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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Latest from the Campaign Trail; David Bowie's Influence on Music Examined; Selection of Jury for Next Freddie Gray Trial to Begin; Mother of Ethan Couch Evaluated to Stand Trial. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 11, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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


[12:30:00] DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anybody who say yes that it could be a potential issue and I didn't find anybody who said yes, so that is sort of where we are on that issue.

But you mentioned the poll and in fact the newest poll that just came out just minutes ago showing Donald Trump doing incredibly well here, even better than before, he's got about a third of the support which is a lot when you have all of these candidates. The one thing that I noticed in that poll is more than 40% said that they're not locked into their choice. So that's why you see events like we just had here in New Hampshire, why he is going to be come back and continue to come back. Because he may be doing better in Iowa, but this is the place where kind of the expectation is Donald Trump has to win to prove that he is on to something. Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN HOST: All right. So at lot of uncertain certainty. All right, Dana Bash, always a great job, thanks so much from us.

And tomorrow night, President Obama gives his final State Of The Union Address. The President and his team have been finalizing details of the speech, but he's already made clear this speech will definitely not be traditional, no laundry list of requests for Congress.

Instead he'll talk about actions that he can take on his own without the Republican control the Congress like closing Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, also echoing a previous executive actions.

You can watch President Obama's final State of The Union Address tomorrow night right here on CNN. Our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, the address starts at 9 p.m.

Well, the music world is mourning the loss of a rock icon David Bowie. For decades, Bowie was a talent that pushed the boundaries of music, fashion, even gender.

David Bowie has died after an 18-month battle with cancer, his latest album and this music video coming out just two days before his death. As you can see the singer's storyline shows him in a hospital bed. These are live pictures from outside of David Bowie's Manhattan apartment in New York City where you can see fans have placed flowers.

CNN New York media correspondent and host of Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter is with me. It's so interesting because David's battling cancer for 18 months, it means that not only was he trying to finish his last work but he was doing it under the shadow of knowing that he was dying.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And he was able to keep that a closely-held secret working on this album undergoing cancer treatments presumably. Also producing a new both Broadway show here in New York City that's been getting rave reviews. So he was living, truly living right up to the end,

You know, referring from one of his long-time producers who was aware of the cancer diagnosis and we can share a part of his comment on screen. H wrote a little emotional Facebook post when he heard the news earlier this morning. And he wrote that David Bowie always did what he wanted to do and he did the way -- he always wanted to do it the best way. Throughout his death is was no different from his life, a work of art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. Now that was so interesting, his parting gift. He wrote, I knew for a year this was the way it would be, I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man full of love and life, he will always be with us and for now, it is appropriate to cry.

That's Tony Visconti a long time producer, also a friend of David Bowie and it's a way if recognizing that some of his friends and family were aware of the cancer diagnosis, but for the rest of the world, such a shock this morning to wake up to.

FEYERICK: And, you know, when you think about David Bowie, you know, before Madonna, before Lady Gaga, this is a man who thrived on changes and reinvention, on relevancy, on just making himself and redefining himself at each stage of his career, that too clearly is something he leaves behind as his legacy.

STELTER: An absolute legacy and we've already heard stars like Madonna crediting David Bowie with that. Experimentation might be the word, experimentation in all its forms, a willingness to push the boundaries to be as edgy as possible. And to continue to reinvent one's self. And he said in interviews that was because he never wanted to get bored, he always wanted to challenge himself, always wanted to make new kinds of music, some have called him the Picasso of pop.

FEYERICK: You know, I remember it's a long time ago but I remember my mother coming in to New York City and buying tickets, standing on line at Madison Square Garden with my brother could go see him in concert, so.

STELTER: You know, there was going to be a big celebration of his life in Carnegie Hall in March. He was going to be there but I'm sure that will now go forward without him with many stars paying tribute as much.

FEYERICK: Yeah and a little haunting to see that image of him in the hospital bed. Brian Stelter, thank you so much, a really great legacy as he leaves behind certainly magnificent.

STELTER: Indeed.

[12:34:39] FEYERICK: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And today we were expecting jury selection to begin in the trial of the second Baltimore police officer charged in Freddie Gray's death. Caesar Goodson Jr. has been charged with second degree depraved murder. He was the one who was driving the police van that was carrying Gray. Well his trial was supposed to begin today. That has not happened.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals had issued a stay bringing the proceedings and the trial, at least for now, to a halt.

Miguel Marquez is outside the courthouse in Baltimore, and an interesting development and it all has to do with someone who was already tried and that ended in a hung verdict. Miguel, why the delay?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what is the heart of it, will officer Porter, William Porter who had to miss trial before Christmas, will he be available and able to testify in officer Goodson's trial?

[12:40:02] Keep in mind that officer Goodson was the driver of the van. He was with Freddie Gray from the time he was arrested to the time he ended up at the western district police station unconscious.

