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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Chicago Cop Pleads Not Guilty to Murder; Fugitive "Affluenza" Teen Captured; Craig Strickland of "Backroad Anthem" Feared Dead. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired December 29, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


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[12:00:11] RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Ashleigh Banfield today. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

We start in Chicago this hour as the search for justice in two deadly shootings at the hands of Chicago police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make a hole, let him through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like the 16 holes he put into that boy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That's Officer Jason Van Dyke, making his way past protesters for an arraignment on six counts of first degree murder. This morning's hearing came 14 months after Van Dyke killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who the officer says posed a deadly threat but who, in fact, was walking away from police when Van Dyke opened fire.

Over the weekend, another Chicago officer killed a 19-year-old student and a 55-year-old grandmother. The latter, police say, by accident. And now the father of the young man is suing. The suit claims Quintonio LeGrier was killed without probable cause or legal justification and police provided no medical aid.

The new deaths only added to the political crisis weighing on the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who's due back in Chicago this afternoon, cutting short his vacation in Cuba.

And we'll talk much more about all of these angles, but I want to start with CNN's Rosa Flores and the murder case against Jason Van Dyke.

Rosa, good to see you. So what happened in court today?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a very short arraignment, Randi. And here's what happened. Pretty much the charges are read, and in this case it's six first degree murder charges and a misconduct charge. And then Jason Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to those charges. And the pre-trial motions are set for January 29th now. So a month from today. Now, there were a few other topics that were brought up, both by his

defense attorney and also by the family of Laquan McDonald. First of all, the possibility of a change of venue. The attorney for Jason Van Dyke saying that he is not planning to file a change of venue motion at this particular time. Now, Laquan McDonald's family, what they are asking for is a fair trial and they would like for cameras to be allowed inside the courtroom. Now, generally speaking, in Illinois, we don't see cameras inside a courtroom.

Now, the two exceptions that we've had is - are for these two proceedings that we - that we've seen for Jason Van Dyke, and that's only because the media requested access in and the judge granted it. So at this point we're trying to figure out if this particular judge, Judge Ghan (ph), will allow cameras inside the courtroom.

Now, after the proceeding, Jason Van Dyke's attorney held a brief press conference. And one of the things that he mentioned was evidence, evidence that he's going to be seeking in the - in the presenting of his defense. Here is what I asked him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The public has seen the video. We've seen the police reports, detective notes, the autopsy. What other evidence are you expecting that could reveal something during pretrial motions?

DANIEL HERBERT, VAN DYKE'S ATTORNEY: Respectfully, I'm not going to comment on that because I know what the evidence is. I know what evidence I am looking (INAUDIBLE) know what evidence we are going to be able to produce. And all of that being said, we believe that we're going to be able to successfully defend ourself in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: So everyone very curious as to what that evidence will be. Randi, you know as well as I do, we've seen the video, we've read the police reports. The accounts of the police officer involved, Jason Van Dyke, and other police officers on the scene, don't quite match with what we're seeing in the video. So we're all wondering, what other evidence will reveal what the defense attorney says it will prove that his client is indeed innocent. In this particular case, pretrial motions start a month from today, so we'll have to see.

Randi.

KAYE: Well, it certainly sounds like he has something that he will reveal at some point. Rosa Flores, thank you. Appreciate it.

Time to bring in the panel now, Defense Attorney Midwin Charles, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson and University of Michigan law professor Margo Schlanger.

Great to see all of you. A lot to talk about.

Joey, first to you on this. Explain to me, six counts of murder with one victim. JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Randi, good afternoon to you.

What happens is, prosecutors are allowed to charge multiple theories. And what you have here is exactly that. The first theory is, of course, is that the officer, Van Dyke that is, acted with intent to take a life here. The second theory is, if you didn't act with intent, you certainly knew there was a strong probability that that would occur. So that accounts for two. Now, in addition to those theories, there are other factors that allow for the charging. For example, you took a life while having a firearm, you took a life while discharging that firearm and you took a life while having a firearm discharging it and proximately causing death. And so collectively, with all of that, it allows for the six counts, in addition to the other count which constitutes official misconduct. I should also say, Randi, that based upon those six counts, there's a range of years between 20 and 60 which is effectively a life sentence.

