motive to do that. Roy Black, they going to make any hay out of this? Could they make any hay out of this?

BLACK: Well Dan you know I've heard the same thing that you have. I find it hard to connect that to the particular case. Let's fact it, Pellicano is pretty down right now and everyone is kicking him. The thing I would be worried about if I was on the Jackson side is whether Pellicano would cooperate in order to get some type of sentence reduction.

ABRAMS: And when you say cooperate, you mean turn on his former client?

BLACK: Sure. That happens all the time. As soon as somebody gets in prison they're always looking for a way out and it would certainly be to his benefit to cooperate with the prosecution in Santa Barbara if they would allow the feds to reduce his sentence.

ABRAMS: Howard Weitzman, is this going to be a big issue or not?

WEITZMAN: Well listen, you may recall I'm responsible for Pellicano coming to Los Angeles. I hired him...

ABRAMS: Right.

WEITZMAN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) case in 1982. I think the chances of Anthony turning on any of the lawyers or any of the clients is zero. I don't think that's his frame of mind. I represented Michael in 1993. I was part of the team when Johnnie Cochran was hired. To the best of my knowledge there was nothing inappropriate done by Pellicano or anyone in those proceedings.

ALLRED: That would be a pretty pathetic defense if Michael Jackson tried it. It's a kind of a variation of the devil made me do it. Anthony Pellicano made me do it...

ABRAMS: Maybe he was working both sides of the fence. Maybe he was engaging in improper conduct and as a result gave Michael Jackson bad advice.

ALLRED: I mean if this is all that Michael Jackson's got he's in bigger trouble than we thought.

BLACK: But...

BLACK: But he wasn't a lawyer.

BLACK: Getting bad advice from a private investigator really is not going to take you very far.

WEITZMAN: Yes.

ABRAMS: Go ahead, Howard, you want to say something?

WEITZMAN: I was just going to say I don't think Pellicano is going to surface in this case. I don't think there's any nexus, any connection, and I don't think you will find him involved if they allow any of the allegations in the prior case to come into evidence...

ABRAMS: All right.

WEITZMAN: ... in the 2003 case.

ABRAMS: Yes or no answer from each one of you. Roy Black, will the Michael Jackson case go to trial?

BLACK: Yes, but I don't think they have enough.

ABRAMS: Howard Weitzman?

WEITZMAN: I predict we haven't seen enough to answer that question. This seems to be imploding on a daily bases. I think it depends on what else surfaces. I'll tell you this. I don't think Michael will make a deal. And if it doesn't implode from the government side, it will go to trial.

ABRAMS: Gloria.

ALLRED: I think the answer is yes Dan. I don't think that the D.A. would have decided to charge it and file it if in fact he didn't think he had enough at least to go to trial.

ABRAMS: My prediction that that case will not go to trial. I can't tell you exactly how or what's going to happen. I'm just feeling it. But I'm always wrong. Roy Black, Howard Weitzman, Gloria Allred, thanks a lot for coming on the program.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you...