📄 Administrative matters — Wednesday, April 26, 1995
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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\APR\26\ADMINISTRATIVE-MATTERS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 62 of 167

Administrative matters

Date: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 • Utterances: 81
With the jury out, Judge Ito works through a backlog of pending motions and scheduling matters. Neufeld opens with an accusation that Goldberg deliberately misled the jury about when a lens went missing from an eyeglass envelope, suggesting it disappeared before Dr. Henry Lee ever examined it — a request for a corrective instruction that Ito denies. The bulk of the session is housekeeping: calendaring hearings on prosecutorial misconduct, the Kardashian testimony motion, the staples sanction, and arranging jury instructions for the blood swatch consumption issue.
1 THE COURT:

All right. Let the record reflect that the jury has withdrawn from the courtroom. Mr. Goldberg, how much more do you have excepting the Court's--any redirect on the items of evidence that are pending production?

2 MR. GOLDBERG:

I've got about 20 minutes, 25 minutes.

3 THE COURT:

All right. Then I would recommend that--I would recommend that you have your next couple of witnesses available for the afternoon session.

4 MR. NEUFELD:

Judge, two questions. One is, do you want him to finish his redirect first before I finish my cross?

5 THE COURT:

Yes. Let's have him finish what he's in the middle of. Then we'll bring on those evidence items. I'm hoping we'll see it tomorrow morning 8:30 so you have an opportunity to go through it and see what's there.

6 MR. NEUFELD:

Okay. One other matter, your Honor. Mr. Goldberg was suggesting on redirect examination of this witness that somehow this lens got lost perhaps when it was examined by Dr. Henry Lee. I think the Court knows as a witness and Miss Clark knows as a witness that before the items even went to Albany, when Dr. Lee had a chance to examine them and create that bindle, the lens was already missing. And I'm going to ask that the Court give an instruction on that because it should be very, very clear that before that bindle was collected and Dr. Lee looked at it, the lens was already missing, and the Court observed that and Miss Clark observed that. So that's really a deliberate attempt on misleading the jury with respect to that particular lens.

7 THE COURT:

Mr. Goldberg.

8 MR. GOLDBERG:

That's just a question of everything that's happened to this particular piece of item and that it's been looked at by the Defense. What is going to be very important to the People is to establish that this is an item that has no evidentiary value whatsoever and that we have spent hours showing tapes and arguing about something that is totally irrelevant. And we can do that by showing that we looked at it, that they looked at it and that no one has come up with anything or any reason why this eyeglass envelope is even slightly relevant. And this is important for the purposes of doing that and it's directly responsive to what the Defense does. And I've been told that they don't know--I don't have any personal knowledge of this, but I've been told that Miss Clark and Mr. Darden do not know that the lens was not here before it went out to Albany or that we ever had it to begin with.

9 MR. NEUFELD:

Well, your Honor, the item certainly has probative value. It has shoeprints on it according to their own people. But that's not even the point. The point is, it was very clear that the reason he elicited this stuff about Dr. Henry Lee was to suggest that that's how the lens was missing. It was obvious to everybody in the courtroom. And if in fact they knew that before it went to Dr. Henry Lee--and I think the Court knows the lens was already missing--then that's a deliberate attempt to distort reality in front of this jury on that particular matter. If in fact they just want to suggest it has no probative value, then there's no point in saying that it went to Dr. Henry Lee.

10 THE COURT:

Uh-huh.

11 MR. NEUFELD:

There's no point in suggesting that--in asking the question, which was sustained of course, about that the Prosecution was allowing these exhibits to go out to be examined and independently tested by Defense experts. The point of those questions was very specific and very directed. Namely to suggest that that's--

12 THE COURT:

Which is why I sustained the objections and I didn't want to go into that area. All right. I don't think that those questions and answers necessarily create that impression. So the request is denied. All right. Counsel, we have a number of matters that we still need to address. Let me go through them one at a time, tell you what we have on tap still and we'll set a schedule for these. I have a motion that was filed April 21st regarding a--requesting broader scope to cross-examine police officer witnesses regarding bias. I have a motion to quash an SDT for videotape footage filed by KABC. That's withdrawn?

13 MR. COCHRAN:

We're going to withdraw that.

14 THE COURT:

All right. That will be off calendar. There is the People's motion to compel the Defense to produce beta copies of videotape. That was taken off calendar on the Court's motion on April the 20th. I'll leave it off calendar unless--because I understand that Mr. Douglas has already complied with that order, correct?

15 MR. DOUGLAS:

Correct.

16 THE COURT:

All right. That is off calendar. I have the People's request for parity in sanctions, which means I guess they want $950 sanctions?

17 MR. COCHRAN:

That's right.

18 THE COURT:

That's the way I interpreted that.

19 MR. COCHRAN:

We'll stipulate to that.

20 MR. DARDEN:

$9.50 sanction.

