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| NANCY GRACE - Tough talk was today's surprise in court. It's keeping speculation at an all-time high. From Modesto with the latest, Ted Rowlands of KTVU, defense attorney Roy Black, Westchester County New York district attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, defense attorney Chris Pixley and Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, assistant DA for San Francisco tonight on LARRY KING LIVE. Thank you for being with us tonight. Let's go straight to Jeanine Pirro, joining us from New York. Jeanine, what happened today in court? JEANINE FERRIS PIRRO, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WESTCHESTER CTY, NY: Well, my understanding is that today there was an issue as to whether or not the search warrants would be made public, and the judge reserved the decision on that. And I think it really is a reflection of the whole issue of the public trial, a fair trial versus the public's right to know. And as a prosecutor, I come down on the side of making sure that the public has information. Making sure that we have a fair trial for the defendant is really a function of voir dire and jury selection. But from the beginning of the criminal justice system in this country, we've recognized the right to a public trial. This case should be no different. GRACE: Roy Black, isn't it odd that, at this point -- I'm talking post-arrest -- so much of the information remains sealed and secret? ROY BLACK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I don't -- I'm amazed that anything is secret in this case, being the amount of time we spend talking about it. But I don't know anymore where the line between justice and entertainment is drawn. I mean, we have such -- this voracious need to know every fact in this case. Maybe it's a good idea we ought to wait until the trial to hear about the evidence. GRACE: OK, Roy Black, I'm going to steer you back into the middle of the road here. In all of your cases, Roy, and you have tried a ton -- I find it very unusual that documents are still secret, they're still sealed in a double murder case. Do you find that odd? BLACK: Not at all. I just finished a trial in which entire cases, entire files were sealed in the courthouse that we were trying to open up. So it's not that unusual in the criminal justice system for judges to seal parts of files, seal records, and not release them until they're necessary in court. And particularly in this case, with all of commentary going on -- it's on every channel, every day -- I can imagine the judge is feeling like he ought to keep something private until the trial. PIRRO: But Roy, isn't the truth that, in light of the what the DA did in Stanislaus County, isn't a little information worse than having all of the information? Part of this autopsy report was leaked, and the DA made the decision to ask the judge to unseal the whole thing because we -- if we're going to know a little bit, we should know the whole story, not just part of the truth, but the whole truth. And that's the problem with sealing these records. Leaks and leaks come out and rumors start and the spin begins. GRACE: ... Kim Newsom there in San Francisco. Kim Newsom, do you think it's harming either side, the fact that leaks are continuing, as opposed to the entire, for instance, autopsy report being released? KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SF: Yes, I do. I think, at this point, the judge is running out of excuses and reasons to justify keeping these documents sealed. We're soon approaching the preliminary hearing date, and I expect at that point, I think even before that, he should open up the records. And in fact, we've seen a number of other high-profile cases where documents were not sealed, like the Polly Klaas case. And I think in this case,I think too much misinformation, half truth and innuendo and speculationare hurting both sides, and it needs to stop. GRACE: Chris Pixley, we know tidbits are being leaked. For instance, today the issue of the brown van has taken center stage in the courtroom. But we don't have a real explanation. What do you make of it? CHRIS PIXLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I don't know exactly what to make of thebrown van just yet, Nancy. Obviously, the prosecution has said at every step of the way that any evidence that the defense comes up with, they have an explanation for, they've already looked into it, it doesn't mean anything. With respect, though, to the unsealing of the search warrants, you know, the judge is going to have to go, or the judges, in this case -- and that's part of the problem. You've got the civil and criminal suits here. But the judge is going to have to go one way or the other. If you want a gag order and you want to gag everyone, then the idea is that you're going to try to rein in the release of evidence. If, on the other hand, you're considering opening up the search warrants,opening up the autopsy, then you want to get it all out there. But you've got to go oneway or the other. And on Friday there's going to be a clash of these two different ideals. GRACE: All right, Jeanine Pirro, we heard the judge discussing today his leanings toward releasing all the documents. In the end, when it's all said and done -- we haven't even struck a jury yet. So are you pro or con? PIRRO: I believe the documents and this information should be made public. Right now, there are so many leaks going on and so much spin going on that it's starting to be a game and it's starting to be public entertainment. You know, when I was a judge, one of the things I did swearing in a witness was said to them, Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? By this spin, there is so much damage that's being done that I think that that is unfairly prejudicing the public and, ultimately, the jury that will sit. I think that the public has a right to know. The side that we should err on is giving the public information. PIXLEY: Of course, the two really interesting points here, Nancy, is, first of all, the prosecution is the side that has been -- and the police have been issuing all the leaks from the very beginning of this case. NEWSOM: Oh! Not true! FULL STORY HOME INDEX EVIDENCE-NEWS TRIAL NEWS INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS LKL INDEX |
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| LARRY KING LIVE June 3, 2003 |
| NANCY GRACE, GUEST HOST
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