Direct examination of Mark Partridge

📄 Direct examination of Mark Partridge — Thursday, December 5, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\5\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-MARK-PAR.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 26 of 57

◀ Direct examination of Raymond David Kilduff Requests for admissions ▶

Witness: Mark Partridge
Examiner: Daniel Petrocelli
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Thursday, December 5, 1996 • Utterances: 113

Plaintiffs read selected portions of the deposition of Mark Partridge, a Chicago trademark attorney who sat next to OJ Simpson on the American Airlines flight from Chicago to Los Angeles on the morning of June 13, 1994 — the day after the murders. Partridge described Simpson as appearing 'upset' and 'rushed' upon boarding, detailed his stone-washed denim outfit and sockless black loafers, and testified that Simpson told him during the flight that Nicole had been killed criminally and that another person had also been killed.

# 1 MR. PETROCELLI:

Finally, Your Honor, we'll now read from the deposition of Mark Partridge, also taken in Chicago on May 26 -- excuse me -- May 29, 1996.

# 2 (Selected portions of the deposition of Mark Partridge were read by Plaintiffs' Counsel, Mr. Petrocelli reading the questions and Mr. Gelblum reading the answers.)

# 3 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 5, line 17.

# 4 MR. LEONARD:

Roll 'em.

# 5 (Reading:)

# 6 Q:

Would you state your name, spelling your last name for the record.

# 7 A:

Mark Partridge, P-a-r-t-r-i-d-g-e.

# 8 Q:

And how are you employed?

# 9 A:

I'm an attorney.

# 10 Q:

With what law firm do you work?

# 11 A:

With the firm of Pattishal, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson, in Chicago.

# 12 Q:

How long have you been so employed?

# 13 A:

Fifteen years.

# 14 Q:

And what type of legal work do you do?

# 15 A:

I do trademark and copyright law.

# 16 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 8, line 3. (Reading:)

# 17 Q:

Directing your attention to the morning of June 13, 1994, did you have to go somewhere that day?

# 18 A:

Yes, I was traveling to Los Angeles.

# 19 Q:

And how did you travel to Los Angeles?

# 20 A:

Airplane, American Airlines.

# 21 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 9, line 19. (Reading:)

# 22 Q:

Now, at some point after you entered the plane an sat down, did someone come into the plane and sit next to you?

# 23 A:

Yes.

# 24 Q:

Who was that?

# 25 A:

Yes. Mr. Simpson sat next to me.

# 26 Q:

When you say "Mr. Simpson," who are you referring to?

# 27 A:

O.J. Simpson.

# 28 Q:

Did you recognize him?

# 29 A:

Yes, I recognized him when he came down the aisle toward the seat where I was.

# 30 Q:

When you first saw him come down the aisle towards you, can you describe his demeanor, how he appeared to you.

# 31 A:

Well, he came on toward the end of the flight. He seemed upset, rushed. There was confusion about which seat was his. He seemed upset. I thought he might be upset about that confusion.

# 32 MR. PETROCELLI:

Turning to page 85, line 19. (Reading:)

# 33 Q:

And you saw him take something from another passenger and sign an autograph?

# 34 A:

I saw him take a cocktail napkin, yes.

# 35 Q:

Indicating with his left hand?

# 36 A:

I think he held it in his left hand and wrote with his right hand.

# 37 MR. PETROCELLI:

Okay. Page 147, line 13. (Reading:)

# 38 Q:

What was Mr. Simpson wearing on the airplane during the entire trip from Chicago to Los Angeles?

# 39 A:

A blue-jean outfit, a stone-washed blue-jean shirt, stone-washed blue-jeans, and black leather loafers.

KEY QUOTE

# 40 Q:

And no socks?

# 41 A:

No socks.

# 42 Q:

And did he have any other kind of shirt or jacket over the blue denim shirt?

# 43 A:

No.

# 44 Q:

The stone-washed shirt was a blue denim shirt, right?

# 45 A:

Yes.

# 46 Q:

And the blue-jeans were of what make? Do you know?

# 47 A:

Not the make, but they were also stone-washed, matching his shirt.

# 48 Q:

Did he have a belt on?

# 49 A:

I don't remember seeing a belt. He may have had his shirt untucked.

# 50 Q:

A button shirt?

# 51 A:

It was a button shirt with a collar.

# 52 Q:

Did it have a pocket?

# 53 A:

I don't remember for sure.

# 54 Q:

And were his sleeves rolled up?

# 55 A:

I don't remember that.

# 56 Q:

And both shirt and pants were the color blue, correct?

# 57 A:

Yes.

# 58 Q:

And the shoes were?

# 59 A:

Black.

# 60 Q:

And they were loafers?

# 61 A:

Yes.

# 62 Q:

Italian-style loafers?

# 63 A:

I guess some would call them that. They were low loafers of woven leather.

# 64 Q:

And as he sat in the chair, you could see that his bottom part of his leg and his ankles were exposed without me socks, right?