21 THE COURT:

All right. I have a motion filed by the Defense regarding selective disqualification of jurors filed April the 11th. I propose not to entertain that until the Court has--not calendar that until the Court has completed its investigation as to the other juror matters.

22 MR. COCHRAN:

That's fine. May I say something on that? You had indicated--we had indicated to you we would undoubtedly be filing a supplement of some kind.

23 THE COURT:

Certainly.

24 MR. COCHRAN:

And we will be filing that perhaps by the end of this week.

25 THE COURT:

All right. But I'm just suggesting that we not calendar that until we've had the opportunity to talk to all of the people that we indicated we were going to talk to, et cetera, et cetera. All right. I have an April 6th hearing--motion regarding prosecutorial misconduct. Mrs. Robertson, refresh my recollection of which incident of prosecutorial--alleged prosecutorial misconduct was this?

26 THE CLERK:

Well, I'll get the motion, your Honor.

27 MS. LEWIS:

I think that pertains to Mr. Harmon.

28 THE COURT:

Oh, that's right. Mr. Harmon. Never mind. I recollect that one clearly. All right. The Harmon motion and then I have the motion to--regarding Mr. Kardashian's testimony, which has not been calendared for hearing yet, and then I have a motion regarding the introduction of autopsy photographs and crime scene photos. And I have scheduled a meeting on May the 9th, next Tuesday--Tuesday after next at 8:00 A.M. with the two counsel who are going to be presenting that matter. I think it's Mr. Blasier and Mr.--

29 MS. LEWIS:

Mr. Kelberg.

30 THE COURT:

Excuse me. Mr. Uelmen and Mr. Kelberg. I'll be meeting with those counsel in chambers on the record with regard to the crime scene and autopsy photos. So that will be--that is already calendared. I have under submission as of this morning four matters, the motion regarding the reports of Andrea Mazzola regarding her activities on June the 14th. That motion was denied this morning. I have the motion for the production of items collected by Andrea Mazzola at the Bundy and Rockingham location. That motion was granted this morning. I have the motion on behalf of--motion to quash subpoenas on behalf of Cathy Randa and Michelle Abudrahm, which there is a ruling pending in my word processor for the last three weeks, and Defense motion for sanctions, which is still under submission, to reconsider sanctions.

31 MR. COCHRAN:

Which one is that, your Honor?

32 THE COURT:

Defense motion to reconsider sanctions.

33 MS. LEWIS:

To reconsider sanctions?

34 THE COURT:

To reconsider, yes.

35 MS. LEWIS:

Reconsider whose sanction?

36 THE COURT:

Defense, $950 sanction against Mr. Douglas and Mr. Cochran.

37 MR. COCHRAN:

I thought this was the other motion regarding their sanctions, the two of them.

38 MR. DARDEN:

We haven't had a chance to respond to their motion.

39 THE COURT:

There are several.

40 MR. DARDEN:

They haven't paid the $950 yet, your Honor?

41 THE COURT:

All right.

42 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Cochran probably has it in his pocket right now, you know. He's going to pay mine, too.

KEY QUOTE
43 THE COURT:

All right. I would suggest that we calendar as the next two matters the hearing on prosecutorial misconduct regarding Mr. Harmon and the issue as to Mr. Kardashian, and I'm going to suggest we calendar both those matters for May 3rd at 4:00 A.M. excuse me. 4:00 P.M. if I was a federal Judge, I could get away with that. All right. 5-3, and we'll do that at 4 o'clock, those two motions.

44 MS. LEWIS:

Your Honor, I don't believe the Prosecution was served with a motion to reconsider the $950 sanction on the Defense. If there is such a motion pending, we're unaware of it.

45 THE COURT:

I've got it. It was filed a number of weeks ago.

46 MR. SCHECK:

Your Honor, may I be heard?

47 THE COURT:

Yes.

48 MR. SCHECK:

There is one matter that I think is still under submission that I think is of great importance and it's going to be needed soon. That has to do with resolving the issue of how we're going to handle the consumption--the alteration of some of these blood swatches. We had agreed on that and--

49 THE COURT:

Right. What had happened is, you couldn't agree. So I was going to write the stipulation. I was going to write a--

50 MR. SCHECK:

Guidelines for us.

51 THE COURT:

--an instruction for the jury as to how to deal with that. That is correct.

52 MR. SCHECK:

All right. And I think--I always hesitate to speak on behalf of the Prosecution, but I think that all sides would like to know exactly how you're going to handle that so we can conform the presentation of evidence on both sides and conformity with that and anticipate how that's going to be. That I think we're going to need soon.

53 THE COURT:

All right. Then let me direct both parties to file proposed instructions to the jury by Wednesday, May 3rd.

54 MR. SCHECK:

Could I have a second with Mr. Goldberg? Maybe--

55 THE COURT:

Certainly.

56 (Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys and Defense counsel.)
57 MR. BLASIER:

Your Honor, we also have an issue as to--

58 THE COURT:

Hold on. Hold on. Let's resolve these matters one at a time here.

