here in new york, jami floyd. joining us, too, here in the studio is democratic congressman charles rangel of new york. good afternoon, sir. it has been a remarkable three weeks, has it not, with this case? >> it has been. it has been. >> what was your reaction to these proceedings today and these three students, two of them from kazakhstan, all pleading innocent to the charge of obstructing justice? >> whenever anybody is arrested i go back to many, many year ago when i was a federal prosecutor. and, martin, you really don't know how badly people don't want to go to jail. the first thing is, when innocent people are grabbed and taken into detention and then to court, innocent people are screaming like hell. could you imagine if you were just trying to help a friend as one of your business mates and the fbi is dragging you to jail? you would be demanding -- it would be all over tv. the second thing is this. when these kids understand that whatever put them up to protecting this guy after clearly they knew what the

i want to bring in jamie floyd. you've worked as a trial attorney.n following this closely. what do you make of the comings and goings expected for the closing arguments and the onus that lies on both sides? >> it's been an exhausting case. it's been a marathon of a case. to hold the attention of the jurors on both sides will be a key. usually prosecutors have a presumption of innocence. >> hopefully they'll hold the jury so none of them get evicted anymore. >> that's right. keep them in at all. but usually the presumption of innocence is with the defendant and prosecutors have the burden of proof. here we have self-defense, which essentially shifts the burden to the defendant. i agree with diana that really here it's a life and death issue. if they can save her life and get the death penalty off the table, that's a win for the defense. >> who has done a better job? the expert witnesses in this case, they've become mini celebrities of their own out of this. but how critical has their testimony been, and who's done a better job of presenting? >> it re

joining me now to talk about the cases coming to a head out west want trial attorney jami floyd.o o.j. is on the stand. he wasn't in 2008, getting personal saying it was memorabilia he was looking for in las vegas that day and he described a phone call from an azantance when he first learned about the things that had been taken. >> in this his words, his daughter died, pictures of your mom and dad who passed. they have family albums of your mother and that's when i got interested. >> i read so many stories from people in that courtroom. they described him as emotional, believable. how much is this about him him coming off about someone believable and likable? >> this is the testimony we should have heard in the trial. he did not testify at trial. this is the testimony essentially he would have given and it does so essentially to the law. what was his state of mind at the time he went into that room? but the issue here is different. the issue here is whether his ineffective assistance of council as he claims gives him a right to a new trial. >> let us talk about a couple specific

jami floyd, thanks so much for your insight, jami. >>> coming up, bigger and better in texas? the president is in the lone star state talking jobs and the economy. and we'll take you there in a moment. >> i want to thank all of you for a texas-sized welcome. now, those of you who have seats, feel free to sit down. those of you who don't, you're out of luck. [ jackie ] it's just so frustrating... ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. do not dri

. >> we want to bring in our jodi experts, legal analyst and defense attorney, jamie floyd, an adult and child psychiatrist. and jamie, i want to start with you. we were mentioning some of the mitigating factors the defense may try to employ to try to save jodi's life. some of those could be mental status, lack of criminal history, difficult childhood. family ties, lack of intent, good character, remorse or grief education or intellect, stress. what are some of these that you think would be most compelling in this particular case if you were leading the defense, what would you be emphasizing? >> you made a pretty good case. you have to get to that point. the prosecutors have to prove it was unduly cruel. heinous, torturous and depraved. once they make that case, the defense has the opportunity to establish those mitigators. sometimes we see some surprises at that phase of the case. evidence of some injury suffered by the defendant in childhood. evidence of child abuse or molestation we might not have heard about. there is no factual evidence here as of yet but i would be digging aroun

stand by, i want to bring criminal defense attorney jamie floyd in. you are defending these guys, jamie, what are you doing right at this moment? >> i think you want it to emphasize, this is what you learn in in law school, the fact of the crimes. you want to deter people from covering up. these are at the low end of the spectrum especially in a crime of this magnitude. these are young men who got involved after the fact. authorities do not seem to us is spig to suspect they were involved in the execution of the crime. but we want to tell citizens, you should not obstruct justice or make false statements to law enforcement. they do carry a penalty. as an attorney, emphasize to the public and court these young men were involved at the low end of the scale bp. >> if involved at all. presumption of innocence. >> and what michael said, they said they just wanted to help our friend. isn't that what they are charged with doing, helping their friend, who is a suspected critici criminal. >> the first thing i thought of is my 10-year-old son. isn't it so child