About 45 minutes all the stops he faces the most serious charge of the second degree charge of depraved heart murder meaning that he ignored Freddie Gray's need for assistance in health.

The question of whether Officer Porter's whose trial ended in a mistrial can testify here is something that the courts will have to sort out.

The defense argues that there is no precedent for a co-defendant testifying against another co-defendant, the state's prosecutors have offered him limited immunity, but that's not good enough say the defense lawyers. So, the higher court now want to sort out just what can Officer Porter do, can he even testify here? I think it's fair to say which ever way the Court of Special Appeals rules, this would be appealed by either side to the Court of Appeals for Maryland, so it looks like we are talking about maybe a week, perhaps longer before all of this is sorted out.

And Goodson's trial can move forward and the other trials can move forward and all of these slotted in three weeks apart from each other. This is a major wrench in the works, Deborah.

FEYERICK: Yes, really interesting because prosecutors essentially want to show that Office Goodson took Freddie Gray on a rough ride and that's what contributed. But with Porter, right now, his own future is that sort of in limb, so he -- his lawyers don't want him to testify. OK, Miguel Marquez, thank you so much for that. An interesting one to watch. We appreciate it.

And up next the so-called affluenza teen is still in Mexico, but his mother is due back up in court facing a judge today. Hopefully her lawyer shows up this time. This case is getting stranger and stranger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:46:06] FEYERICK: This afternoon the mother of the so-called affluenza teen Ethan Couch who got probation, that's right, probation for killing four people in a drunk driving crash. She's going to be back in court for a bond hearing.

The authorities say that Tonya Couch helped her son leave the country in order to avoid a probation hearing that could have landed him in prison for some time. Her bond is set at $1 million. And she's hoping that the judge will bring the number down.

Today's hearing should already be off to bed start on Friday that is if her attorney shows up. Friday, she appeared before the judge of her arraignment, but her attorney didn't quite make it on time, that led some awkward moments in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, you have the right to remain silent, and you don't have to speak to the police, and you are not required to make a statement, and any statement that you make can and may be used against you in court. Do you understand that?

TONYA COUCH, ETHAN COUCH MOTHER: Is that starting now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: All right, that's a question to the lawyer could have answered. Well, the Tarrant County Sheriff says Tonya Couch has complained about the time in jail saying that the lighting is too bright, and that people are constantly watching her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEE ANDERSON TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF, TEXAS: She expressed a slight bit of displeasure about her accommodations, and I explained to her that this was a jail and not a resort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, we've also learned that Couch is ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. Ed Lavandera is in Fort Worth, Texas for us. And Ed, so why this court-ordered evaluation? Is it because of the way she is behaving?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not exactly clear. There hasn't been much said publically about why this order is being sent, but it was sent by a judge we obtained the document where it is talked about, and it says they wanted a clinical evaluation to support a belief to determine whether or not she is competent to stand trial for the felony charge that she is here facing in Texas. So exactly what authorities have seen, that leads them to do this. There's never been any kind of talk like this around her despite all of the criticism surrounding her parenting we haven't never really heard any kind of talk like this. So this is the first we've heard her.

FEYERICK: Yeah, interesting. You have to wonder whether in fact they're questioning whether she truly understands the implications or the charges against her. Perhaps that's -- we're also learning more about the arrest affidavit and the events leading up to her arrest in Mexico. What can you tell us about that?

LAVANDERA: That's interesting nuggets there that we -- in this arrest warrant. Back on the December 2nd if you remember there was this video posted on Twitted that showed Ethan Couch possibly at a party where there's alcohol being served which would have been a violation of his probation. That's on December 2nd.

According to this arrest warrant affidavit, it was December 3rd that Tonya Couch investigator say withdrew $30,000 from her personal bank account, and then concocted this plan to take off with Ethan Couch.

And then also says that on December 16th, Fred Couch, her husband told investigators that he had received a phone call from Tonya Couch saying that they had left, and that he would never see Ethan again. So all of this is kind of going to the point that around a week or so later, December 10th is when Ethan Couch was supposed to have been meeting with the probation officer for the check-in and that's when authorities discovered that the pair had been gone missing.

FEYERICK" And you have to wonder how long they thought that they might be able to stay, you know, on the run with $30,000 given that they were staying at the resort, but any update on her son, Ethan Couch's case? Is he expected back into the U.S. any time soon?

LAVANDERA: No movement yet. Remember, he has a lawyer down there in Mexico, that they're kind of fighting the immigration process which is the essentially the extradition process to come back here in the United States. And also remember prosecutors here in Fort Worth are trying to get his case moved from the juvenile system into the adult system.

[12:50:04] And he has a hearing scheduled on that for January 19th, and it's not exactly clear whether or not that hearing can continue if Ethan Couch is not back here in the country by then but so far, we have no update on when exactly or any kind of movement of when he'll be back.

FEYERICK: All right. Ed Lavandera for us. Thank you so much. And we will see how this plays out. All right thanks.

