📄 In chambers: unauthorized microphones — Friday, December 20, 1996
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\20\IN-CHAMBERS-UNAUTHORIZED-MICRO.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 35 of 57

In chambers: unauthorized microphones

Date: Friday, December 20, 1996 • Utterances: 32
Judge Fujisaki held an in-chambers hearing after a deputy discovered that defense attorney Robert Blasier's wife (Charlotte Blasier) and a Fox Television producer (Lena Nozizwe) had brought wireless microphones into the courtroom. Both women claimed the devices belonged to a camera crew outside and were not transmitting inside the courtroom, but one mic was found to be on when confiscated. Fujisaki excluded both women from the proceedings.
1 (The following proceedings were held in the Court's chambers, outside the presence of the jury.)
2 THE COURT:

Okay. Let the record show we're in chambers with Mr. Blasier, Mrs. Blasier, Mr. Baker, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Petrocelli, our court staff. And state your name. DEPUTY TYKO: Deputy Tyko T-I-K-O.

3 THE COURT:

Mrs. Tyko, can you relate to me again what occurred? DEPUTY TYKO: This morning, at the morning— Mrs. Blasier—I don't know the lady's name with you—came into the Court with a mike, Mrs. Blasier's mike. I asked—I don't know her name—I keep saying—I asked her if she was recording. She said no. Vickie went up and asked her if she was recording. She said no. We found out this is obviously not a recording device, well here's another one, but they are—they are wireless mikes, and they can broadcast up to a quarter of a mile away. And when I—Mrs. Blasier, this afternoon when I asked her—I told them both that it was a problem to have them in the courtroom. I took them. I said, we'll keep them for you, when we leave, because the other news media have noticed them. Okay. And I took—and I asked you for yours, and the red light was on, which meant it was on. MRS. BLASIER: I could have done that in trying to get it out of my pocket, because it was in kind of tight, (indicating to pants pocket) and I could have flipped it when I was simply taking it out. Because we've been turning them off.

4 THE COURT:

Why do you have them, ma'am? MRS. BLASIER: My agency is Missing Persons and Sensitive Crime Investigations. Lena came out from New York to interview me. She works with America's Most Wanted. I have a lot of my clients on the show, plus I've done some things for it. I do a lot of missing-person cases, especially children, and Lena is doing a segment on me and my work.

5 THE COURT:

So why do you have to have it in this courtroom? MRS. BLASIER: Well, I didn't. It just saved us having to go out to the car when we were talking, like at lunchtime and that.

6 THE COURT:

What's the purpose of this equipment? MRS. BLASIER: Because we are very short in time on her interviewing me on my work.

7 THE COURT:

This is a remote transmitter. Where are you transmitting to? MRS. BLASIER: We did a minute of it, I believe, in the parking lot this morning, and then during lunch, so we could do a few minutes; that was all. And I think that I possibly pushed the button in getting it out of my pocket when I was sitting down. I handed it to her, that's all.

8 THE COURT:

Who receives the transmissions? MRS. BLASIER: The news crew that's with Lena. They were going to do some taping, so that—

9 THE COURT:

Let me ask you this: Where is the news crew located? MRS. BLASIER: Someplace where—wherever they parked. I don't know. And then they met with us at lunchtime for about one minute.

10 THE COURT:

Where—bring the other woman in.

11 THE CLERK:

What is her name? MRS. BLASIER: Lena Nozizwe.

THE COURT REPORTER: Can you spell that? MRS. BLASIER: N-o-z-i-w-e.

12 THE CLERK:

She's not in the courtroom, so Vickie is going to look for her. MRS. BLASIER: I think she may be in the bathroom. I'm not sure.

13 THE CLERK:

Vickie's out looking for her. She's checking the bathroom.

14 (Pause in proceedings.)
15 MR. BLASIER:

Your Honor, Charlotte just told me security was aware, she said these— MRS. BLASIER: This morning when we first got here. When we went through the metal detector, it was beeping. I said oh, it's this, and I took it out, and I said these are hers. She wanted to know if we had—I basically asked him if I needed to leave it out. And he said no, it was okay to take them in, so . . . I didn't think anything of it. And I'm not positive, I think Lena may have even told him what it was.

16 THE BAILIFF:

This is Judge Fujisaki.

17 THE COURT:

What is your name? MS. NOZIZWE: Lena Nozizwe.

