COSBY: All right, well let me bring in if I could to the conversation, let‘s bring in defense attorney Kimberly Lerner and also former prosecutor Wendy Murphy.
Wendy, what‘s your reaction to this? I mean, should—again, she is suspended. As we‘re just hearing now, some new information different than a lot of the reports out there. But suspended for one week. Appropriate or not, Wendy?
WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: You know, I actually think she deserves a harsher punishment. And one of the things I haven‘t heard yet, but I did read in a wire story, was that this was not sort of accidental, she didn‘t know it was going on.
COSBY: Well you actually even heard Wendy, I mean she even said, look, this is her partner, she knew she was putting them up. She was fine with it. It‘s art.
MURPHY: Right, but this is not her private life when it‘s on the Internet. And I read a story that said she actually showed the pictures to her students on a school computer. You have got to be kidding me. And for her to be sitting here...
COSBY: ... Let me bring her in. Tamara, is that true? Did you show them?
HOOVER: That‘s absolutely not true. These were never intended for the kids to see. That‘s a false statement.
MURPHY: OK, well that‘s what I read.
COSBY: Were you ever showing them in any condition?
HOOVER: I never showed the students. I never advertised the Web site to the students.
KIMBERLY LERNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Rita, if I may just interrupt.
COSBY: Yes, go ahead, Kim.
LERNER: I believe the story said that Gayle Andrews, the other teacher, when she was informed by one of the students that these pictures existed, she accessed a computer in the school with other students around and she showed the students the pictures.
COSBY: Yes, and I have heard that, I have heard that. And what do you say about that? Because this is the other issue you hit on, Kim. This other teacher, as we‘re hearing from Tamara, essentially sort of ratted her out, if you will, over art equipment. Is that fair, Kim?
LERNER: You know, this whole thing is extremely disturbing. What she does in her personal life is none of anyone‘s business, except if she‘s committing a crime or if it interferes with her ability to teach. By all accounts, she is an excellent teacher. Now the school talks about this higher moral standard. I think Ms. Andrews morals should be brought into question.
COSBY: This is the teacher who ratted her out.
MURPHY: Come on, come on, Rita?
LERNER: Absolutely, are you kidding me?
COSBY: Wendy? What about comparing her to all of these other cases, like Debra Lafave, also Pamela Turner. Is it fair? You know, because there are different cases, these are folks who were involved in sexual activities with students.
MURPHY: This is not her private life, this is a public matter.
COSBY: But is it fair to say that she goes in the same realm? Is that an unfair comparison?
MURPHY: It is a very appropriate comparison, even though there is no evidence that she has sexual assaulted or done anything to exploit a child. She knew the students knew about the pictures.
LERNER: But she didn‘t commit a crime.
MURPHY: That is not the issue.
HOOVER: I did know.
MURPHY: And I‘ll tell you something, if she ever did sexually exploit a child, this would be exhibit one in the criminal prosecution.
COSBY: Let me bring in Tamara. Both of you—let me bring you Tamara. I understand you‘re going to say obviously the students you didn‘t show the students, right?
HOOVER: No.
COSBY: That you didn‘t share them, you didn‘t want the students available.
HOOVER: No. I was never intending for the students to see it. I never advertised it for the students to see. I have never been sexually involved with a student.
LERNER: Rita, if she had been on a nude beach and a student had seen him, would she be in the same predicament?
MURPHY: She knew they were on the Internet. She let her students see them because she knew that students use the Internet. You have to stop saying she had a right to do this.
LERNER: She had an absolute right. This is her personal life.
MURPHY: She also can‘t get drunk and walk down the middle of Main Street and say she has the right to do that as a teacher too even though it‘s not a crime. She has a morals clause. She knows she‘s held to a higher standard. She did it anyway. And to call it art is irrelevant.
LERNER: But you‘re making a moral judgment.
COSBY: Kimberly, go ahead.
MURPHY: Her contract makes a moral judgment.
LERNER: You are making a judgment call that these photos were not artistic. It‘s your moral judgment call.
MURPHY: You not showing the topless photos where the spikes and the whips and the chains. Why aren‘t those being shown? How does that affect your moral judgment? You‘re just showing these soft pictures that don‘t at all look sexual. The description of the photographs that she got in trouble for are highly sexual and erotic her sticking her tongue out with her partner, doing sexually erotic things.
HOOVER: They are not sexual.
COSBY: Tamara, go ahead. But Tamara, is it fair to say that everybody‘s interpretation of art is different, Tamara. Is that fair to say?
HOOVER: Absolutely. Art is open for interpretation. The few pictures that are in question have been taken out of context. And the body of work is an amazing body of work. And it is art.
MURPHY: It doesn‘t matter.
COSBY: Let me bring in Kimberly and then I‘ll get to you, Wendy. First of all, what do you think—should a teacher be held to a higher standard, and is it one of these things we say, just stay away from it? Kimberly?
LERNER: You know, it‘s a slippery slope. I think that teachers should be held to a high standard. But it reaches a point that what if you find out a teacher had an abortion and you don‘t like that and you think that‘s against your morals? She should lose her job? These are topless photos.
COSBY: Let me bring in Wendy. Wendy, where do you draw the line?
MURPHY: This is very, very simple as line drawing goes. Teachers, students, and sex do not go together, period, end of discussion. There is not even a close question here. There should not be a sexually erotic teacher on the Internet with students who she has a responsibility to, period.
COSBY: Let me bring in Tamara, Tamara, I‘m going to give you the last final word.
HOOVER: I agree.
COSBY: You get the last word, Tamara.
HOOVER: Absolutely I agree. Never should you ever say teachers, sex, and students in the same sentence. And I have not participated in either of those. I participated in...
MURPHY: Naked bodies, whips and chains, are you kidding?
COSBY: Let her answer, Tamara, go ahead.
HOOVER: I‘m sorry that you feel that way. But I have not participated in anything immoral or overtly sexual in nature, and I have not ever sent that to the students or included the students in that part of my life.
COSBY: OK, that‘s going to have to be the last word. And again, the students did get a glimpse of it and again, not your intent but certainly that is what happened. Tamara, thank you very much.