YOUR HONOR, WE WANTED TO LODGE ANOTHER OBJECTION TO THE PLAYING OF THE TAPE THAT WAS DISCUSSED ON THURSDAY DEPICTING THE ITEM THAT THE DEFENSE CONTENDS MAY BE THE GLOVE. AND THE BASIS OF THIS OBJECTION WAS NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL QUITE RECENTLY, IN FACT LAST NIGHT, AND AS STATED IN THE DECLARATION THAT WE JUST FILED WITH THE COURT, A VIDEOTAPE ENGINEER WHO TOOK A LOOK AT THIS VIDEO, I'M NOT SURE THAT I CAN -- I HOPE I'M NOT MISSTATING WHAT IS IN THE DECLARATION BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE TECHNICAL JARGON -- BUT APPARENTLY MOST NEWS ORGANIZATIONS SHOOT THEIR TAPES ON BETA. AND WHAT WE HAVE IS A VHS TAPE AND THE CLARITY OF THE BETA TAPE IS APPARENTLY MUCH GREATER THAN WITH A VHS TAPE, SO THERE IS A BEST EVIDENCE RULE OBJECTION IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH WHAT IS A COPY THAT IS NOT AS GOOD AND WOULD NOT HAVE THE SAME RESOLUTION AS THE ORIGINAL.
THEREFORE, WE HAVE TWO REQUESTS THAT WE WOULD ASK: NO. 1, THAT IF THE DEFENSE HAS THE BETA VERSION, THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PLAY THAT OR UTILIZE THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO USE THIS TAPE. IF THEY DON'T HAVE IT, THEN THEY HAVE TO MAKE A SHOWING UNDER THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE AS TO WHY THEY DON'T AND WHY IT IS NOT AVAILABLE. AND IF THE COURT IS INCLINED SOMEHOW TO -- IF THEY CAN MAKE SUCH A SHOWING, THE PROSECUTION SHOULD BE ENTITLED TO GET THE INFORMATION FROM THE DEFENSE AS TO WHERE THE TAPE CAME FROM SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN TRACK DOWN THE BETA VERSION. ALSO, APPARENTLY IT IS EASIER TO ENHANCE A BETA TAPE THAN THE VHS TAPE, WHICH IS I THINK ALSO STATED IN THIS DECLARATION.
YOUR HONOR, WE GAVE OVER TO THE COURT THE ORIGINAL VHS COPY THAT WE HAVE, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY BETA TAPES. IT DOESN'T INDICATE THAT THE PROSECUTION KNOWS FOR SURE THAT THERE IS AN ORIGINAL BETA TAPE. OBVIOUSLY, AS I INDICATED TO THE COURT THE OTHER DAY, FROM OUR POSITION --
BUT WE DON'T HAVE IT, THAT IS THE POINT, AND THIS IS THE BEST COPY THAT WE HAVE. AND WE THINK WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO OFFER IT UNDER THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE FOR THAT PURPOSE. AND AS I INDICATED TO THE COURT BEFORE --
GEE, I DON'T, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS OF THIS, AS I INDICATED ON THE BIG COMPILATIONS, ONE THAT HAS THE COUNTER ON IT AND THE OTHER ONE THAT DOES NOT, AND ONE OF THEM I EVEN THINK MAY EVEN HAVE A LITTLE LOGO IN IT INDICATING ONE OF THE NETWORKS. BUT OUR POSITION IS SIMPLY THAT THIS IS THE BEST WE HAVE, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BEST COPY WE HAVE TO THE PROSECUTORS. AND WITH RESPECT TO THESE TAPES AND ALL OTHER TAPES OF HOW COLLECTION WAS DONE AT THE CRIME SCENE, WE WOULD JOIN WITH THE PROSECUTION, I'M SURE, IN ASKING THE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS TO TURN OVER -- I MADE THIS PLEA BEFORE -- EVERYTHING. I MEAN, THEY DON'T -- THEY WON'T GIVE US OUTTAKES, BUT EVERYTHING THEY HAVE, THE BEST VERSIONS THAT WE HAVE, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MISLEADING ANYBODY.
