by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
You can’t get much hotter than homicide.
Teaser headlines on the first “page” of the program’s website say it all: “Exorcism Murder Trial,” “Suicide Murder Trial,” “Murder for Money,” “Murder By Antifreeze,” and — for a change of pace — “Kobe in Court.”
It’s just another day at Court TV.
As one of the network’s producers, Lena Jakobsson has played an important part in many of those days. She would be hard-pressed to think of a more compelling line of work.
“Fascinating,” she said. “It’s absolutely fascinating.”
Jakobsson has been with Court TV for seven years and savors the special bond the program has with its viewers — an involved, intimate group of 80 million.
“They are truly amazing,” she said. “When I talk to our viewers and look at our message board on the website, I am amazed at their level of interest and their savvy with legal issues.”
Jakobsson was in town last week for the opening of a negligence suit filed against the Florida Department of Children and Families. The family of Shawn Sumner said the agency was partially to blame for the beating death of the 2-year-old in May 2001.
His mother’s boyfriend, Travis Yoder, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and is serving a 25-year sentence in the Gulf Correctional Institution in Wewahitchka.
Shawn’s family — in particular, his grandmother, Cathy Sumner — claims DCF did not respond to her 22 calls warning of violence, abuse and drug use in the home.
Circuit Court Judge Hugh Carithers granted a request for a mistrial on the second day of the proceedings. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Helen Spohrer, charged DCF with failing to turn over documents with “valuable information” about Sumner’s calls to the agency’s hot line.
A DCF spokesman said the failure was inadvertent.
Spohrer asked the court to set a new trial date as soon as possible.
Deciding which proceedings Court TV will cover can be difficult, what with hundreds of trials going on in hundreds of communities across the country.
“We have a staff that does nothing but track trials, through reading local newspapers, having stringers all over the country, notices from attorneys — all kinds of sources,” said Jakobsson. “The files they compile are looked at by our management.
“There are a number of criteria for selecting these cases: an interesting legal twist, an interesting underlying story, any newsworthy issues people might be interested in.”
The network was alerted to the DCF trial by First Coast Legal PR.
Court TV’s viewers are drawn to some stories, Jakobsson said, because the key players are so different from them. Scott Peterson. A woman in Houston who stabbed her husband 193 times.
“In this case, though, there are issues that really touch a lot of people,” she added. “The loss of a child; whether you think government agencies function as well as private companies. I think a lot of people can understand the situation and the relationships.”
Court TV often avoids cases where there are identification problems — such as sexual assault trials or those that involve minors.
Jakobsson had never been to Jacksonville before and hopes to get the assignment when the trial starts again.
The city “has got this great ’50s feel,” she said. “I do hope to be back. Chances are I might be somewhere else, but I certainly hope to cover it.”
As she prepared to catch a flight back to New York, she still didn’t know what the next assignment would be. The next morning, she learned she was headed to Redwood City, Calif., for the Scott Peterson trial.
“It will be a nice change of pace,” Jakobsson said. “I have a documentary background, so I tend to stay away from the high-profile sort of stuff.”
The native of Stockholm, Sweden, was 18 years old when she came to the United States in 1988.
“I was planning on being an au pair in New York for a year,” she said. “That’s very common for young Europeans. I just fell in love with New York City . . . and I’m getting to see the rest of the country this way.”
She got a degree in broadcasting from Hunter College in New York City, She did some print and video production work and was tending bar when she got her break.
“One of my customers was Johnny Cochran’s producer when he had a show with us,” she said. “It’s all about contacts.”
When Jakobsson attends a tape trial, she’s accompanied by a two-person camera crew. The team at a live trial expands with the addition of reporters.
The part the producer plays can be tough to define.
“During a tape trial,” said Jakobsson, “I take notes during the testimony, determine what’s going to air, write the script for our set-up pieces, write the trial memos for the anchors, and do interviews after the case and edit them.
“On a live trial, I coordinate the satellite feeds, decide what the shots should look like, and coordinate and direct the camera crew in the courtroom.”
Different states have different laws about allowing cameras in the courtroom.
“Some places have an outright ban on cameras; some leave it up to the judge,” she said. “But there has been an interesting trend lately, where some courts will only allow cameras in for the opening, the closing and the verdict.
“It gives the illusion of access, but we don’t have any access to the evidence. We are concerned about that.”
Jakobsson had to mentally sift through seven years worth of cases to come up with the one that truly stood out from the rest.
“I’ve been to so many over the years,” she said. “Several of them are memorable for different reasons. I tend to like the longer trials where I can really get involved in the story, really get to know the players.”
The one that rose to the top was the 2000 trial in Medina, Ohio, of Steven Bozsik, who was ultimately convicted of aggravated murder and murder in the death of his wife.
Carol Bozsik had been shot six times. Her body was found in the garage at their home.
“The husband contended that the boyfriend had done it,” Jakobsson recalled. “The jury thought the husband did it.
“They both took the stand, which really made it interesting, especially during some blistering cross-examination.
“Two things were appealing about that case. It was a real whodunit. And the attorneys were just fabulous. They were so much fun to watch. And that makes all the difference in the world.”