And up next, it's an invisible environmental nightmare, but we're definitely starting to see the effects. More and more people are getting sick and blaming the gas leak. They were told, it was harmless.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:54:51] FEYERICK: For days, a Californian mother and father didn't know what was wrong with their 2-year-old daughter, but like thousands of families in the L.A. suburb of Porter Ranch, they would soon find out, a natural gas leak that they couldn't see. They didn't know about and they're suing the company SoCal Gas as the community demand the gas storage well be shut down. Stephanie Elam has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not visible by the naked eye, but some residents of the Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch say a massive natural gas leak is causing them harm.

CHRISTINE KATZ, GAS LEAK VICTIM: I would have extreme headaches. I was nauseous. The kids were having headaches.

ELAM: The Katz family who was suing SoCal Gas is temporarily living some 30 miles from their home. SoCal Gas said that it has relocated roughly 2,800 households so far. Since October 23rd, the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility owned by the Southern California Gas Company has been spewing natural gas at a rate above to 100,000 pounds per hour. The magnitude of the leak evident in this infrared video taken by environmental activists last month. The problem is so severe. The governor of California declared a State of Emergency.

Local air quality officials are devising a plan with the company to burn off some of the seeping natural gas. SoCal Gas says that they are working around the clock to stop the leak but says it may not be plugged until late March.

MIKE MIZRAHI, SPOKESPERSON, SOCAL GAS: We are drilling a relief well. And that relief well is going to go way down about 8,500 feet. It's going to intersect with the leaking well, and then pump liquids and muds down there to stop the flow of gas, and then cement to permanently abandon the well.

ELAM: On its website, the company apologizes for the unpleasant smell of the odorant and the natural gas, but they claim that the leak, "Does not pose an imminent threat to public safety."

ERIN BROKOVICH ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ACTIVIST: It's gas. It's dangerous, and you should not tell them otherwise.

ELAM: Environmental activist, Erin Brockovich is taking up the cause for the people affected by the gas company's leak.

BROKOVICH: If it can't harm you, you're going to a lot of effort to relocate thousands and thousands of people. If it can't harm you, we are going through a lot of effort here and get those children and those schools to a safe school location.

ELAN: Some students in Porter Ranch will return to class on Tuesday and will be attending to nearby schools that have set up temporary facilities.

KATS: Our lifestyles are completely different. Our routines have changed.

ELAM: The Katz family is adjusting but still reeling from what happened earlier to their daughter.

KATZ: She needed an inhaler, and she was in the middle of October, that's one thing that got worse. She was in the hospital for four days. We were in and out of the pediatric office, urgent care and nobody could figure out what was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And Stephanie Elam joins me now and Stephanie, so these families, as the company says have been relocated to apartments, and to hotels. This isn't really relocation so much as an evacuation of the area, until they can figure out what's going on, right? It is not over.

ELAM: It's not over, and it's not quite an evacuation. I mean we've drove around this morning when we get up here, Deb and there are still people who are deciding to stay in their homes. So it's not everyone has gone, but you're still talking about nearly some 3,000 households that have moved out because of this. And when we were driving around, you could smell it in there. It is extremely windy here, so it's not as intense as it seems have been for other people, but, yes, it is not over, and they're saying that this may not be fixed until more than a month from now, so obviously, for a lot of people with their kids going to two new schools that are just being popped up, it changes your routine midway through the school year, and that's what a lot of parents are concerned about as well.

FEYERICK: And so we saw your interview somebody from the company there, but what about government officials, city officials, state officials. How are they responding?

ELAM: Well they are very concerned about the school factor, about the health issues that people are talking about having here, and so they want to know what the long term effects are going to be of all of these wells that are pretty much capped and abandoned. They want to make sure that they are safe, because a lot of this area has grown a very close to the Aliso Canyon development which is here where SoCal Gas has been drilling. But there are other wells that are capped off, and they're like, how do we know that this doesn't going happen again so they want to put in measures to make sure that this doesn't and maybe stop something with the development so it doesn't get so close to Aliso Canyon.

And the other thing is you see from suit, this L.A. County is now joining in the suit against SoCal Gas try to get to the bottom of this, and maybe make some changes on how things have been going forward, Deb.

FEYERICK: And is there any indication as to how long this will take? And in the fact that they are actually setting up schools for these children, it suggests that they're not going to be able to fix and solve with all that quickly, Steph.

ELAM: Exactly, they are not. I mean, when you take look at how far down they have to drill to intersect the well, to then cap it off by putting in mud and cement, and then stopping it. They have said at the worst case scenario, it could still take well into February, before that is happening. So that's part of the issue here that is not just going to go away, and really quickly for the people who live here.

[12:59:54] FEYERICK: All right. Stephanie Elam for us, thank you so much, and thank all of you for watching. I'm Deborah Feyerick, and that's it for me.

Wolf starts right now.