joining me to talk about today's critical motions, joanne reid and jamie floyd. good to see both of you. these can be boring but this is consequence stuff. it's about zbuns and race about the controversial stand your ground laws. this is about setting the stage for trial that started a national conversation. >> it was an issue for the african american community who looked at this young man and saw this as a larger issue of the profiling of younger black men but for george zimmerman he is fighting for his life. if he is convicted of second degree murder he can be facing 25 years to life in prison. you have two families, both of whom say their son was the victim here. it couldn't be more potentially polarizing. >> let's go through the things we have seen in court today or are waiting to see. first of all, zimmerman's defense wants to push the june 10th trial date back because they say the state held on to evidence. what's the chances they delay. >> the judge has a tough call here. that's about the 911 tape. now states experts are conflicting about who is saying wha

let's bring in attorney jamie floyd and jury selection consultant, richard gabriel.that life in prison, especially when you're as young as jodi arias would be a much stiffer penalty than the death sentence. you made the point yesterday that the death penalty is supposed to be for extraordinary cases. i think of timothy mcveigh. do you think that this case in which a woman killed her husband, essentially meets that criteria? >> i knew if i kept coming back day after day you would eventually make me answer this question that i was trying to avoid. >> sorry. >> reason i've been trying to avoid it is because i think my answer will be fairly unpopular. i do not think this is a death penalty case. it is a horrific case. and that i think she was death eligible. i think the jury was right to find that this was a cruel case and that was the first stage of the penalty phase. but now the question is, should she be put to death? does she qualify? you mentioned timothy mcveigh where 168 people lost their lives including a number of children in a daycare center there on the first

we turn to jamie floyd and john bloom. professor, i will start with you.w because you are an expert on the death penalty. not knowing that i had taken your class. so extra exciting to have you here today. >> glad to be here. >> absolutely. when people look at a case like this, we learn a lot about capitol cases from the mo controversial or incendiary trial. so is this typical or different in fundamental ways? >> it is atypical because it has gotten a lot of publicity and the matter of the crime. but it is not surprising the jury is having trouble reaching a verdict. we've seen nationally that in cases where boyfriend/girl friend lover kills someone else that the jury is reluctant to impose death in those situations. >> jamie, you have to clear something up for me. in the video that we just saw, the interview that jodi arias did, she said that you know she thought that getting the death penalty would be revenge. yet immediately after the verdict came out a beek week or so ago, she gave another television interview where she said that death is freedom. how m

jackson is standing by live as well as criminal defense attorney and former colleague of mine, jami floyd. jamie, first to you, tears, you've been a defense attorney. you've worked with your clients and i know that you do counsel them in how they are to behave in the courtroom. but are the tears at this point in a process this dire effective? >> well, you know, we always hear that phrase crocodile tears. and a jury is no different than the rest of the public when assessing your client's demeanor. if she can't help herself, she can't help herself. i don't think they're effective. i think the jury will do the job it has to do. you point out whether or not this jury feels this killing was particularly cruel, heinous, or depraved. did the victim suffer undually in a case that should be a death penalty case. that's the question for the jury. and jurors don't think clinically like lawyers. they think like brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers. that's the problem for this defense attorney we see addressing the jury now. >> and so strangely in phoenix, i know jami, every jurisdicti

let's bring in cnn legal eagles here, we have one analyst paul callan, criminal defense attorney jami floydng here. this situation of analysis, aggravating face ining factors,g factors. the simple version is, they'll look at what is before them and decide if it's worthy of death. paul, i'll start with you, only one juror, if it has to be unanimous, decides she doesn't get the death penalty and they move on to life, 25 years, porn possibility of parole, that the judge decides. would you say the odds are in favor of arias not getting the death penalty? >> i would say she's on a fast road to the death penalty at this point. with the jury coming back yesterday in i think slightly less than two hours finding that this was an exceptional cruelty case triggering this death penalty hearing, that's highly suggestive that all of the jurors think, at least they're leaning toward it as a death penalty case. because you have to consider, chris, if one juror didn't want the death penalty, that juror could have chosen a battle yesterday and fought back. two hours they come back and say, let's go to the ne