# 65 A:

Yes.

# 66 Q:

And you sat next to him for some four hours, right?

# 67 A:

Yes.

# 68 Q:

And made very careful observations of him, right?

# 69 A:

I made -- reasonably so, yes.

# 70 Q:

And you're sure that he was wearing these items of clothing that you have described, correct?

# 71 A:

Yes.

# 72 Q:

When he got up to get off the plane, did you see him put any jacket on or anything over his shirt?

# 73 A:

I don't remember.

# 74 Q:

And when you last saw him deplane, was he wearing the very same clothing that you saw him on -- saw him wearing the rest of the flight?

# 75 A:

I believe so, but I can't be certain

# 76 Q:

You're not aware that he changed his clothes on the plane, right?

# 77 A:

I didn't see him do that.

# 78 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 152, Mr. Leonard, line 14. (Reading:)

# 79 Q:

Mr. Simpson told you throughout the flight certain information about the death of Nicole, correct?

# 80 A:

Yes.

# 81 Q:

And as he learned more information, he communicated that to you, correct?

# 82 A:

As the flight went on, he communicated more information to me, yes.

# 83 Q:

As the flight went on, Mr. Simpson communicated more and more information to you about the death of Nicole, correct?

# 84 A:

Yes, yes.

# 85 Q:

And he told that you Nicole had been murdered, correct?

# 86 A:

I don't think he ever used that word, no.

# 87 Q:

He communicated --

# 88 A:

First he said -- I'm sorry.

# 89 Q:

You communicated to you that Nicole had been killed in a criminal manner, correct?

# 90 A:

He said -- in response to one of my questions, he said she had been killed. And I asked if it had been a crime, and he said yes.

# 91 Q:

So he indicated to you that a criminal killing had occurred?

# 92 A:

Yes.

# 93 Q:

And he indicated to you that there was not just one killing. But two killings, correct?

# 94 A:

Yes? At a point in the flight, he said that someone else had been killed, too.

# 95 Q:

So by the end of your conversation with him on this flight, Mr. Simpson had told that you Nicole had been killed criminally, correct?

# 96 A:

Yes.

# 97 Q:

And another person had been killed in a criminal manner, correct?

# 98 A:

Told me that somebody else had been killed.

# 99 MR. PETROCELLI:

Moving down to page 156, Mr. Leonard, line 9. (Reading:)

# 100 Q:

He said that Nicole had been killed, correct?

# 101 A:

Yes.

# 102 Q:

And that a man had been killed, correct?

# 103 A:

Yes.

# 104 Q:

And that they, meaning the man and Nicole, had been found in the garden, correct?

# 105 A:

Yes.

# 106 Q:

And he told you that they were found in the garden by the street where Nicole lived, correct?

# 107 A:

Yes.

# 108 Q:

And you are 100 percent confident that Mr. Simpson told you this information, correct?

# 109 A:

I am confident that he said that, yes. That was, you know, why I wrote the notes at the time, so I could be confident about that, yes.

KEY QUOTE

# 110 MR. PETROCELLI:

That's all I have.

# 111 MR. LEONARD:

Can I have just one minute, Your Honor?

# 112 (Pause in proceedings.)

# 113 MR. LEONARD:

I don't have anything at this time.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Witness

He seemed upset, rushed. There was confusion about which seat was his. He seemed upset. I thought he might be upset about that confusion.

Establishes Simpson's demeanor on the flight back to LA the morning after the murders — visibly agitated from the moment he boarded.

Witness

He said — in response to one of my questions, he said she had been killed. And I asked if it had been a crime, and he said yes.

Simpson confirmed to a stranger on the flight that Nicole's death was a criminal killing, and that a second person had also been killed — details he was volunteering before public information was fully disseminated.

Witness

I am confident that he said that, yes. That was, you know, why I wrote the notes at the time, so I could be confident about that, yes.

Partridge's contemporaneous notes bolster his credibility — he documented the conversation in real time, not from memory years later.

Witness

A blue-jean outfit, a stone-washed blue-jean shirt, stone-washed blue-jeans, and black leather loafers. No socks.

Detailed clothing description of what Simpson was wearing when he returned to LA — potentially relevant to what he wore or changed out of the night before.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Contemporaneous notes taken by Partridge during or after the flight documenting his conversation with Simpson

referenced verbally as basis for witness confidence

Notable Exchanges (2)

Examiner•Witness

Examiner pressed Partridge on whether Simpson used the word 'murdered' — Partridge corrected that Simpson said 'killed' and only confirmed it was a crime when asked directly. The distinction is subtle but Partridge held it carefully.

precise

Examiner•Witness

Extended examination on clothing details — belt, pocket, rolled sleeves, loafer style — with Partridge acknowledging the limits of his memory on some specifics while remaining confident on the core description.

methodical

Light Moments (1)

Dan Leonard

Dan Leonard announcing 'Roll 'em' as the deposition reading began.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 8489 • 113 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103