[12:05:23] KAYE: OK. So it's the collective action there we're talking about there. I got it now.

All right, Midwin, to you. I mean Van Dyke's lawyer has said that he may, at some point, push for a change of venue. He says that Mayor Emanuel himself has pronounced Van Dyke guilty. Do you think he has a case here? I mean you saw those protesters outside that courthouse today.

MIDWIN CHARLES, TRIAL ATTORNEY: I am actually surprised that they aren't immediately, at least on the onset, saying that they want to go for a change of venue. As a defense attorney, I think this is a case that is ripe for a change of venue. I think we all know that the climate in Chicago right now is one that is very much tenuous at best with respect to how the people view police officers, as well as the mayor, as you know, was embroiled in decisions that were made with the Laquan McDonald video, and the delay in sort of releasing this video.

So I think a change of venue would be successful. It does occur a lot in police shootings, and they tend to be successful. In other words, the juries usually acquit those police officers. It happened here in New York recently. We just heard about the Amadou Diallo officer here in New York. He just received a promotion actually and became sergeant. But his case was a change of venue case. The case was heard in Albany, as opposed to New York City, and he was acquitted of shooting Amadou Diallo. So it could be a successful motion, and I think that the circumstances are ripe for that here.

KAYE: Margo, let me ask you about these latest deaths, 19-year-old Quintonio LaGrier, 55-year-old Bettie Jones, killed by an officer answering a domestic disturbance call. Before you were a professor, you were a civil rights enforcer at the Department of Justice. So does this case raise any red flags for you?

PROF. MARGO SCHLANGER, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL: Well, I mean the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is already opening a pattern and practice systemic investigation into what's going on in the police department. And I think that this is another example of a - what could have been a low-level incident that escalated and led to death. So I think that it's - it's definitely a piece of the kinds of incidents that they're going to be looking at.

KAYE: So you mentioned this investigation into the patterns and practices. What is the end game there? I mean what could it lead to?

SCHLANGER: Right. So those investigations, if they find systemic civil rights violations, they lead to either an out of court settlement, which involves monitoring and the like, or more likely in a case like this, to a consent decree, which is judicial oversight with an ongoing rule for the Justice Department to understand what's going on, to keep track of it, to bring in experts to rewrite policy, refashion training, redo the systems of supervision, and insist on real disciplinary systems.

KAYE: And, Joey, let me get back to the - the first shooting that we were talking about with Officer Van Dyke. He has a history of excessive force complaints. One of which led to a six-figure jury award. Will his past, you think, come up at the trial?

JACKSON: A great question, Randi. Of course if you're the defense, the answer is no, if you're the prosecution you're going to be pushing for it, pushing for that. It's up to the discretion of a judge. What we call these are prior bad acts. And, remember, every case is about what it's about. It's not about what you did yesterday, the day before, the week before. It has to be about what you're accused of doing now. So anything that would be used to establish your propensity for violence is excludable.

However, instances can come in if it relates to a motive, if it relates to you intent, if it relates to your modus operandi and this is the way you act. And so generally these are part of pretrial proceedings that are ruled on by a judge. The prosecution's going to want it in. The defense is going to say, your honor, it's prejudicial, exclude it, it's not fair. And so we'll see what a judge rules on that moving forward.

KAYE: And, Midwin, on this latest shooting from Saturday, police almost immediately called the death of Bettie Jones, the woman there who got caught up in all of this, a tragic accident. Does that signal, do you think, a payout even without the family having to file a lawsuit? Does that sound like that to you?

CHARLES: I think it's possible. I'm surprised that they jumped the gun in stating that, Randi, particularly at such an early stage of the case. They did that with the Laquan McDonald case where the city offered the family $5 million before the family had even sued. So I'm surprised that they would tip their hand in that respect and sort of not allow the family to actually file the lawsuit and perhaps even start pushing towards proving a wrongful death case here. As you know, wrongful death cases are often filed by family members in these cases. And one of the things that I always point out and say is that excessive force by police officers is costly. Taxpayers almost always foot the bill when cities have to pay these families out.