WE LOOKED AT THE TAPE, WE SAW WHAT WE SAW AND THAT IS THE BEST WE CAN DO.
WELL, UNDER THE RULE, THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE, YOU ARE ALLOWED, GENERALLY SPEAKING, TO INTRODUCE A COPY INSTEAD OF THE ORIGINAL BUT YOU GENERALLY HAVE TO MAKE A SHOWING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THE ORIGINAL AND WHY YOU DON'T HAVE IT. NOW, COUNSEL APPARENTLY HAVE COMPILED THESE CLIPPINGS FROM NEWS ORGANIZATIONS. THEY GOT THEM IN SOME MANNER, IN SOME WAY. THEY DIDN'T JUST SIMPLY MATERIALIZE IN THE OFFICES OF THE DEFENSE IN THIS CASE. WE ARE ENTITLED TO KNOW IF THEY ARE GOING TO USE A COPY. AT THE VERY LEAST WE ARE ENTITLED TO KNOW AND HAVE A REPRESENTATION AS TO PRECISELY WHERE THEY CAME FROM AND WHERE -- HOW THEY WERE COMPILED SO THAT THE PEOPLE, AT THE VERY LEAST, CAN BE PERMITTED THE OPTION OF THEN TRYING TO TRACK DOWN THE BETA VERSION OF THIS TAPE.
WELL, LET ME ASK YOU THIS, MR. SCHECK: IS THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE SOMEWHERE IN THE DEFENSE TEAM, WHERE IT CAME FROM, THIS CLIP?
WE WOULD HAVE TO -- WHAT WE DID IS PUT ALL OF THEM TOGETHER AND WE WOULD HAVE TO SIT DOWN AND DISAGGREGATE THEM AND LOOK AT THEM AND TRY TO MAKE OUR BEST ESTIMATION GOING BACK THROUGH ALL THE RECORDS. BUT WE WENT THROUGH THIS BEFORE IN PUTTING THESE CLIPS TOGETHER FOR THE COURT AND FOR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. THEY HAVE HAD IT FOR MONTHS.
THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE IT IS ONE THING. WHERE IT CAME FROM, THE SOURCE OF THAT, IS ANOTHER QUESTION.
IF WE HAVE IT. WE WILL MAKE OUR BEST EFFORTS TO FIND OUT WHERE WE GOT ALL OF THIS, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY REPRESENT TO THE COURT THAT WE GAVE YOU THE BEST COPY WE HAD, THAT IS THE BEST COPY WE HAD, THAT IS THE ONLY ONE AVAILABLE TO US. AND IF THE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WANT TO MAKE MORE AVAILABLE, THAT WILL BE TERRIFIC, BUT I THINK WE SATISFIED THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE JUST ON THE FACE OF THIS BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST AVAILABLE COPY.
MISS HAYSLETT, WILL YOU MAKE AN INQUIRY OF THE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS AND IF ANYBODY RECOGNIZES THIS VIDEOTAPE AS THEIR PRODUCT THAT WE TURNED OVER, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL BETA FORMAT. ALL RIGHT. THE OBJECTION IS OVERRULED. LET'S HAVE THE JURY, PLEASE.
THERE IS A BEST EVIDENCE RULE OBJECTION IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH WHAT IS A COPY THAT IS NOT AS GOOD AND WOULD NOT HAVE THE SAME RESOLUTION AS THE ORIGINAL.
YES, BUT NO COMMERCIAL VIDEO ENTERPRISE USES VHS AS THE ORIGINAL FORMAT. WHICH HAS ALWAYS MADE ME WONDER WHY VHS BEAT OUT BETA, BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.
WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MISLEADING ANYBODY. WE LOOKED AT THE TAPE, WE SAW WHAT WE SAW AND THAT IS THE BEST WE CAN DO.
NO, YOU ARE HANDLING THIS, MR. SCHECK.