18 THE COURT:

You're with? MS. NOZIZWE: America's Most Wanted.

19 THE CLERK:

Spell your name please. MS. NOZIZWE: N-o-z-i-z-w-e.

20 THE COURT:

And you work with Mrs. Blasier? MS. NOZIZWE: I don't work with her. I mean, we're not—we don't work together. I work—I work for Fox Television, America's Most Wanted.

21 THE COURT:

And what is your relationship with her? MS. NOZIZWE: She's somebody who I know and somebody that I'm doing a story about.

22 THE COURT:

You had a piece of electronic equipment on you? MS. NOZIZWE: Yes.

23 THE COURT:

And she had one on also? MS. NOZIZWE: Correct.

24 THE COURT:

Why do you both have them on? MS. NOZIZWE: They're wireless microphones. We were getting recordings of our conversation— conversation as—as we came up to the courtroom, as we came through security, the bailiff—or the deputy did see them. I mean, he saw that I had it and they were turned off. And also, it's not possible for it to have been transmitted because the receiver is outside. And, I mean, nothing was being broadcast inside the courtroom. Nothing was being broadcast, I guess, is what I'm trying to say, or transmitted.

25 THE COURT:

Do both of those belong to you, your firm? MS. NOZIZWE: Yes. Well, not my firm, but the photographer who I'm working with. They belong to him.

26 THE COURT:

Both of them? MS. NOZIZWE: Yes.

27 THE COURT:

Well, one of them was on. MS. NOZIZWE: Right. It was the one that Charlotte had on. We were in earlier and turned them off. When we came in, we came back from lunch, I turned mine off. I don't know that Charlotte—she's not used to necessarily turning on and off, the switch, remembered to turn her's off. But in order for any sound to be recorded, the camera has to be turned on, and it was not turned on, because the audio and video was only taken when we were outside, you know, walking up to the courthouse.

28 THE COURT:

Well, you know the Court can only go on the objective manifestations of what I've been shown. And what I've been shown is that there's two remote transmitters brought into the courtroom, one of which was on when it was observed by the sheriffs. So, regretfully, I'm going to have to exclude you from the proceedings. MS. NOZIZWE: Okay Your Honor.

KEY QUOTE
29 THE COURT:

And I'm going to have to exclude Mrs. Blasier from the proceedings, as well. Okay. That will be the order.

30 THE CLERK:

Is this sealed, Your Honor?

31 THE COURT:

No. .

32 (Jurors resume their respective seats.)

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Deputy Tyko
they are wireless mikes, and they can broadcast up to a quarter of a mile away
Establishes why the devices were a security concern — not just recording but potentially broadcasting live trial audio
Deputy Tyko
I asked you for yours, and the red light was on, which meant it was on
The key factual finding that led to the exclusion — one device was actively transmitting
Hiroshi Fujisaki
the Court can only go on the objective manifestations of what I've been shown. And what I've been shown is that there's two remote transmitters brought into the courtroom, one of which was on
Fujisaki's rationale for exclusion — he declines to credit the explanations and relies on observable facts
Mrs. Blasier
I could have done that in trying to get it out of my pocket, because it was in kind of tight, and I could have flipped it when I was simply taking it out.
Her explanation for why the mic was on — accidental activation — which Fujisaki ultimately does not accept as sufficient

Evidence (1)

Informal
Two wireless microphone transmitters confiscated from Charlotte Blasier and Lena Nozizwe
Physically presented and examined in chambers

Notable Exchanges (2)

Hiroshi FujisakiLena Nozizwe
Fujisaki systematically questioned Nozizwe about why both women had the devices and whether they were transmitting; Nozizwe insisted nothing was broadcast inside the courtroom and the receiver was outside, but Fujisaki cut off the explanation and ordered both excluded.
decisive
Robert BlasierMrs. Blasier
Robert Blasier interjected that security had been aware of the devices at the metal detector, and Mrs. Blasier corroborated that a deputy had cleared them to bring the mics in. Neither point changed Fujisaki's ruling.
strategic

Witness Demeanor

(Pause in proceedings.) — while clerk searched for Lena Nozizwe
(indicating to pants pocket) — Mrs. Blasier physically demonstrated how she claims the mic switch was accidentally flipped

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 8730 • 32 utterances
Civil Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 DEC 20, 1996 📄 In chambers: unauthorized micr
DEC 20, 1996 KRT DvH TD