2011.06.03 Geraldo Rivera's statement on Fox & Friends

[daisy.faithfull]

Oh for heaven's sake! Does GR start throwing stuff like this out there when people start talking about JB's absolute incompetence?

 

[ami]

Just thought I'd offer a little "fair and balanced" reporting:

1. Geraldo is a joke.
2. HHJP is an excellent judge and rarely makes mistakes.
3. As to the Universal tape, I think HHJP made a mistake. I think Casey was "in custody" at that time, based on the extremely broad interpretation of that phrase by the Florida appellate courts, and she was clearly being accused of wrongdoing by the detectives.
4. It is possible that the Florida Supreme Court will overturn any conviction based on this mistake.
5. It is also possible that the Florida Supreme Court will say that the mistake (if they find it to have been a mistake) was harmless error because everything of significance in the Universal tape was also contained in the other written statements from Casey, witness recollections of Casey's statements, and jail visit videos.

I'm crossing my fingers for #5.

What DOES "in custody" mean in the strict legal sense?

Why this doesn't make sense to my non-legal mind is that she brought them there herself, was free to leave, was told they were only in the unlocked room for privacy... all on tape... and in court Melich testified that he was gathering information about a missing child, not investigating a crime they suspected KC of. Doesn't that have legal standing?

I mean what would they have mirandized her about at that moment - they didn't know what crime had been committed if any and only suspected her of lying about her job. At what point in the interview would the state of FL say it (for legal purposes) became an interrogation of a suspect?

The interview ended with KC being dropped off at home, clearly not in custody.

I guess this might be more a question for the legal thread, but what are the circumstances under which a person has to be mirandized when police are investigating and information gathering? Should Cindy and George also have been mirandized, and Tony Lazzaro, when they asked them questions about the last time they saw Caylee?

 

[Reznor]

Silly Geraldo. It seems he forgot that law enforcement were looking for a 2 1/2 year old child!

 

[mommaearth]

Well even if they try and use this as grounds for appeal I don't worry too much about it. I have been watching Bill Shaffer's excellent commentary on WFTV all week and I heard him say that only 1% of DP cases are overturned on appeal.

 

[Lera213]

A child was missing, the mother lied, Yuri didn't know why she lied about critical things and wanted to find out. For all Yuri knew someone who had Caylee threaten Casey and that is why Casey Lied to the police.

Let me tell you, I don't think they thought she was a suspect at the time because if they did, they would have stopped that interview and taken it downtown. They wanted to find the Child Period. After this conversation yeah, she was a suspect I believe but during it, I don't think so. MOO

 

[cleo612]

Is Geraldo still on?

I think the question really should be, "WHY is Geraldo still on?"

 

[zoey]

I think the question really should be, "WHY is Geraldo still on?"

no hurricanes????????

 

[Meagain]

I think we're going to have to hear about Casey for 300 more years just like her brother Charles Manson.

LOL!

Well -About Geraldo... He was also on board with the concept that LE planted evidence re OJ and OJ was innocent.

 

[1Chump]

Just thought I'd offer a little "fair and balanced" reporting:

1. Geraldo is a joke.
2. HHJP is an excellent judge and rarely makes mistakes.
3. As to the Universal tape, I think HHJP made a mistake. I think Casey was "in custody" at that time, based on the extremely broad interpretation of that phrase by the Florida appellate courts, and she was clearly being accused of wrongdoing by the detectives.4. It is possible that the Florida Supreme Court will overturn any conviction based on this mistake.
5. It is also possible that the Florida Supreme Court will say that the mistake (if they find it to have been a mistake) was harmless error because everything of significance in the Universal tape was also contained in the other written statements from Casey, witness recollections of Casey's statements, and jail visit videos.

I'm crossing my fingers for #5.

I thought HHJP had to really reach to make the conclusion that a reasonable person would believe they could leave at Universal.

IMO, a "reasonable" person would have known by that time that they were a suspect.

 

[Sleuth5]

I sat through three (I think, can't remember exactly) excruciating hours of his Al Capone live fiasco, and after that event, vowed to never patronize him again. I remain firm in that conviction. He could give ICA lessons in narcissism.

