Re-redirect examination of Allan Park

📄 Re-redirect examination of Allan Park — Wednesday, November 20, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\NOV\20\RE-REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-ALL.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 19 of 57

◀ Redirect examination of Allan Park (part 2) Cross-examination of Allan Park (part 3) ▶

Witness: Allan Park
Examiner: Daniel Petrocelli
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 • Utterances: 38

Robert Baker recrosses limousine driver Alan Park, probing the limits of his visual observations from Rockingham on the night of the murders. Baker focuses on two areas: Park's initial racial description of the figure crossing the driveway (first saying 'Caucasian' before correcting to 'black'), and the vagueness of his clothing description (possibly a robe, couldn't distinguish pants from shorts). The examination also features a sharp attorney dispute over whose transcript of the Shapiro interview is accurate.

# 1

RECROSS-EXAMINATION

# 2 Q:

(BY MR. BAKER) As you told the police on the 15th, you didn't -- you didn't recall seeing a car there, right?

# 3 A:

Correct; I didn't see a car there.

# 4 Q:

And you didn't recall seeing a car there when you told them that, true?

# 5 A:

True.

# 6 Q:

And you didn't recall seeing a car there and had no reason to look for it when you were attempting to look at the address, correct?

# 7 A:

That's correct.

# 8 Q:

And in fact, you know, when you -- when you were coming down Rockingham and you started looking for addresses at 322, I think you testified earlier this morning, you remember that?

# 9 A:

Yes.

# 10 Q:

Can you tell us if there were any cars at 322?

# 11 A:

Not that I remember, no.

# 12 Q:

Can you tell us if there were any cars at 338?

# 13 MR. PETROCELLI:

There's no evidence there is a 338, Your Honor.

# 14 ALLAN PARK:

No.

# 15 Q:

(BY MR. BAKER) Can you tell us if there are any cars at all, as you have a recollection, sitting here now, two and a half years later, parked on either side of Rockingham?

# 16 A:

Its been a long time. No.

# 17 Q:

Now, when you first described in your interview with Mr. Shapiro this person who was going across the driveway, you told him you thought that person was a Caucasian when you were first asked, did you not?

# 18 MR. PETROCELLI:

That misstates it, Your Honor.

# 19 MR. BAKER:

Let me just read it.

# 20 MR. PETROCELLI:

Read through line 9.

# 21 MR. BAKER:

Let me just read, will you? I'll read what I want to read. This is my examination.

(Reading:) And said where -- "Q. Where was the person when you

first saw that person? "A. I saw him coming at least, you

know, it was dark, so he came towards where

the other cars were parked up there, where

the Rolls Royce and stuff, and they came

into (sic) that area and walked into the

house. "Q. When you say 'they,' you saw

two people? "No, just one. "One person? "One person. "Was the person walking or

running? "I would say walking pretty

quickly. Not running. "And the person was dressed

darkly (sic)? "A. Yes. "Q. Was it a male or female? "A. I couldn't tell you. "Q. Could you tell whether they

were Caucasian or non-Caucasian?

And your answer, "Caucasian."

And Mr. Shapiro says "Caucasian?"

And you say, " . . . well, black."

That's what you first said?

# 22 MR. PETROCELLI:

He said Well, I mean, black (sic).

# 23 MR. BAKER:

That isn't what it says on my transcript.

# 24 MR. PETROCELLI:

That's what it says on mine.

# 25 MR. BAKER:

You've got a bad one.

KEY QUOTE

# 26 MR. PETROCELLI:

I've got the accurate one.

# 27 Q:

(BY MR. BAKER) You also told them that Mr. -- Mr. Simpson was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt and a black overcoat, and he had taken his black overcoat in mid-June, right?

# 28 A:

True.

# 29 Q:

And by the way, you never saw that overcoat again, in the car or anyplace else, did you?

# 30 A:

Not that I remember, no.

# 31 Q:

Could be that you were mistaken about the black overcoat, right?

# 32 A:

No, I don't think so.

KEY QUOTE

# 33 Q:

All right.

And then you talked about a robe and you said: "Q. Could he have had a robe on

instead of black clothes?

