Arraignment for Man Accused in Alleged Plot to Kidnap David Letterman's Son, Nanny; Terri Schiavo Case; School Shooting
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good afternoon, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Wolf Blitzer is on assignment in the Persian Gulf. Unfolding this hour on NEWS FROM CNN, we want to take you to Montana now. This is Choteau, Montana. And you're taking a look now at an arraignment for Kelly Frank. And Kelly Frank is the man who was arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap David Letterman's son and nanny, then holding them on a $5 million ransom. Let's listen in if we can to the proceedings.</s>DISTRICT JUDGE MARK BUYSKE, TOOLE COUNTY, MONTANA: ... allegedly occurring in Teton County some time between March of 2002 and March of 2005. If convicted of that offense, you'd be facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in the Montana State Prison, or a fine not to exceed $50,000 for both the jail term and fine. Count three charges you with the offense of obstructing a peace officer, a misdemeanor, allegedly occurring on or about March 15, 2005 in Teton County. If convicted, that carries a penalty of a term not to exceed six months in the county jail or a fine not to exceed $500 for both the jail term and fine. Now with respect to these charges, you have a right to remain silent. You don't have to answer any questions or speak to anybody without first talking to your attorney. You have the right to have your attorney with you at all stages of this proceeding, including any questioning that may occur. Mr. Hunt (ph), do you wish your client</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, your honor.</s>BUYSKE: Mr. Frank, you have a right to have me read this information to you in open court. However, if you've read it or if you've talked to your attorney about the charges and feel you understand the charges, you can waive that reading. Do you want me to read it to you or waive it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would waive the reading, your honor.</s>BUYSKE: Mr. Frank, you have a right to a jury trial in this matter. That jury trial, the burden is on the state of Montana to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did, in fact, commit any one of these offenses. You have no obligation to testify or present any proof at that trial. You do have a right to cross-examine any witnesses that the state may present. And if you wish, you can present evidence on your behalf at trial. It takes a unanimous verdict of the jury to convict you of any offense. And if convicted, you may appeal that conviction to the Montana Supreme Court. If you wish to go to trial on these matters, they'll be set on the court's trial calendar as promptly as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays. And subject to being held in jail, you have a right to ask this court to set bail</s>KELLY FRANK, CHARGED IN ALLEGED KIDNAPPING PLOT: Yes, sir.</s>BUYSKE: Have you discussed this today with your attorney?</s>FRANK: Yes, sir.</s>BUYSKE: Are you taking any prescription medication at this time that can affect your judgment?</s>FRANK: No, sir.</s>BUYSKE: Do you have any physical or mental disability that affects your judgment?</s>FRANK: No, sir.</s>BUYSKE: Are you under the influence of any intoxicating substances?</s>FRANK: No, sir.</s>BUYSKE: With respect to count one, solicitation felony, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?</s>FRANK: Not guilty.</s>BUYSKE: With respect to count two, theft, felony, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?</s>FRANK: Not guilty.</s>BUYSKE: And with respect to count three, obstructing a peace officer, a misdemeanor, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?</s>FRANK: Not guilty.</s>BUYSKE: Your "not guilty" pleas are noted. I'll set this for a hearing on April 5 at 10:00 a.m. I'll set trial date at that time. Is there anything else to take up today, Mr. Hunt (ph)?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, your honor.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At some point I would like to make a motion for a bail reduction. But we're not prepared to do that today.</s>BUYSKE: Pending on motion, I'll leave bail as set by the justice. Anything else, Mr. Cole (ph)?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would ask that the district court impose the conditions as set by the justice court.</s>BUYSKE: On bail conditions, certainly. In addition to the posting of any bail, and subject to the conditions as previously set by the justice court,</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your honor.</s>BUYSKE: All right. Anything else?</s>HARRIS: And there you have it, the arraignment for Kelly Frank. And you heard him enter a "not guilty" to the top charge that he faces of solicitation. You'll remember it was just last Monday that Kelly Frank was arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap David Letterman's young son and his nanny and holding them both for a $5 million ransom. You'll remember the plot actually came to light when it is alleged that Frank approached an acquaintance, talking about the tales of the plot. And Frank, as you may know at this point, was working as a painter for David Letterman's Montana home. Now, last night on his show, Letterman thanked the authorities in Montana for their work in unraveling this plot.