KAYE: Yes. Difficult conversation, difficult to discuss tragedies like these over the holiday season, but thanks to all of you. Margo Schlanger, Joey Jackson and Midwin Charles, appreciate it. [12:10:06] JACKSON: Thank you, Randi.

SCHLANGER: Thank you.

KAYE: And our other big story this hour on LEGAL VIEW, after two weeks on the run, Ethan Couch, known as the affluenza teen, has been captured with his mother in Mexico. Coming up, how he planned the escape and even held a going away party before fleeing to Mexico. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: To breaking news now. The massive manhunt for a fugitive Texas teen and his mother is over. The so-called affluenza teen, Ethan Couch, and his mom, Tonya Couch, have been captured in Mexico. Just moments ago, officials in Texas held a news conference where we learned Couch and his mother had been planning to flee all along.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: What we suspected all along have happened, that they had planned to disappear. That they even had something that was almost akin to a going away party before they - before they left town. Our suspicion that his mother was assisting him and helping him has - has - is proven true, we believe, and so we followed those leads and eventually led to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they were taken into custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: They were caught at the resort hot spot of Puerto Vallarta after several weeks on the run. Couch was wanted for violating his ten-year probation sentence for killing four people in a drunken driving cash back in 2013.

Joining me now with the latest is CNN's justice correspondent Evan Perez.

Evan, what do you know about what Ethan Couch and his mother are facing when they do finally get back to Texas?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Randi, first of all, they are facing charges from Mexican authorities, who have accused them of entering the country illegally. That confirms what authorities all along have thought was that - that if they did cross the border, that they crossed either not using their regular passports, that they had fake documents perhaps, or that they somehow managed to get across illegally. They were traveling, it is believed, in a pickup truck that they were seen traveling in, in the United States. So that's - that's what they were traveling in when they were stopped by Mexican authorities.

[12:15:28] Take a listen to Sheriff Dee Anderson describing these charges that once he gets them into this country these two will be facing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I don't think ten years' probation was appropriate for killing four innocent people and driving at three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. So, you know, I, along with the D.A., are going to be very hopeful that the case is transferred into an adult court. He is now an adult in the eyes of the state, and I would like to see him put in an adult prison and serve out the remainder of this ten-year sentence. And, hopefully, they will continue to investigate this, perhaps be able to file an additional cases on him for fleeing initially from probation. We have now had an arrest warrant issued for Tonya Couch for hindering and apprehension. So she will be arrested and brought to our jail upon arrival back in the states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ: And, Randi, that means that both mom and son will be facing some jail time perhaps if they're convicted of these two offenses. In particular, for Ethan Couch, this means that he could face another eight years if the sheriff gets his way.

KAYE: And, Evan, what we didn't hear, and I'm sure you wanted to hear this just as much as I did and our viewers did, is how they found Ethan Couch and his mom.

PEREZ: Right.

KAYE: They really didn't say much about that. What have you been able to learn?

PEREZ: Well, you know, they - they apparently were flooded with tips given the media coverage and the fact that these two were on the run for a couple of weeks. And we know that the sheriff said that on Christmas Eve is when they had a key piece of information arrive via intelligence. We're told that one of the pieces of intelligence they got, they managed to figure out a cell phone that was tied to Ethan Couch, and so that's one way that the U.S. Marshals were able to pinpoint where he was located.

And in the last few days, they've been working with the authorities there in Jalisco state, in Mexico, to try to get him apprehended. That finally occurred yesterday, Randi, as they were driving along in an intersection there in Puerto Vallarta. They clearly were trying to mix in with the American tourist crowd that tends to be down there this time of year. Ethan Couch, as you notice in that picture, seem to have darkened his hair and was growing a mustache and a beard. It didn't work in the end.

