Collecting On The Losses of Loved Ones
BLITZER: Huge crowds today outside of California's Supreme Court as a hearing goes forward with an effort to try to overturn the ban on gay marriage in California. Let's go to California. CNN's Dan Simon is watching the story for us. What's the latest Dan?</s>DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hi Wolf. The ban on same sex marriage here in California was a result of proposition-8, narrowly approved by voters in November. The question for the California Supreme Court is whether or not to uphold that ban.</s>SIMON (voice-over): Starting off were those against prop 8 or for same sex marriage was attorney Shannon Mintier who lived his first 35 years as a female.</s>SHANNON MINTIER, ATTORNEY ARGUING AGAINST PROP. 8: Our government is based on the principle of not just majority rule, but equally so on the limit that majorities must always respect minority rights.</s>SIMON: Mintier told justices that prop 8 delegates gays and lesbians to second class citizens and it is the courts job to fix an injustice.</s>MINTIER: To have an official recognition of one's family relationship that is of equal stature and dignity to the recognition given to other couples.</s>MICHAEL MAROKO, ATTORNEY ARGUING AGAINST PROP. 8: If you're in the marriage business, do it equally. If the state stuck its finger in the marriage business, they should stick it equally, if not, get out of it.</s>SIMON: Later, for the prop 8 side a figure for the pro prop 8, Kenneth Star. He's now the dean of Pepperdine University's law school and an advocate for many conservative causes.</s>KENNETH STAR, ATTORNEY ARGUING FOR PROP. 8: We want to restore the traditional definition that has been in place since this state was founded and almost every other court has agreed with the rationality of that. You may think it's bad policy. You may think it's unenlightened.</s>SIMON: Star argued that rightly or wrongly rights in this country and in California are ultimately defined by the people, which prompted this hypothetical question by the chief justice.</s>CHIEF JUSTICE RONALD GEORGE, CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT: Right to free speech, whatever, that can be removed by the simple amendment process.</s>STAR: We may govern unwisely, but there are failed safe mechanisms under the federal constitution.</s>SIMON: So Wolf, the question for the California Supreme Court is can the will of the majority trump the rights of the minority. A ruling is expected in about 90 days.</s>BLITZER: All right. We'll stay on top of the story. Thank you for that. A collection agency targeting the dead and getting their loved ones to pay debts they may not even be required to honor. What's going on here? Let's go to our national Susan Candiotti. She's received some unprecedented access to one of these agencies. What happened Susan?</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know, it is a touchy subject, trying to collect money from those who died, leaving unpaid bills. There are about a half dozen companies in this country that specialize in that area. Today we did receive unusual access to one located right here in Wilmington, Delaware.</s>CANDIOTTI: When loved ones are gone, they're likely to leave bills. How do you collect money from the dead? From tiny cubicles in soft earth tones, employees of Phillips and Cohen make a living at it. The company takes great pains to say they bend over backwards to do it with heart.</s>ADAM COHEN, PHILLIPS AND COHEN: We have to do it morally and we're proud of how we strike that balance between those two.</s>CANDIOTTI: Here's how they say they do it. Before debt collectors pick up a phone, they spend at least three weeks learning how to deal with grief-stricken families. Employees are told to leave their own troubles at home.</s>COHEN: From the moment they pick up the phone no matter who they're talking to that person has more reason to be upset about what's going on in their life, so we have to check our personal situations at the door.</s>CANDIOTTI: The company says in most states, survivors are not legally obligated to pay, if there's no money in the estate, but surprisingly many relatives offer to pay.</s>COHEN: There are quite a bit more than most people realize of people saying we'd like to offer something because we know that our spouse or our father or mother would have wanted it paid.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was trying to reach the family of the late --</s>CANDIOTTI: Tonja says she draws on her personal experience.</s>TONJA JENNINGS, PHILLIPS AND COHEN: I lost both my parents. I keep that in mind.</s>CANDIOTTI: The company would not let us listen to live calls because of privacy concerns, but provided us with what they said a recorded client call. And by taking its time, its 500 employees worldwide are bringing in big business for an otherwise bleak economy.</s>CANDIOTTI: Now how much business, the company won't say, calling it proprietary information and they also will not identify who their clients are other than to say they're collecting on credit card debt, car loans and utility bills. Wolf?</s>BLITZER: Thanks for bringing that to our viewers Susan Candiotti in Delaware. Brad Pitt makes a special trip right here to Washington, D.C. He's speaking with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. He's lobbying for a project very close to his heart. We'll tell you. And the singer Chris Brown now facing felony charges for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, the singer Rihanna. We have new information about what went on that night. And Michelle Obama dishes out lunch at a homeless center here in Washington and offers a special message to go with the meal. Stick around. We'll share that message with you right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.