</s>DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: I want to thank FBI Special Agent Jim Wilson, FBI special Agent Aaron Vanhoff (ph), Teton County Sheriff George Anderson, Teton County attorney Joe Koble (ph) and the great people of Choteau, Montana. They have always made me and my family feel entirely welcomed and as though it were our home, and that's how we think of it.</s>HARRIS: And that is last night, David Letterman thanking the authorities in Montana for their work in unraveling this plot. And just moments ago, Frank Kelly at his arraignment, pleading not guilty to charges of solicitation. Another story we're closely watching this hour, the Terri Schiavo case. Having run the whole gamut of the state courts in Florida, the Schiavo case is moving up the ladder of the federal system now. Today the parents are pinning their hopes on an appeals court in Atlanta after a federal judge in Tampa refused to order resumed tube feeding of their brain-damaged daughter. CNN's Miles O'Brien is standing by live here in Atlanta outside the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. But we'll begin now in Florida with CNN's Bob Franken. Hi, Bob.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony. And the reason that it is heading to the appeals court now is that the federal district judge here has refused to issue the emergency order that would restore the connection of the feeding tube. The emergency order, of course, was requested because time is of the essence here. But, after a hearing yesterday, he concluded -- and he made it clear that he had some questions about this -- he concluded that it did not meet one of the standards required for this temporary restraining order. That one being the likelihood that the ultimate lawsuit would prevail in court. He ruled to the contrary. And that now means that he's formed a basis of an appeal at the Circuit Court of Appeals. This law -- this hearing, by the way, was brought on after the extraordinary session of Congress that had occurred over the weekend and had raised so many hopes among members of the blood relatives, the family of Terri Schiavo, who are trying so desperately to get the feeding tube reconnected over the objections of her husband, Michael Schiavo. In any case, all of this now has created quite a bit of bitterness in the family and in those who support them, including the group of -- excuse me -- of brothers who are religious from the Catholic Church, and they've acted as spiritual advisers to the family.</s>BROTHER PAUL O'DONNELL, FRANCISCAN BROTHERS OF PEACE: Appropriate to say that right now Terri is dying. But not because of her brain injury, because she is being starved and dehydrated to death.</s>FRANKEN: The figures are that the tube was disconnected on Friday, and medical experts will say that there's really a period of just a week to two weeks before she would die, hence the urgency approaching the court system -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: And Bob, just a quick question. Do we know where the family is? Are they back there in the Clearwater area or are they in Atlanta? Do we know?</s>FRANKEN: The family is here in the Clearwater area, secluded and resting. The people who've spoken for them, including the Franciscan monk who we heard from just a while ago, they are speaking on their behalf after talking to them by phone. We are told that at least one of the members of the family, maybe others, may come out to the hospice here today, both to see members of the press, but also to try to go in and visit Terri Schiavo.</s>HARRIS: Yes. OK. Bob Franken following the events of the Schiavo story in Florida for us. Bob, we appreciate it. Thank you. Let's turn now to CNN's Miles O'Brien. He is standing by here in Atlanta at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals where the case landed this morning. And we can assume these judges are hard at work on this case. Hi, Miles.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That is our presumption, Tony, that they're hard at work in this building behind me. This is just the latest slip of paper, the latest motion in what is a long, 15-year -- well, 7-year legal process at least. Fifteen years since Terri Schiavo had her heart attack which rendered her in her vegetative state. Very slim. Just a notice of appeal. A three-judge panel in that building behind me considering that appeal, looking over the ruling from the Tampa court to determine if there is any grounds for allowing that emergency injunction, which would, in fact, allow that feeding tube to be reinserted in Terri Schiavo. This is a 12-judge court, three of whom are chosen for these appeals cases. Typically these appeals can take several months. Obviously in this case that is not going to happen. It's going to happen in a much speedier case. They're used to doing that here. They handle a lot of appeals for death penalty cases. And in 2000, got involved in the presidential election in a very quick basis. So we could hear a ruling today, perhaps by tomorrow. As for us, the reporters, we're being kept outside in the dark. There are no oral arguments associated with this. Just a look at all the paper work. This is just since September on this case, to consider those legal merits. We heard from the clerk of the court, a very terse statement a little while ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was filed about 9:15 this morning. And it's before a three-judge panel. And we'll update you throughout the day as we have information.