59 (Brief pause.)
60 MR. SCHECK:

I think we submitted something. We'll submit some--I guess we should submit something again.

61 THE COURT:

All right.

62 MR. SCHECK:

And the other matter, your Honor, is on these--I thought the Prosecution wanted to make a motion with respect to the videotapes I showed, and we still have the matter of the finding that you made on intentional misconduct with respect--

63 THE COURT:

The staples issue.

64 MR. SCHECK:

The staples issue and when that instruction would be given. Obviously I have some personal concerns in terms of my own credibility, that that be given sometime within the time period that--

65 THE COURT:

We're talking about these issues.

66 MR. SCHECK:

Yeah.

67 THE COURT:

Okay.

68 MS. CLARK:

That's the People's request for parity, your Honor.

69 THE COURT:

All right.

70 MS. CLARK:

We haven't calendared that, right?

71 MR. SCHECK:

But you gave them a deadline in terms of filing some motion with respect to--

72 MS. CLARK:

We did.

73 THE COURT:

They did file that.

74 MR. SCHECK:

All right.

75 MR. DARDEN:

We've already exceeded the statutory maximum time in terms of arguing staples matters, haven't we?

KEY QUOTE
76 THE COURT:

Just about. All right.

77 MR. BLASIER:

Your Honor, there is one other matter.

78 THE COURT:

We'll have to calendar--all right. I think we ought to take the staples matter up on May 3rd as well. Mr. Blasier.

79 MR. BLASIER:

Thank you. Apparently Mr. Matheson will be testifying fairly soon, and we had an objection to the--at least one of the charts, that--one of the boards they were going to use, their conventional serology board, and we need to be heard on that before he testifies. And we'd also like to take a look at any new boards that have not already been used before he starts.

80 THE COURT:

All right. Let me ask, Miss Clark, who will be presenting the testimony on behalf of the People with regards to Mr. Matheson and when do you anticipate calling Mr. Matheson?

81 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Goldberg will be doing that, your Honor, and that should be tomorrow.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Peter Neufeld
that's really a deliberate attempt on misleading the jury with respect to that particular lens.
Neufeld accuses Goldberg of intentional misconduct in suggesting Dr. Henry Lee's examination caused the missing lens — a sharp allegation of bad faith during redirect.
Lance A. Ito
if I was a federal Judge, I could get away with that.
Ito's self-deprecating aside after accidentally saying '4:00 A.M.' for a hearing time — a rare moment of levity in an administrative session.
Marcia Clark
Mr. Cochran probably has it in his pocket right now, you know. He's going to pay mine, too.
Clark jokes about Cochran carrying the $950 sanction cash, lightening the mood during the sanctions discussion.
Christopher Darden
We've already exceeded the statutory maximum time in terms of arguing staples matters, haven't we?
Darden quips about how much court time the staples misconduct issue has consumed, drawing a laugh from the procedural grind.

Evidence (3)

Informal
Eyeglass envelope — specifically a missing lens that Neufeld contends was absent before Dr. Henry Lee examined the item, contrary to what Goldberg implied on redirect
disputed
Informal
Blood swatches — consumption/alteration during testing; parties directed to file proposed jury instructions by May 3rd
discussed
Informal
Conventional serology board (Matheson chart) — Defense objects to at least one board; requests preview of any new boards before Matheson testifies
challenged

Notable Exchanges (3)

Peter NeufeldHank GoldbergLance A. Ito
Neufeld argues Goldberg deliberately implied Dr. Henry Lee lost the lens during his examination, when in fact the lens was already missing before Lee ever saw the item. Goldberg responds he was simply establishing the item has no evidentiary value. Ito denies the request for a corrective instruction, saying the questions didn't necessarily create that impression.
contentious
Barry ScheckLance A. Ito
Scheck raises the unresolved staples misconduct finding and expresses personal concern that the jury instruction sanction be given soon to protect his credibility. Ito calendars the staples matter for May 3rd.
strategic
Robert BlasierMarcia ClarkLance A. Ito
Blasier flags that Matheson is expected to testify soon and the Defense needs to be heard on their objection to the conventional serology board before he takes the stand. Clark confirms Goldberg will handle Matheson, likely tomorrow.
procedural

Light Moments (3)

Lance A. Ito
Ito accidentally schedules a hearing for '4:00 A.M.' and quips 'if I was a federal Judge, I could get away with that.'
Marcia Clark
Clark jokes that Cochran probably has the $950 sanction payment in his pocket and will pay hers too.
Christopher Darden
Darden deadpans that they've already 'exceeded the statutory maximum time in terms of arguing staples matters.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Hank Goldberg
allegation of intentional misleading
Neufeld accuses Goldberg of structuring redirect questions to imply Dr. Henry Lee caused the lens to go missing, when Neufeld (and allegedly Ito and Clark) witnessed the lens was already absent before Lee's examination.

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 5818 • 81 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 APR 26, 1995 📄 Administrative matters
APR 26, 1995 KRT DvH TD