And you answered:

"That was one of the things I was thinking, because he said, you know, I just got out of the shower" -- strike that.

"That was one of the things I was thinking because he said, you know, he just got out of the shower and I figured he, you know, grabbed -- he ran out to the car, grabbed some bags. I can't say that because I never saw him go to the car. I only saw him enter the house."

Now that's what you told Mr. Shapiro, is it not?

# 34 A:

That is correct.

# 35 Q:

So you were thinking that he may have been in a robe as early as the 14th, 15th of June, two days later, right?

# 36 A:

Yes.

# 37 Q:

And Mr. Petrocelli, when he read from 257 of the grand jury, stopped at line 25. Let me start where he started and read on from line 23:

From what I could tell, it was dark clothes. It's actually an answer. I take it back. It's got a question, question.

Let me start again. I apologize.

Line 22. (Reading:) "Q. What was he wearing? "A. From what I can tell, it was

dark clothes. I cannot tell what kind of

dark clothes, suit or anything, just dark

shirt, dark pants. "Q. Can you tell if the shirt had

long or short sleeves? "A. No, I couldn't."

In fact, you couldn't tell if he even had pants on, correct? When you saw something below the waist, you didn't know if he had shorts on, pants on or if he had the robe on that we briefly talked about. Is that true, Mr. Park?

# 38 A:

Yeah, I don't know exactly what it was. It looked like clothes, dark clothes.

KEY QUOTE

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Alan Park

Yeah, I don't know exactly what it was. It looked like clothes, dark clothes.

Baker extracts an admission that Park could not identify specific clothing on the figure — undermining any certainty about what OJ was wearing when seen crossing the driveway.

Robert Baker

Could you tell whether they were Caucasian or non-Caucasian? And your answer, 'Caucasian.' And Mr. Shapiro says 'Caucasian?' And you say, '...well, black.'

Baker highlights that Park's very first answer was 'Caucasian' before correcting himself — attacking the reliability of Park's identification of OJ as the figure he saw.

Robert Baker

You've got a bad one.

Baker dismisses Petrocelli's version of the Shapiro interview transcript; Petrocelli fires back 'I've got the accurate one' — a rare moment of direct attorney sparring on the record.

Alan Park

No, I don't think so.

Park holds firm when Baker suggests he may have been mistaken about the black overcoat — one of the few moments Park pushes back rather than conceding.

Evidence (3)

Informal

Transcript of Alan Park's interview with Robert Shapiro, June 14-15, 1994

Baker reads from it; Petrocelli disputes the accuracy of Baker's copy vs. his own

Informal

Grand jury testimony of Alan Park, page 257, lines 22-25

Baker reads Park's description of the figure as 'dark clothes' with no ability to specify shirt/pants type

Informal

Black overcoat allegedly worn by OJ Simpson on the night of June 12

Challenged — Baker notes Park never saw the overcoat again in the car or elsewhere

Notable Exchanges (2)

Robert Baker•Daniel Petrocelli

Petrocelli objects that Baker is misreading the Shapiro interview transcript; Baker snaps 'Let me just read, will you? I'll read what I want to read. This is my examination.' They then dispute whose copy is accurate, with Baker calling Petrocelli's 'a bad one.'

heated

Robert Baker•Alan Park

Baker walks Park through his inability to recall any parked cars on Rockingham two and a half years later, establishing the general unreliability of his memory for visual details that night.

strategic

Light Moments (1)

Robert Baker

Baker stumbles while reading grand jury testimony — starts, says 'I take it back,' then 'Let me start again. I apologize.' — a rare moment of fumbling from Baker in examination.

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Alan Park

prior inconsistent statement

Baker reads from the Shapiro interview to show Park's first answer when asked about the figure's race was 'Caucasian,' only correcting to 'black' when Shapiro repeated the word back to him.

⚔ Alan Park

vagueness/unreliable observation

Baker uses Park's own grand jury testimony to establish he could not identify specific clothing — shirt sleeves, pants vs. shorts vs. robe — on the figure he saw, undermining the value of his 'dark clothes' description.

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 8360 • 38 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103