📄 Statement by Marcia Clark — Monday, April 3, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\APR\3\STATEMENT-BY-MARCIA-CLARK.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 50 of 167

Statement by Marcia Clark

Date: Monday, April 3, 1995 • Utterances: 17
Johnnie Cochran attempted to call Marcia Clark as a witness, which her co-counsel Cheri Lewis immediately objected to. Judge Ito resolved the dispute by accepting Clark's statement as an officer of the court rather than requiring sworn testimony. Clark then gave a detailed account of her movements on June 13, 1994, establishing that she left Rockingham before the videographer arrived and had no knowledge of the videotape until days before this proceeding.
1 MR. COCHRAN:

I WOULD LIKE TO CALL MARCIA CLARK.

2 MS. LEWIS:

YOUR HONOR, I OBJECT TO MARCIA CLARK TESTIFYING. SHE IS THE LEAD TRIAL LAWYER IN THIS CASE. IT IS NOT NECESSARY. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE IN THE RECORD TO SUPPORT THAT SHE WAS EVER PRESENT WHEN THE VIDEOGRAPHER WAS THERE.

3 MR. COCHRAN:

I DON'T WANT HER MAKING THIS ARGUMENT IN FRONT OF MISS CLARK.

4 MS. LEWIS:

MISS CLARK KNOWS THE ISSUES. THE TESTIMONY IS SHE LEFT AT 2:50 OR 3:00 --

5 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I WOULD OBJECT TO HER MAKING THE STATEMENT IN FRONT OF MISS --

6 MS. LEWIS:

-- AND THE VIDEOGRAPHER ARRIVED AT 3:10.

7 THE COURT:

NOTED. OVERRULED. ALL RIGHT. I DON'T NEED MISS CLARK'S TESTIMONY AS A WITNESS. I SIMPLY NEED HER STATEMENT TO THE COURT AS TO HER RECOLLECTION WHEN SHE WAS THERE, AND MORE PERTINENTLY, WHEN SHE FOUND OUT THIS TAPE EXISTED.

8 MS. LEWIS:

I ASSUME MISS CLARK --

9 THE COURT:

I ACCEPT THE REPRESENTATION OF ANY COUNSEL HERE AS OFFICERS OF THE COURT.

KEY QUOTE
10 MR. COCHRAN:

THAT IS FINE.

11 THE COURT:

I DON'T NEED IT UNDER OATH FROM THE WITNESS STAND. GOOD MORNING, MISS CLARK.

12 MS. CLARK:

GOOD MORNING, YOUR HONOR. I THOUGHT I HAD A DAY OFF. YES. I CAN TELL THE COURT EXACTLY WHEN I ARRIVED AT ROCKINGHAM AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THIS STATEMENT TO MR. LEVIN AS WELL, BUT I ARRIVED AT APPROXIMATELY -- AT ABOUT 12:30 OR QUARTER TO 1:00. I HAD EARLIER SPOKEN TO DETECTIVE VANNATTER WHO INDICATED HE WAS GOING TO SEEK A WARRANT.

KEY QUOTE
13 THE COURT:

THIS IS THE FAMOUS HARVEY LEVIN MIS-TIME-STAMPED?

KEY QUOTE
14 MS. CLARK:

EXACTLY. EXACTLY, YOUR HONOR. AND DETECTIVE VANNATTER HAD BRIEFLY TOLD ME WHAT HE HAD IN TERMS OF PROBABLE CAUSE AND I SAID IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT IT. HE SAID HE WOULD PRESENT IT TO THE JUDGE AND HE ASKED ME TO MEET HIM AT ROCKINGHAM. I SAID THERE IS NO POINT IN MY GOING OUT THERE UNTIL YOU HAVE THE WARRANT SIGNED AND DELIVERED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN THAT IS DONE. HE CALLED AND HE TOLD ME THAT. THAT WAS AT ABOUT 10:45 I BELIEVE. I WAS WORKING ON ANOTHER CASE AND I DIDN'T LEAVE THE OFFICE UNTIL ABOUT 12:00, AND I ARRIVED I BELIEVE AT 12:30 OR QUARTER TO 1:00 AT ROCKINGHAM. I MET DETECTIVE LUPER THERE. THERE WERE VERY FEW PEOPLE THERE, IT WAS VERY QUIET, AND APPARENTLY THE DEFENDANT HAD ALREADY COME AND GONE BY THE TIME I GOT THERE. DETECTIVE LUPER WALKED ME AROUND A LITTLE BIT, I THINK ROBERTS DID, I THINK DETECTIVE FUHRMAN DID. ON THE 13TH I NEVER SAT OUTSIDE AT A TABLE WITH ANYBODY. I WAS THERE BRIEFLY. I MADE REQUESTS OF THEM CONCERNING WHAT TO PHOTOGRAPH AND IN WHAT SEQUENCE, AND THESE ARE STILL PHOTOGRAPHS, IN WHAT SEQUENCE TO PHOTOGRAPH SO THAT IT WOULD BE UNDERSTANDABLE AND CLEAR. AND I ASKED THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY PICKED UP CERTAIN ITEMS IN THE SEARCH AND HE INDICATED TO ME, DETECTIVE LUPER, THAT THERE WAS NO SEARCH TEAM AVAILABLE AT THE TIME, THEY WERE IN A HOLDING PATTERN FOR AWHILE. I HAD OTHER WORK TO DO SO I DIDN'T WAIT FOR THE SEARCH TEAM, AND I LEFT ROCKINGHAM AT ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO 2:00. I HAD TO GO BACK DOWN TO THE 10 FREEWAY GOING EAST, SO I TOOK BUNDY DOWN AND THE CRIME SCENE WAS ON MY WAY, AND AS IS MY HABIT, I ALWAYS VISIT CRIME SCENES TO GET A FEELING FOR THE SPACIAL CONNECTIONS OF EVERYTHING AND THE DIMENSIONS AND I STOPPED BY BUNDY ON MY WAY BACK TO THE OFFICE AT ABOUT TWO O'CLOCK. I MET WITH THE OFFICER WHO HAD THE PERIMETER AT THAT TIME. I DON'T REMEMBER HIS NAME, BUT THE TAPE WAS STILL UP AND HE INDICATED NO ONE WAS ALLOWED INSIDE, AND I SAID FINE, AND I LEFT VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER. AND I THINK THE CRIME SCENE LOG REFLECTS THAT I LEFT BUNDY. I WAS AT BUNDY FROM 2:00 TO 2:15, THAT'S CORRECT, AND I LEFT BUNDY AT LEAST AT 2:15, IF NOT 2:10, WENT BACK TO THE OFFICE. AT NO TIME DID I SEE A VIDEOGRAPHER PRESENT AT ROCKINGHAM. I CAN ASSURE THE COURT THAT IF I HAD, I WOULD BE DELIGHTED AND I WOULD HAVE ASKED THEM TO DO ONE AT BUNDY AS WELL, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE DOING THAT. I DID NOT LEARN OF THAT VIDEOTAPE UNTIL A COUPLE DAYS AGO WHEN ALL OF THIS -- WHEN THE DEFENSE APPARENTLY INDICATED TO US THAT IT KNEW ABOUT A VIDEOTAPE, AND THEN I ASKED, AFTER HAVING HEARD FROM SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT IT, THAT WAS IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, VERY RECENT, SO I NEVER KNEW THEY HAD ONE AND I ASKED ABOUT IT. I ASKED WHY -- FOR WHAT PURPOSE THEY PERFORMED IT AND WHY WE DIDN'T KNOW AND IF THEY DID ONE AT ROCKINGHAM, WHY DIDN'T THEY DO ONE AT BUNDY? AND THE REASON FOR THAT THEY EXPLAINED --

