Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Details of Fighting in Ramadi; More on the Severe Weather in the Southern US; Accused Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooter Appears in Court. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 24, 2015 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:32:50] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq this Christmas Eve, American troops are leading coalition air strike pounding ISIS target in and around the city of Ramadi, that's the focal point right now of a new and massive military effort to push ISIS out and retake the city. And eventually allow thousands of people who fled their homes this year to come back.

The air strikes are a coalition force, U.S. bombers among them. But the ground fighting literally street to street, that is all Iraqi military.

Want to talk about this more with CNN Barbara Starr she's at the Pentagon, also with me retired army Lieutenant General James "Spider" Marks.

Barbara, let me start with you. You know, it's important to note that the Iraqi troops, they are doing the actual fighting on the ground.

Tell me what you're hearing from the Pentagon about progress that they are making and what kind of challenges they are facing?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pentagon is watching this fight hour by hour, for now is pretty optimistic about the progress the Iraqis are making.

In fact, Iraqi officials are telling CNN that only 30 percent of Ramadi now remains under ISIS control but it may be the toughest 30 percent. The Iraqis still trying to make their move into central Ramadi to get to a government complex where ISIS is pretty much holed up in using it as their headquarters, the Iraqis feel there's still a lot of ISIS fighters in the city, they're mostly foreign fighters and as we've talked about throughout the last several days remains very much rigged to blow.

ISIS has had months to dig in, set up barricades, roadside bombs and IEDs, entire buildings, booby trap and wired to blow up.

So the Iraqis making is very slow, steady progress, being watched and helped as you pointed out Alison from the air by U.S. air strikes. Alison.

KOSIK: All right, so General Mark these Iraqi fighters are getting close to seizing Ramadi and getting ramadi back. Is the goal here just to push ISIS out of Ramadi, secure the city or is this really an effort to break up the terror group and destroy them? Can that really be done just in Ramadi?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARK, U.S. ARMY (RET): Alison that's a great question.

[12:35:01] What Ramadi provides the Iraqi government really is three things. First of all, Ramadi is an important city. It's a stride the Euphrates. It's a historical trade route between Syria and Jordan and onward in the Mediterranean.

So, Ramadi matters and it certainly matters for the thousands of families that were displaced and we've got to get those folks back in there sooner rather than later.

Secondarily, this is very important for Baghdad. Baghdad has to be able to demonstrate that it can take ISIS on in an area where they have previously not been successful. And now they're going to achieve success. That's important for Baghdad because that now translates in terms of confidence and in terms of their ability to move forward in places like Mosul, Iraq second largest city up North. It's has to be retaken as well.

And thirdly, it's very important because the - training of the Iraqi military now is starting to kick in and we're seeing evidence that they are in fact cohesive. They can take this fight on. Clearly they can't do it alone. The United States and coalition partners would remain part of this coalition but this is very, very important for Baghdad.

KOSIK: And Barbara, General Marks is making a very good point there. A lot of the training that the U.S. forces have helped the Iraqis with, that's finally taking hold.

So let's say Ramadi, let's say Iraqi forces are able to retake Ramadi. What happens afterwards? So that means possibly more U.S. troops coming to assist?

STARR: Well, probably not at the moment in terms of traditional U.S. force, but remember, the White House has now talked about it wanting to put special operation forces into Iraq and have them able to operate in Iraq with Iraqi approval and possibly even go into Syria.

This targeting force will be aimed at going after high value, the important senior figures in ISIS, to capture or kill them. That means a small number of U.S. boots on ground, air power to back them up and it will be based on the better intelligence at the U.S. feels its getting out of that area now, about where some of these ISIS leaders may be.

So after New Year's, I think it's going to get pretty interesting on the ground as some of these ideas really take hold. Alison?

KOSIK: All right, General Spider Marks, Barbara Starr. Thanks so much for coming on today. MARKS: Thanks, Alison.

KOSIK: And this week, six American troops on patrol in Afghanistan were killed by a suicide bomber. Last night the remains were brought home to the United States. 30-year-old Air Force Sergeant Chester McBride was killed in that attack. He grew up in Statesboro, Georgia where he played on the championship high school football team.

His family allowed the media to cover somber ceremony called "A dignified transfer" which took place at New Castle Air National Guard Base in Delaware.

Here's part of that heartbreaking ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forward, march (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:05] KOSIK: Back to our breaking news, 10 people have died in the deadly storms and tornadoes in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. The damage you're about to see in Tennessee here that was devastating especially right before Christmas. Gosh, look at that. Three people have died in the state, including a couple who just celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary.

Let's go to Nick Weems. He is the interim sheriff for Perry County, Tennessee. Thanks for joining us. I know you're very busy right now.

NICK WEEMS, INTERIM SHERIFF, PERRY COUNTY, TENNESEE: How are you doing, Alison?

KOSIK: I'm doing well. Tell me about the damage that you've been able to assess in your area?

WEEMS: I've just recently sent my captain for patrol up in an airplane, his a friend of mine, it appears the worst part -- our area that was hit, was the Tom's Creek area, it look like started somewhere back in that area and spread over to Tom's Creek area and then all over Steven's town.

We lost homes in all of the locations. We've lost several homes in our community. We've also -- one of the homes had two lives that was claimed, and it's just a very, very devastating tragic time for our community, especially now here at the holidays.

KOSIK: The pictures that we're looking at as you're talking are just incredible to see. You know, Tennessee, no stranger to tornadoes but can you remember has your area been hit by a tornado like this before?

