Jury welcome

📄 Jury welcome — Tuesday, April 4, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\APR\4\JURY-WELCOME.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 51 of 167

◀ Motion: jury instructions and exhibit restrictions Direct examination of Dennis Fung (part 1) ▶

Date: Tuesday, April 4, 1995 • Utterances: 4

Judge Ito welcomed the jury, apologized for keeping them waiting in the jury room during lengthy pretrial proceedings, and announced he would reschedule all future pretrial matters to 4:30 PM to maximize jury time. He then issued a curative instruction directing jurors to disregard Dennis Fung's testimony from the prior day about an airline ticket and baggage tag, which the prosecution had previously agreed to exclude but inadvertently introduced.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. BE SEATED. GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

# 3 THE JURY:

GOOD MORNING.

# 4 THE COURT:

GLAD TO SEE SOME OF YOU ARE STILL SMILING. MY APOLOGIES TO YOU FOR HAVING KEPT YOU IN THE SMALL JURY ROOM FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, AND I WANT TO ADVISE YOU THAT I'M GOING TO CHANGE OUR PROCEDURE IN DEALING WITH SO MANY OF THESE PRETRIAL MATTERS THAT I HAVE TO TAKE UP BEFORE WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US. I'M GOING TO SCHEDULE ALL FURTHER HEARINGS ON THESE TYPE OF MATTERS AT 4:30 AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COURT DAY SO THAT WE'LL GET MORE TIME IN FRONT OF YOU AS FAR AS THE JURY IS CONCERNED. YESTERDAY, SOMETHING OCCURRED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COURT DAY THAT I NEED TO INSTRUCT YOU REGARDING. THE LAWS GOVERNING CRIMINAL PROCEDURE HERE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA REQUIRE THE EXCLUSION OF EVIDENCE THAT WAS UNLAWFULLY ACQUIRED BY THE POLICE. THESE LAWS EXIST TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF ALL CITIZENS BY DETERRING UNLAWFUL POLICE CONDUCT. PRIOR TO THE TRIAL OF THIS CASE, THE PROSECUTION AGREED THAT SOME ITEMS OF EVIDENCE, SPECIFICALLY THE AIRLINE TICKET AND BAGGAGE TAG, WOULD NOT BE OFFERED INTO EVIDENCE AT TRIAL. DURING THE TESTIMONY OF MR. FUNG YESTERDAY, THIS AGREEMENT WAS VIOLATED. YOU SHALL THEREFORE DISREGARD THE TESTIMONY OF MR. FUNG REGARDING THE AIRLINE TICKET AND BAGGAGE TAG. YOU MUST TREAT IT AS THOUGH YOU HAD NEVER HEARD IT. ALL RIGHT. LET'S HAVE MR. FUNG.

DENNIS FUNG, THE WITNESS ON THE STAND AT THE TIME OF THE EVENING ADJOURNMENT, RESUMED THE STAND AND TESTIFIED FURTHER AS FOLLOWS:

KEY QUOTE

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Lance A. Ito

PRIOR TO THE TRIAL OF THIS CASE, THE PROSECUTION AGREED THAT SOME ITEMS OF EVIDENCE, SPECIFICALLY THE AIRLINE TICKET AND BAGGAGE TAG, WOULD NOT BE OFFERED INTO EVIDENCE AT TRIAL. DURING THE TESTIMONY OF MR. FUNG YESTERDAY, THIS AGREEMENT WAS VIOLATED.

Acknowledges a prosecution misstep — evidence they agreed to exclude was nonetheless elicited from the witness, requiring a curative instruction.

Lance A. Ito

YOU SHALL THEREFORE DISREGARD THE TESTIMONY OF MR. FUNG REGARDING THE AIRLINE TICKET AND BAGGAGE TAG. YOU MUST TREAT IT AS THOUGH YOU HAD NEVER HEARD IT.

Standard curative instruction, but notable because it highlights a pretrial agreement the prosecution violated — and puts the jury on notice that evidence was improperly introduced.

Lance A. Ito

GLAD TO SEE SOME OF YOU ARE STILL SMILING.

Rare moment of levity from the bench; suggests jury morale was a visible concern after extended delays.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Airline ticket and baggage tag — items the prosecution had agreed pre-trial not to introduce into evidence

Excluded via curative instruction after being improperly elicited during Fung's testimony

Notable Exchanges (1)

Lance A. Ito•The Jury

Judge apologizes for delays, announces procedural change moving pretrial hearings to 4:30 PM, then delivers curative instruction regarding Fung's testimony.

measured, apologetic

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Judge notes he's glad to see some jurors still smiling after being held in the jury room for an extended period.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 5587 • 4 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103