15 THE COURT:

I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THE REASON.

16 MS. CLARK:

YOU ALREADY KNOW. SO I LEARNED IT WAS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES AND THAT IS ALL I KNOW, SO I WENT TO ROCKINGHAM FIRST AND THEN I WENT TO BUNDY. AND THE CRIME SCENE LOG SHOWS WHEN I WAS AT BUNDY AND INDICATES VERY CLEARLY THAT I WAS NOT AROUND WHEN THE VIDEOGRAPHER WAS THERE. AND I SAW THE MAN COME IN TO TESTIFY. WAS THAT ON FRIDAY? I HAD NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE IN MY LIFE, SO THAT WAS THE FIRST DAY I HAD EVER SEEN HIM.

17 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNSEL. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE BEFORE ME -- I TAKE IT, MISS -- EXCUSE ME. MR. COCHRAN, HAVE YOU COMPLETED PRESENTING EVIDENCE?

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (5)

Lance A. Ito
I DON'T NEED MISS CLARK'S TESTIMONY AS A WITNESS. I SIMPLY NEED HER STATEMENT TO THE COURT AS TO HER RECOLLECTION WHEN SHE WAS THERE, AND MORE PERTINENTLY, WHEN SHE FOUND OUT THIS TAPE EXISTED.
Ito cuts through the procedural dispute by finding a middle ground — Clark speaks as counsel, not witness, preserving her role in the case.
Lance A. Ito
THIS IS THE FAMOUS HARVEY LEVIN MIS-TIME-STAMPED?
Ito himself names the media angle — a mis-timestamped video apparently reported by Harvey Levin — showing the judge is fully aware of the disputed provenance of the tape.
Marcia Clark
I THOUGHT I HAD A DAY OFF.
Dry humor on being unexpectedly called as a witness in her own case.
Marcia Clark
I CAN ASSURE THE COURT THAT IF I HAD [SEEN A VIDEOGRAPHER], I WOULD BE DELIGHTED AND I WOULD HAVE ASKED THEM TO DO ONE AT BUNDY AS WELL.
Clark argues that her ignorance of the tape is itself evidence she wasn't there — she would have used it if she'd known.
Lance A. Ito
I ACCEPT THE REPRESENTATION OF ANY COUNSEL HERE AS OFFICERS OF THE COURT.
Ito signals his trust in counsel's word, defusing the dispute over whether Clark must be sworn in.

Evidence (2)

Informal
Videotape of Rockingham taken on June 13, 1994, apparently for administrative purposes by an unknown videographer
disputed — defense raised its existence; Clark denies knowledge of it until days prior
Informal
Crime scene log from Bundy, showing Clark's arrival and departure times on June 13
cited by Clark to corroborate her stated timeline of 2:00–2:15 PM at Bundy

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranCheri Lewis
Cochran objects to Lewis making statements about the timeline in Clark's presence before she testifies; Lewis continues anyway, stating the videographer arrived at 3:10, after Clark had left.
tactical
Lance A. ItoMarcia Clark
Ito confirms with Clark that the dispute centers on Harvey Levin's allegedly mis-timestamped reporting of the videotape, and Clark confirms: 'Exactly, exactly, Your Honor.'
clarifying

Light Moments (1)

Marcia Clark
Clark quips 'I thought I had a day off' upon being called unexpectedly as a witness in her own case.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Marcia Clark
factual challenge via videotape timeline
Defense (Cochran) attempted to place Clark at Rockingham during the videographer's visit, implying she had knowledge of or involvement with the tape; Clark methodically rebutted this with her stated timeline and the crime scene log.

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)
Proceeding 5572 • 17 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 APR 3, 1995 📄 Statement by Marcia Clark
APR 3, 1995 KRT DvH TD