WEEMS: Yes, in 1999 we were hit about six miles west at where we're at now, it was -- it claimed the lives of four people in our community, our county trustee, also claimed the lives of a small child, a very tragic time. And it seems to be here we are again.

KOSIK: A very difficult time for you. Our hearts go out to you. Nick Weems, we wish you the best as you clean up and recover from these devastating storms.

The accused planned parenthood shooter calling himself a self-employed art dealer, now he wants a new job, attorney for himself. Hear what he told the judge at his latest hearing. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:46] KOSIK: The men accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs last month, he wants to be his own lawyer. Handcuffed and shackled, a disheveled Robert Dear appeared before the judge for the second time yesterday. About 20 family members of victims and survivors were in the room with him watching this including the widow of University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Police Officer, Garrett Swayze.

Rachel Swayze and her two children will spend their first Christmas without him. If that's not bad enough, Rachel had to endure listening to Dear yesterday as he erupted and yet another outburst.

Dear interrupted his public defender as he introduced the defense team saying, "I do not want them as my lawyers. I invoke my constitutional right to defend myself." And when the judge ordered a mental health evaluation, here is what he said, "I'm not going to say anything at that psychiatric evaluation. I'm not going to say one word to them." It sounded just like what he told the judge at his last hearing, December 9th. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT DEAR, PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING SUSPECT: And I'm not going to agree to their mental health evaluations where they want to take me and put me under psychotropic drugs so that I can't talk like the Batman guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finished? OK

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KIOSK: For the legal view, I want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst and Defense Attorney, Danny Cevallos and HLN Legal Analyst and Defense Attorney, Joey Jackson.

Danny let me ask you this because Dear said thing in his previous hearing that were disturbing, that were troubling and really raised competency questions. Here's to what he said. He said, "I am a warrior for the babies. I am guilty. There is no trial." What happens if he is deemed incompetent if he even acquiesce and allows officials to give him that analysis?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Two potential issues here. Insanity is about what was in your mind at the time you did the deed, but competency is about your present state of mind. And are you able to assist with your own defense and communicate with your counsel in aid of your own defense?

And that is a similar analysis but that is the magic test to find out whether or not based on any mental defect, he's able to help his own defense. And if not, a defendant can be incompetent and you cannot institute proceedings against them until if and when he becomes competent again.

KIOSK: But he's not being cooperative in letting them evaluate him. So where do they go from here?

CEVALLOS: It's an interesting issue because it's sort of a -- it's a logic loop. They can't begin to assess his competency if he doesn't cooperate but at the same time if he's not going to cooperate, they won't get any information.

However, there are ways of evaluating competency that don't require solely on the words that come out of the mouth of the defendant. Because frankly, not only can a defendant remain silent, he can also tell them what he thinks they want to hear.

These experts are trained to assess whether or not a defendant is trying to bamboozle them or raise issues of competency where there are none.

KIOSK: Joey, you know, he could face the death penalty. The D.A. hasn't decided on that. If this happens, could he really defend himself, I mean, hey he's got a right to defend himself?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: You know he really does and it's interesting because posing it out even further, even by his actions alone inside that courtroom. If he's saying he's not going to participate, that seems to be by choice and seems to be that he's making a competent effort to say that, you know what I don't want to voluntarily participate in the proceedings which seemingly is competent.

Now let's talk about the death penalty. Colorado, yes it does have the death penalty Alison, but it's a de facto non-Death Penalty state. They've executed one person in about 40 years. We all remember James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado shooter. He didn't get the death penalty. They just don't give it. They don't apply.

[12:54:41] Now, whether he has a right to represent himself? He does, but he only has the right to represent himself and if the Supreme Court said that you represent yourself? You can, but it's up to the judge and the judge has to determine that you're competent. If you're not going to participate in the proceedings, then how can the judge make such a determination?

One other issue, very briefly and that this, there's a distinction between being competent to stand trial and competent to conduct that trial.

And so there are two things. The judge might say, he's competent to move forward because the standard, are you oriented as to time and place? Do you have a rational understanding of what's occurring? Maybe, but you may not be in a position so may say a judge of the Supreme Court said to defend yourself. So the judge could very well deny that application.

CEVALLOS: Isn't it fascinating that the Sixth Amendment of the constitution as well as the Colorado constitution guarantees the right, not only to counsel, but the it's a corollary, the right for someone to represent themselves pro se and that means represent yourself in court.

KIOSK: And it's not always a good idea.

JACKSON: No

CEVALLOS: And not always not only a good idea but it may not be an absolute right either because first, a court must find that the defendant has waived to that right to counsel and that he did so knowingly and intelligently.

So now we raise another issue, can someone who is unable to do so because of some mental problem, can that person knowingly and intelligently waive that constitutional right to represent themselves in court?

KIOSK: It's all evaluation and also he needs to cooperate.

JACKSON: Well, you know, but he may decide that he doesn't want to cooperate but there are consequences to that, a number of consequences. Number one, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

In the event you're saying that you want to move forward Alison, and you wan to try this case, the judge has to make an educated and informed choices to whether he would let you try the case and in the event that you don't participate, the judge could deny you on that basis, furthermore, by saying, again, that you refused to move forward, that you're not going to do it at all. You're demonstrating.

You know exactly what's going on because you're thumbing your nose at the court. Stand trial. I will point a word for you and you'll just be sitting throughout the trial.

KIOSK: I think it's going to be a long road before this even gets to trial.

Danny Cevallos, Joey Jackson, thank you so much of your analysis.

JACKSON: Thank you Alison. Thank you

KOSIK: And thanks for watching. Dana Bash. And then for Wolf Blitzer and he starts after a quick break

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)