"This gun is hot!" :floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:

MOO

 

[1Chump]

BUT WAIT!

I can see if they felt they couldn't use the tapes for the child negligence charges - that I can understand. But still, she wasn't arrested for murder then so I can't see why the tapes can't be used for a murder charge imposed much later.

Your Constitutional Rights are intact at all times. To allow Rights violated in one case to be used in another case would make those Rights not worth the paper they are written on.

That would give LE free "reign" to violate someone's rights in a minor case with the sole intent to gather evidence for a major case.

 

[AVMAURA]

In journalism school we learned that Geraldo traded his credibility for (failed) sensationalist projects in the early eighties. He USED to be among the most trusted journalists in the country. Now??? Pffft...

I grew up on LI in the 60s n 70s...His expose on Willowbrook was awesome work...then it went to his head and he turned into what he is today

 

[GutFeeling!]

I thought HHJP had to really reach to make the conclusion that a reasonable person would believe they could leave at Universal.

IMO, a "reasonable" person would have known by that time that they were a suspect.

Many a suspect is not arrested. From what I unerstood, at no time was there a cop standing at the door blocking her from leaving. She was not even arrested as they left, the investigation was still being done.

 

[Sleuth5]

Very true, AVMAURA. I too remember when he actually was a journalist, and a trailblazer for Latinos as well. However, he has long since given up on that project, as I'm sure you'll agree.

 

[Liz]

I remember Geraldo (originally named Gerald) from his antics in the 1980s on his TV show, Geraldo. Don't remember watching the show but remember the publicity it generated: the time he got into a fight onstage and got his nose broken, his having plastic surgery onscreen, and especially remember when he had fat from his rear end put into his forehead. To this day I still believe looking at his face is like seeing his ***. Not a pretty picture.


*** self edit :wink:

BBM
This give new meaning to the word "butthead". :floorlaugh:

 

[Tuffy]

It is not if she could get up and leave at any time. It is based on if she felt she was free to walk out at any time. Would a reasonable person feel that they could refuse to talk to the police and walk out of that conference room when they arrived in the back of the police car?

Also, the Fourth requirement for Miranda is if the statements were made in response to police conduct that constituted an interrogation. In Rhode Island v. Innis the Supreme Court defined interrogation as express questioning and "any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect."

Again, I don't know why the Judge ruled the way he did but I am very surprised that was allowed in.

Her child was supposedly missing. Why would she walk out on the detectives searching for Caylee? The detectives took her there to retrieve her cell phone that she claimed was there. They didn't arrest her, they were trying to figure out what they were doing there.

 

[Capri]

He's a pimping tool for the defense. He has no credibility, and grasps at anything to make him appear controversial and as a result appear relevant.
Basically, he's a joke.
And pre-trial hearings already addressed this. Screams that the defense is desperate.

LOL, "pimping tool", love that term....there are a lot of those around, it seems.

 

[Tulessa]

We went over this a hundred zillion times back when the motion was argued. Somewhere on legal thread #2 (I think) I posted Florida case law interpreting the phrase "in custody" and all I can say is that it doesn't mean what most people think it means.

HOWEVER, to answer your question Tulessa, if the officers had told Casey she was free to leave I would agree with you. They did not ever say that. I checked the transcript several times because people kept saying that the officers told her she was free to leave, but they did not. They said the door was closed for privacy, or something similar.

Is my mind failing me? Didn't I hear YM tell Casey that you know you can leave at any time right? I will have to go listen again.

 

[Liz]

Geraldo was on the Fox Report (FNC) hyping tonight's show --- saying he knows about an alleged 'Ace of Spades' that JB is holding (and made it sound like he will be revealing it to us). I'll probably tune in, but I won't be holding my breath waiting for any big revelations.

Geraldo is on at 10 PM EDT.

 

[Tuffy]

Geraldo was on the Fox Report (FNC) hyping tonight's show --- saying he knows about an alleged 'Ace of Spades' that JB is holding (and made it sound like he will be revealing it to us). I'll probably tune in, but I won't be holding my breath waiting for any big revelations.

Geraldo is on at 10 PM EDT.

Geraldo is the king of overreacting. Like the rest of his "reporting" I'm sure it's nothing.