Jury procedures and adjournment

📄 Jury procedures and adjournment — Wednesday, April 12, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\APR\12\JURY-PROCEDURES-AND-ADJOURNMEN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 55 of 167

◀ Motion: evidentiary issues Opening session ▶

Date: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 • Utterances: 23

A brief end-of-session administrative exchange where Cochran raised a pending prosecutorial misconduct motion and asked the court to reschedule it. Judge Ito also addressed media about jury inquiry procedures, then ruled on Cochran's request that OJ Simpson be present for juror-related hearings — granting it for non-juror witnesses and ex-jurors, but denying it for active juror inquiries conducted in chambers.

# 1 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I THINK YOU SAID YOU RESET THE DATE FOR THE MOTION WE FILED AND WAS SET THIS AFTERNOON AND AT YOUR CONVENIENCE YOU CAN TELL US WHAT IS A GOOD DATE. THERE IS ANOTHER FOUR O'CLOCK MEETING.

# 2 THE COURT:

I WILL TELL YOU WHAT, LET'S SEE WHERE OUR FOUR O'CLOCK HEARING TODAY TAKES US --

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

I SEE.

# 4 THE COURT:

-- TIMEWISE, BECAUSE IT IS EXTRANEOUS TO THE PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE TO THE JURY, AND I WANT TO SEE WHAT KIND OF TIME OBLIGATIONS I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND WITH THAT ISSUE BEFORE I COMMIT TO A HEARING ON THE OTHER ISSUE.

# 5 MR. DARDEN:

WHICH MOTION IS COUNSEL REFERRING TO?

# 6 MR. COCHRAN:

THE PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MOTION THAT WAS SET AT FOUR O'CLOCK TODAY.

# 7 MR. DARDEN:

WHICH PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT MOTION?

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

CHOOSE EITHER ONE.

# 9 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN DEFENSE COUNSEL.)

# 10 THE COURT:

I THINK IT IS IN VOLUME 2. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE AWAIT THE PARTIES FOR THE FOUR O'CLOCK MATTER?

# 11 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN DEFENSE COUNSEL.)

# 12 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. FOR THE NEWS MEDIA INFORMATION, THIS -- I NORMALLY CONDUCT MY JURY INQUIRIES IN CHAMBERS. I WILL MAKE A TRANSCRIPT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE TO YOU AS SOON AS THE TRANSCRIPT IS AVAILABLE FOR TODAY'S PROCEEDINGS, PROBABLY FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I BE HEARD ON THE JURY PROCEEDING, YOUR HONOR?

# 14 THE COURT:

YES, SIR.

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

REGARDING MR. SIMPSON, MR. SIMPSON HAS EXPRESSED A DESIRE, YOUR HONOR, TO BE PRESENT, AND I KNOW THE COURT'S RULING WITH REGARD TO CHAMBERS, BUT HE WOULD LIKE TO BE PRESENT FOR ANY HEARINGS REGARDING THE JURORS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, AND I WOULD ASK THE COURT TO CONSIDER THAT. PERHAPS WE CAN DO IT IN THE COURTROOM WITH HIM OUT HERE PERHAPS.

# 16 THE COURT:

AS FAR AS NON-JURORS ARE CONCERNED, I WILL GRANT THAT REQUEST. AS FAR AS JURORS ARE CONCERNED, I WILL DECLINE THAT REQUEST. THOSE INQUIRIES WILL BE CONDUCTED IN CHAMBERS WITH COUNSEL PRESENT ON THE RECORD WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF THE DEFENDANT.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

# 18 THE COURT:

NON-JURORS -- NON-JUROR WITNESSES WILL BE INTERVIEWED IN HIS PRESENCE.

KEY QUOTE

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

VERY WELL, YOUR HONOR.

# 20 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT, INCLUDING -- NON-JURORS INCLUDES EX-JURORS.

# 21 MR. SHAPIRO:

THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

# 22 THE COURT:

YOU ARE WELCOME. ALL RIGHT. WE WILL AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THE PARTIES FOR THE FOUR O'CLOCK MATTER. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNSEL.

# 23 (AT 3:56 P.M. AN ADJOURNMENT WAS TAKEN UNTIL, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1995, 9:00 A.M.)

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran

CHOOSE EITHER ONE.

Dry, pointed response when Darden asked which prosecutorial misconduct motion — implying there were multiple pending against the prosecution.

Lance A. Ito

AS FAR AS JURORS ARE CONCERNED, I WILL DECLINE THAT REQUEST. THOSE INQUIRIES WILL BE CONDUCTED IN CHAMBERS WITH COUNSEL PRESENT ON THE RECORD WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF THE DEFENDANT.

Establishes the court's firm boundary on Simpson's right to be present during juror interviews.

Lance A. Ito

NON-JURORS -- NON-JUROR WITNESSES WILL BE INTERVIEWED IN HIS PRESENCE. ALL RIGHT. INCLUDING -- NON-JURORS INCLUDES EX-JURORS.

Ito clarifies the scope of the ruling, extending it to cover former jurors — a meaningful distinction for ongoing jury management.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden

Darden twice asked which prosecutorial misconduct motion Cochran was referencing; Cochran's reply — 'Choose either one' — implied multiple such motions were pending against the prosecution.

pointed

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran requested Simpson be present for all jury-related hearings; Ito partially granted the request, distinguishing between active jurors (denied) and non-jurors/ex-jurors (granted).

strategic

Light Moments (1)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran's 'Choose either one' when asked which prosecutorial misconduct motion drew a dry laugh from the implication that there were too many to specify.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 5655 • 23 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103