KAYE: Yes, it's amazing, though, they went through all this trouble trying to change his looks, crossing the border into Mexico and he took the cell phone with him, which may have been what got him in the end.

PEREZ: Right.

KAYE: Evan Perez, thank you very much. Appreciate it. PEREZ: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Let's bring back CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson and criminal defense attorney Midwin Charles to talk a little bit more about this fascinating case.

Midwin, one of the first things that's going to happen when Ethan Couch is extradited to the U.S. is determining whether his case is heard in juvenile court or possibly adult court. He is an adult now, but he was a juvenile at the time of the crime. So who makes that call and what will be the determining factor in terms of which court he ends up in?

CHARLES: Well, I think the judge will - a judge will make that call, Randi. What I think is interesting to note here is that at the time Ethan Couch disappeared with his mother, he was about to have a hearing at which that determination was supposed to be made. And one of the things that they look at, is they look at the severity of the crime, they look at the actions that he took in order to sort of avoid capture and punishment. And I think that that's one of the things that the judge is going to be considering here.

And what makes this altogether different is that juvenile court is entirely different from adult court. In juvenile court, one of the main important tenements is that the courts factor in, what is in the best interest of the child. And when you take that away and you now move into adult court, you are dealing with an entirely different ball game.

KAYE: Absolutely.

Joey, so if this does end up in adult court, I mean what kind of punishment could he face? Is it just the last eight years that are left on his probation? And how much discretion does the judge have in sentencing as well?

JACKSON: Great questions, Randi, and both of them are open questions, and here's why. And first let me say, I mean, you know, U.S. Marshals, what a job in having this done. And just the - an amazing agency along with the FBI in bringing about justice across the world really. But now in terms of what happens, remember when you're in juvenile court, Randi, the issue really is rehabilitation and it focuses on the rehabilitation of someone who's young, who deserves and merits redemption. When you get into adult court, the focus then becomes punishment and deterrence. And so, remember, judges have a great deal of discretion in terms of what they do.

[12:19:57] Now, in the event that the judge, the easy thing would then be, of course, revoke the probation and just give him the full term, which would be ten years. That would be one, of course, options the judge has. Another matter, however, would be, let's remember that vehicular or intoxication manslaughter is something that carries a 20- year sentence. So then the question becomes, can you now revoke the probation, can you revoke the original sentence, and impose an actual sentence that he could have gotten the first time. And so he could be in a world of hurt and a world of drama in adult court. And judges, make no bones about it, as long as they follow the law, they do what is discretionary and what is right. And you better believe the prosecution's going to be arguing for something very stiff in light of the flight out of the country.

KAYE: And clearly he is not the only one in trouble here, Midwin. I mean his mom may have helped him, according to the sheriff, certainly did help him hide his identity and get on the run there and escape to Mexico. So what is she facing in terms of charges?

CHARLES: Well, it looks like she'd be change - charged - facing a charge of aiding and abetting. And the definition of how one aids and abets someone who commits a criminal crime - a crime is very broad. You can aid and abet by assisting the person financially. You can aid and abet by driving the person to and from, by allowing them to obtain travel document and things like that. And so she would definitely be facing a charge of aiding and abetting.

And the penalties are broad. It could be jail time. It could be probation. Or it could be a fine. This family is very affluent, and they can pay fines, you know. But what I find most interesting is that the defense, during his trial, argued that one of the reasons why he did this is his parents didn't teach him the difference between right or wrong, hence affluenza -

KAYE: Right.

CHARLES: And it seems to be accurate.

KAYE: Yes. Certainly the fact that they ran away to a resort town in Mexico, you know, not -

CHARLES: Having a good time on the beach in Mexico.

KAYE: They were having a good time. Not - right, not some ugly border town or something like that.

JACKSON: No longer.

KAYE: They were - you know, we don't know where they were staying or what they were doing, but that's certainly where they were. So, yes, a very interesting defense for sure.

Midwin Charles, Joey Jackson, always great to see you guys. Thank you.

CHARLES: Good to see you too.

JACKSON: Thank you, Randi. Take care, Midwin.