</s>O'BRIEN: Now, let's go back to the ruling which came out from Florida in Tampa earlier this morning, the one that precipitated this, a notice of appeal. And this will help you understand a little bit of what the judges are considering. There are four requirements in order to allow one of these emergency injunctions. No. 1: It has to have a substantial likelihood of success in the merits. The case has to have a substantial likelihood of success. No. 2: Irreparable injury will be suffered unless this injunction, this emergency order is issued. No. 3: That threatened injury outweighs whatever damage this proposed injunction would cause for the people who are opposed to the injunction. And then, if issued, the injunction wouldn't be adverse to the public interest. If you go through those four items on the litmus test, Terri Schiavo's case clearly meets three of them. But the one at the top is the most important one. And that's the one where the judge said -- the judge in Florida said, this case doesn't rise on the merits. It does not have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case. The judge made reference to the fact that the United States Congress has gotten involved in this, but essentially said he is constrained by the law in this case. And by his read of the law, there is not a likelihood of success on the merits of the case, and thus he did not issue that emergency injunction. The appeals court behind me is now going to look over his shoulder, look at his ruling, see what he has determined, and then ultimately determine whether that injunction decision should be overruled. And if -- not necessarily looking at the overall merits of the case, except to the extent that they will consider whether there is a strong likelihood that the case might ultimately prevail. So, a little bit of legal wrangling there. I hope I didn't confuse matters more than clarify. But the point is, it's the narrow issue of whether this case has enough likelihood of success to allow that emergency injunction, allow that feeding tube to be reinserted -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: Miles, followed it perfectly. Thank you. We appreciate it. Joining us now from Miami, legal analyst Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney. And Kendall, let me have you pick up on a couple of points here. This court of appeals is essentially looking at the ruling from the Tampa judge, is that correct?</s>KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: That's correct.</s>HARRIS: And will in essence ask itself whether or not this judge in Tampa abused its discretion? Is that part of it?</s>COFFEY: That's correctly stating the standard, Tony. But in a case like this, I don't think the federal appeals court judge, with everything that's on the line, with the enormous and historic national, even international attention, is going to feel that their hands are tied by what the judge did in Tampa. They're going to give this what amounts to very close to a fresh look. And if they think the judge got it wrong on the law, they do have the power and would not hesitate to enter an emergency injunction.</s>HARRIS: So give me a sense of what you think will happen here. What is the deliberative process that these jurors will go through today?</s>COFFEY: This is a process that may have very well started a couple days ago, because there was initially a federal rejection in Tampa on a related matter Friday. That kicked in to the federal appeals court in Atlanta over the weekend. And they were already asking for papers to discuss what they thought was legislation that was very likely to pass. They have been working around the clock. I think that you're going to see an order, if not today, no later than tomorrow.</s>HARRIS: Kendall, what are the -- what are the arguments that can be made here that haven't been made to this point in the long history of litigation on this case?</s>COFFEY: Well, remarkably, Tony, the human and medical dramas over whether there's enough brain function for Terri Schiavo to get better, or even the profound legal and constitutional questions of whether the Congress went too far in intervening in an individual case in our courts was not the business before this judge. He assumed that the law was legal and basically entered what I would describe was a well-written but somewhat business-like analysis of how good are the basic legal claims under the United States Constitution of the parents of Terri Schiavo. And the judge felt that they just weren't strong enough for him to intervene and order the reinsertion of hydration and nutritional tubes.</s>HARRIS: Yes. And Kendall, one last question. Will the constitutionality of the law that set all of this in motion be taken up by the court of appeals?</s>COFFEY: It may not be reached. Courts are reluctant to get into constitutional questions if they can decide a case on another ground. It's entirely possible that the federal appeals court will look at the same limited issues that this judge looked at, which is whether the state court proceedings and the state court judge denied Terri Schiavo any kind of fair, constitutionally-mandated process. Not whether they got it right, but whether they violated the Constitution and the kind of processes that were afforded to Terri Schiavo in the state courts. Unless they think the U.S. Constitution was violated by, in effect, the state judiciary of Florida, this result will not change and Terri Schiavo's next round will be in the U.S. Supreme Court.</s>HARRIS: Wow. That sets it out. Legal analyst Kendall Coffey for us from Miami. Kendall, we appreciate it. Thank you.</s>COFFEY: Hey, thank you, Tony.