rikki klieman

Leak Complicates Copperfield Case
Grand Jury Information Made Public; Experts Say It Ruins Copperfield's Reputation
Comments 13
NEW YORK, Oct. 30, 2007

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Magician David Copperfield's lawyer says he was unfairly defamed by a leak of grand jury information. (AP)



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(CBS) David Copperfield's lawyer is blaming federal officials following the controversial release of insider grand jury information.

The Seattle Times says a 21-year-old Washington State woman told authorities the 51-year-old Copperfield raped her over the course of two days at his exclusive 150-acre Bahamas resort.

She also contends he struck her, and then threatened her before putting her onto a plane.

Copperfield's lawyer David Chesnoff said in a statement, "This not only unfairly and falsely defames my client, but it undermines the integrity of the entire investigation."

"I think this leak is unfortunate and I think it is shocking because it came from, according to the report, no less than three law enforcement sources," legal analyst Rikki Klieman told CBS correspondent Jeff Glor.

The Early Show legal analyst Mickey Sherman said the system simply broke down and Copperfield's attorney is justified in his outrage. Leaking information like this ruins the entire legal process, he said.

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"It poisons the jury pool," he told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "And for David Copperfield, who is an internationally known entertainer, it totally destroys his reputation without him having been charged ... The sliming is irrevocable because it's impossible to get that reputation back."

The report says the accuser told investigators she and her family were approached by a member of Copperfield's entourage at a January performance on the West Coast. They were given special seats and she was selected to come on stage.

She said Copperfield later told her he could help with her modeling career and that she should come to his secluded retreat. She agreed but when she returned home, she says she was examined at a sexual assault center and filed a police report.

"David Copperfield is in a very difficult position here," Klieman said. "He's rendered impotent; no pun intended."

A week and a half ago the FBI searched Copperfield's warehouse and a casino hotel in Las Vegas, taking a digital camera and computer hard drive. Copperfield has not been charged with a crime, and Chesnoff says his client never forced himself on anyone.

Sherman said if he were Copperfield's attorney, he would advise him to speak up and defend himself, because now that the leak has occurred, every part of the accuser's story will be called into question, especially the fact that she didn't make a complaint until arriving home in Seattle.

"He is a public figure," Sherman said. "He is a communicator, an entertain entertainer, in front of thousands of people a day. Even though it's not the legally correct thing to do, he should say I'm getting screwed here."
Rikki Klieman
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Rikki Klieman is an American criminal defense lawyer and TV personality for Court TV. Additionally, she is an author, actress, and is married to the city of Los Angeles's chief of police, William Bratton.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Legal career
3 Other
4 References
5 External links



[edit] Early life
She was born in Chicago to a Ukrainian immigrant family, where she danced, acted, and sang as a youth.[1] Rikki Klieman attended Northwestern University where she was a theater major and had plans of becoming an actress.[2] However, she decided to attend law school. Klieman graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1975 with her Juris Doctor.[2] During law school she clerked for U.S. District Court judge Walter Jay Skinner.[2]


[edit] Legal career
After law school she joined the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Friedman & Atherton before entering private practice.[2] Then in 1983 she was named by Time magazine as one of the five best female attorneys in the United States.[1] From 1996 to 2003 she was part of the faculty at Columbia's law school, while previously spending time on her alma mater's faculty at Boston University's law school.[2]


[edit] Other
Klieman currently works for the Court TV television network, but has also acted on TV series such as Las Vegas.[2] In Las Vegas she played the role of Kathy Berson during the 2005-2006 season, while more recently she has appeared on the TV show Shark.[3] She also wrote her autobiography with Peter Knobler: Fairy Tales Can Come True: How a Driven Woman Changed Her Destiny. She is married to LA's police chief William J. Bratton.[1]


[edit] References
^ a b c Gayle Pollard-Terry. Style and Culture: Counsel to the cop: She fits the profile. Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2002.
^ a b c d e f CourtTV: Rikki Klieman
^ IMdb.com: Rikki Klieman