KAYE: Coming up, a country singer is missing after going on a hunting trip in the teeth of a brutal Midwestern storm. His friend has been found dead. The details on the search and the eerie tweet sent right before his disappearance. That's coming your way, next.

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[12:25:55] KAYE: The central U.S. is still recovering after a monster storm system generated violent weather, including historic flooding and dozens of tornados. The severe weather resulted in more than 40 deaths over the past week, 11 of them killed by tornadoes in north Texas alone.

In Chicago, nearly 2,000 flights were canceled on Monday, with more delays this morning. And the northeast is not being spared. Snow is there in Boston today, which will be followed by heavy rain.

That powerful storm system may have claimed two more victims. One, a rising country music star with the group "Backroad Anthem."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACKROAD ANTHEM (singing): The crickets wake up, the sun goes down, hand go up as the weird (ph) comes out. You all ready?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The group's lead singer, Craig Strickland, is missing and feared dead. He and a friend, 22-year-old Chase Morland, had gone hunting in Oklahoma and they never came back. Morland's body was found near a lake.

Meteorologist Tom Sater will tell us about the weather conditions on that outing. But first, CNN's Ana Cabrera is following the search for us.

Ana, tell us about this ominous tweet that Morland sent out before his body was found.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, it almost foreshadowed exactly what has happened. He clearly knew that this was going to be a risky mission given the forecast, and Chase Morland sent out this tweet just hours before they left on this duck hunting trip in Oklahoma, writing, quote, "in case we don't come back, @backroadcraig and I are going right through Winter Storm Goliath to kill ducks in Oklahoma #intothestorm."

Now that tweet reportedly sent late Saturday night, just before midnight. And sure enough, the pair never came back. They were reported missing on Sunday night. We understand that the body of Chase Morland was found just before midnight on Sunday.

So the search now continues for Strickland. We understand there are three boats currently searching this lake called Call Lake, which is about 100 miles north/northwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The highway patrol telling me that it's a remote area. Cell phone reception is very poor. And it was known to have had some terrible weather on Sunday throughout the day. And I know Tom's going to talk more about that.

We do know that they found the boat Strickland and Morland were using for this duck hunting trip and Strickland's wife, Helen tweeting out that that boat was confirmed capsized. Strickland is well known in country music circles as the lead singer, the acoustic guitarist for their band Backroad Anthem. And here he is actually recently talking about their band. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG STRICKLAND, LEAD SINGER, BACKROAD ANTHEM: We're Backroad Anthem. We're from Fayetteville, Arkansas. We started two years ago, six guys who didn't know each other, and now we're best friends. Well, the name Backroad Anthem is kind of - when you hear the word "anthem," you think like a very big and full sound, and that's definitely, you know, what we are with so many instruments on stage and the harmonies that we have as a vocal group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: A little more information about Strickland and his band. They formed this band back in 2012. They performed with other well-known country artists like Luke Brian, Toby Keith, Dierks Bentley. They had a show planned, in fact, for New Year's Eve in Arkansas, their home state. Strickland's wife Helen and family members, band members all saying, please pray for Craig Strickland. They're not quite ready to give up hope for a miracle that he is found alive. Helen tweeting out that their dog, Sam, was found, and that dog apparently was with Strickland on this hunting trip. But, Randi, right now it doesn't sound good. The highway patrol saying they were not using any personal flotation devices and still no sign of Strickland himself.

KAYE: Well, hopefully they will find them as this search continues. We will see. But let me - let me bring in Tom Sater to talk about some of these conditions that they were battling on that hunting trip.

How bad was it, Tom?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Randi, most hunters wouldn't - even if they were deer hunting would not go out. And deer hunters usually, yes, they'll go out early in the morning, get in a tree stand and wait for dawn. But duck hunting is a little different. Yes, you're on the water. Obviously it's water fowl. But at two in the morning, conditions were quickly deteriorating. If they made the decision at noon on Saturday it makes sense, it was 55 degrees.

[12:30:13] Let me take you into the northern part of Oklahoma