Reading of prior criminal trial testimony of William Blasini

📄 Reading of prior criminal trial testimony of William Blasini — Tuesday, December 17, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\17\READING-OF-PRIOR-CRIMINAL-TRIA.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 33 of 57

◀ Courtroom procedures Cross-examination of the witness ▶

Examiner: Examiner
Date: Tuesday, December 17, 1996 • Utterances: 9

The defense read into the civil trial record the criminal trial testimony of William Blasini, a used-car buyer who visited Viertel's impound garage on June 21, 1994 and got inside OJ Simpson's Bronco while it sat unguarded and unlocked. Blasini testified he specifically looked for blood throughout the vehicle and saw none, though he also noted the driver's side carpet had been cut out. On cross, plaintiffs' counsel established that Blasini had no flashlight, the garage may have had fluorescent lighting that aggravated his eye condition, and he did not closely inspect the areas where blood evidence was later documented.

# 1 MR. LEONARD:

Your Honor, we're going to read in the criminal trial testimony of William Blasini, William Blasini, Jr.

# 2 (The testimony of William Blasini, given in Criminal Case No. BA097211, was read into the record, with Mr. Philip Baker reading the testimony of Mr. Blasini, and Mr. Leonard reading the questions, as follows:)

# 3 MR. LEONARD:

Beginning at page 43972, line 9:

# 4 Q:

Mr. Blasini, what is your occupation?

# 5 THE COURT:

Excuse me. I think you better identify the witness so the jurors will know who it is.

# 6 MR. LEONARD:

This is Mr. William Blasini, who was called as a defense witness at the criminal trial.

# 7 THE COURT:

Spell that.

# 8 MR. LEONARD:

MR. P. BAKER: B-l-a-s-i-n-i.

# 9 MR. LEONARD:

Sorry.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Witness (Blasini)

I looked inside the Bronco. I looked at the seats, the floor. I looked at the dashboard. I basically looked all over the vehicle.

Establishes the thoroughness of his search — he was specifically hunting for blood, not casually glancing around.

Witness (Blasini)

I noticed that the floorboard on the driver's side, the carpet itself, was cut out.

Key defense point — the carpet (where blood had reportedly pooled) had already been removed by the time Blasini accessed the vehicle, which he and Adlen interpreted as confirming that's where the blood had been.

Witness (Blasini)

Anything is possible, but I didn't see the marking.

The witness is ultimately forced into a narrow formulation — he can only testify to what he saw, not what wasn't there, which blunts the defense value of his testimony.

Witness (Blasini)

I didn't look at it and -- but I didn't see any blood. No, sir.

Summarizes his core testimony: a thorough visual search of the Bronco yielded no blood observation — directly contradicting the prosecution's narrative of a blood-soaked vehicle.

Evidence (4)

Civil 211 / Criminal 172

Diagram/chart mock-up of the Bronco interior with numbered photo cards indicating blood evidence locations

Used during direct examination to have Blasini identify areas he observed and confirm he saw no blood at those locations

Civil 1749 / Criminal 528A

Photograph of the exterior driver's door taken June 14, 1994 (one week before Blasini's visit) showing what appears to be fingerprint dust around the door jamb

Used on cross to challenge Blasini's claim he saw no fingerprint dust on the exterior

Exhibit 637

Photograph of the driver's door handle area with blood evidence marker number 23

Used on cross to establish Blasini did not specifically inspect that area

Exhibit 640

Photograph of the console dated September 1, 1994, showing red stains at locations 303, 304, 305, 306

Used on cross to confront Blasini with visible blood evidence he testified he did not see

Notable Exchanges (3)

Examiner (cross)•Witness (Blasini)

Extended back-and-forth over whether Blasini was asserting blood wasn't present vs. merely that he didn't see it — examiner repeatedly forced the distinction, and Blasini ultimately conceded the blood 'could have been there.'

strategic

Examiner (cross)•Witness (Blasini)

Gelblum questioned Blasini about his tinted glasses and radial keratotomy eye surgery, the lack of a flashlight, and the fluorescent lighting in the garage — building a picture that conditions were poor for blood detection.

methodical

Examiner (direct)•Witness (Blasini)

Blasini described walking right past a chain-link barrier, entering the unlocked Bronco with Adlen while Bob Jones walked away — establishing the vehicle was completely accessible and unmonitored.

revealing

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Blasini

limitations on observation

Gelblum established Blasini had no flashlight, was inside a building that may have had fluorescent lights (which aggravate his eye condition), wore tinted glasses, did not bend down to closely inspect the console or door panels, and did not make any systematic effort to inspect the steering wheel for blood — suggesting his 'no blood' observation was not reliable.

⚔ Blasini

positional obstruction

Gelblum got Blasini to acknowledge that when seated in the passenger seat, his body would have blocked his view of the rear console area (location 31), meaning he physically could not have seen blood in that spot.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 8676 • 9 utterances

Civil Trial

Department 103