</s>HARRIS: And be sure to stay with CNN for late-breaking developments in the Terri Schiavo case. We have people in place to bring you updates on this fast-moving story. Shock and disbelief on a Minnesota Indian reservation. Ten people are dead. Among them, the high school student officials say went on a shooting rampage late yesterday. CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now from Red Lake, a community searching for answers -- Keith.</s>KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. I am at the detention center at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, and the folks here are waiting for the FBI to start telling us about what happened. You look behind me, you can see that there are quite a few television news crews and reporters. And you would think that this news conference is about to get going. But we're told it's still about an hour away before FBI officials and local investigators talk about the incident. But about a half-hour ago, hospital officials from the North County Regional Hospital, local hospital that took most of the victims, did speak. And they gave us a sense of their response, which they felt was excellent, but also about the circumstances which were, to say the least, overwhelming.</s>SHERRI BIRKELAND, NORTH COUNTY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: We've never dealt with anything like this before. As Dr. Corser (ph) stated, our disaster planning that we hope we never have to implement, and we had to put some pieces in place last evening, went very well for us. Things went as smoothly as they could from our perspective.</s>OPPENHEIM: To backtrack on what happened, the FBI is telling us that yesterday a high school student went to his grandparents' home on the reservation, he shot and killed them. Then he went to his high school and he shot and killed seven people. Then he took his own life. He also injured 13 people. Local media outlets have identified the teenage gunman as Jeff Weise. And one of the Minnesota papers, the "St. Paul Pioneer Press," gave some interesting details in their reporting, saying that Weise had a tough background, that his father had committed suicide four years ago and that his mother was in -- or is in a nursing home in Minneapolis due to injuries suffered from a car accident. The "St. Paul Pioneer Press" also saying that Weise had used neo- Nazi Web sites and was an admirer of Adolph Hitler. Also using the code name on Internet sites</s>HARRIS: And Keith, any idea -- well, you would have mentioned it if we know, and I guess we don't know. Any idea of a motive at this point?</s>OPPENHEIM: No. This reporting about the Internet Web sites, and talking about angel of death, admiring of Adolph Hitler, certainly raises questions about racial purity or whether or not there was some sort of mission in this young man's head that would lead him, at least in his mind, to go out and shoot so many of his students at his high school, as well as a teacher and a security guard, and his grandparents. But again, we really don't know beyond that reporting. That's one of the questions we'll be asking the</s>FBI. HARRIS: Yes, we don't know. You're right. OK. Keith Oppenheim, we appreciate it. Thank you. And tonight CNN is devoting an entire hour to the subject of school shootings. What can be learned from this latest tragedy? What has changed because of past shootings? "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN" takes an in-depth look tonight at 10:00 Eastern. A Florida judge today denied bond for John Evander Couey, the man police say has confessed to killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. The judge called the crimes against Jessica "beyond words." Our Sara Dorsey joins us now from Lecanto, Florida, where Couey is being held. Sara, hello.</s>SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, all eyes were on John Couey today as he made his first appearance on four charges that are associated with that death of Jessica Lunsford. He is charged with capital murder, sexual abuse of a child, kidnapping, and burglary with battery. There is no bond on any of these charges, so Couey will remain in the Citrus County Detention Center for some time, we are told. Formal charges have not come. Those are going to come after a grand jury hears the evidence in this case. But Couey stood handcuffed and flanked by guards today in the courtroom while the judge linked to this detention center by a video frequency told Couey the crimes he is charged with are "beyond words."</s>JUDGE MARK YERMAN, CITRUS COUNTY COURT: This is infamous case here, and of course the acts that you're accused of and apparently confessed to are really beyond words. We might as well stay at no bond. And if you are found guilty of this offense, sir, I am absolutely certain that your opportunity to satisfy your lust for power with the death of innocence will have ended. Thank you, sir.</s>DORSEY: And Couey will be arraigned on these charges on April 11. Mark Lunsford, Jessica's dad, told us he wants Couey to get the death penalty. We are told Jessica's funeral will be Friday. That's a public service. But on Thursday -- or Saturday, rather. On Thursday and Friday there are services for family and friends -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: OK. Sara Dorsey. Sara, thank you. New images of the fight U.S. forces face in Iraq coming up. A firsthand account of the deadly shoot-out with Iraqi insurgents. And a look at life in the Persian Gulf. Wolf is there aboard one of the many sea-going vessels positioned in the area. He'll join us next. You're watching NEWS FROM CNN. We will be right back.