Direct examination of Joseph Bosco

📄 Direct examination of Joseph Bosco — Tuesday, August 1, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\AUG\1\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-JOSEPH-B.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 126 of 167

◀ Motion: Bosco testimony admissibility Cross-examination of Joseph Bosco ▶

Witness: Joseph Bosco
Examiner: Robert Shapiro
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 • Utterances: 70

Robert Shapiro called freelance author Joseph Bosco to establish that LAPD leaked the DNA sock match story to journalists within two hours of Judge Ito admonishing police for 'reckless disregard of the truth.' Bosco, who had observed nearly the entire trial and published an article in Penthouse magazine about it, confirmed under oath that a specific police officer had been calling reporters with the Nicole DNA-on-the-socks story before it was publicly corroborated — and that KNBC aired it while other journalists declined.

# 1 MR. SULLIVAN:

Thank you, your Honor.

Joseph Bosco (402), called as a witness by the Defendant, pursuant to evidence code 402, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 2 THE CLERK:

Raise your right hand, please. You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

# 3 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, I do.

# 4 THE CLERK:

Please have a seat in the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 5 MR. BOSCO:

My name is Joseph Bosco, J-O-S-E-P-H B-O-S-C-O.

# 6 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

# 7 MR. BOSCO:

Thank you.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SHAPIRO

# 8 MR. SHAPIRO:

Good afternoon, Mr. Bosco.

# 9 MR. BOSCO:

Good afternoon, sir.

# 10 MR. SHAPIRO:

Have we had a conversation last week regarding the issues for which you're being called to testify?

# 11 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 12 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did I discuss with you the fact that I was interested in having you as a witness in this case?

# 13 MR. GOLDBERG:

Not relevant.

# 14 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 15 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, you did.

# 16 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did I ask you if you would accept a subpoena to appear on Monday?

# 17 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 18 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did I serve you with a subpoena on Monday?

# 19 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 20 MR. SHAPIRO:

What is your profession, sir?

# 21 MR. BOSCO:

I'm a full lance--full-time free-lance author of books and occasionally magazine articles.

# 22 MR. SHAPIRO:

And for how long have you had that profession?

# 23 MR. BOSCO:

Well, I've been writing professionally since about the age of 18, but continuously only as a writer since 1982. I've been fortunate to make my living only as a writer since 1982.

# 24 MR. SHAPIRO:

Are you a member of any professional journalistic societies or organizations?

# 25 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, I am. Just a few. I'm a member of PEN, which is--I'm most proud of. I'm also a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. I am a--oh, at the moment here--they're in my declaration, Mr. Shapiro. I've forgotten--the National Writers--what the heck is--I think PEN--

# 26 MR. SHAPIRO:

Take your time and refresh your memory from your report.

# 27 MR. BOSCO:

Yes. This is not my customary position. Yes. If I may. Oh, of course, how could I forget. The Authors Guild which is--I'm also proud of.

# 28 MR. SHAPIRO:

And you're familiar with the trial of the matter of People versus OJ Simpson?

# 29 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 30 MR. SHAPIRO:

And you've been a frequent guest of the Court and observed the proceedings in this case?

# 31 MR. BOSCO:

Almost 100 percent, sir.

# 32 MR. SHAPIRO:

And have you written about the case in any professional capacity?

# 33 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, I have.

# 34 MR. SHAPIRO:

Have you published any articles regarding this case?

# 35 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, I have.

# 36 MR. SHAPIRO:

And in your professional capacity, prior to publishing articles in this case, have you published any books?

# 37 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 38 MR. SHAPIRO:

Would you tell us what those are?

# 39 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir. Well, most relevant I think was the reason that I'm here, is my last book, was called blood will tell, and it has a direct bearing on this that most folks know, so I should get out, and that is my association with Dr. Henry Lee who worked very closely with me on that book.

# 40 MR. SHAPIRO:

And you also were the co-author on that book with someone also?

# 41 MR. BOSCO:

No. I was the sole author of that, sole author of blood will tell, yes.

# 42 MR. SHAPIRO:

And that dealt with a case that was prosecuted or defended by a former Prosecutor from the District Attorney's office?

# 43 MR. BOSCO:

As a matter of fact, it involved--a very long case that involved over 12 Prosecutors over the 10-year period of case and a number of different Defense attorneys.

# 44 MR. SHAPIRO:

Regarding this case, did you publish an article entitled notices from--notes from camp OJ?

# 45 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 46 MR. SHAPIRO:

And was that published in the penthouse magazine, issue June 1995?

# 47 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, it was.

# 48 MR. SHAPIRO:

And in the course of that article, did you write the following: That you had information from a certain police officer? Did you write that, sir?

# 49 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, I did.

# 50 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was that true and accurate when you wrote it?

# 51 MR. GOLDBERG:

Well, assumes a fact not in evidence, that he wrote that he had information from a certain police officer.

# 52 THE COURT:

Counsel, why don't we just refer to the specific paragraph that we're talking about here.

# 53 MR. SHAPIRO:

You want me to read the whole paragraph? Well, I was only going to go to the relevant portions, but I'll be more than glad to.

# 54 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you write this paragraph and were the facts that you wrote true and accurate at the time you wrote them? The paragraph reads as follows: "There has been enough leaking out here to sink camp OJ if it were on a barge by the Defense and the Prosecution alike--"

# 55 MR. GOLDBERG:

Well, I would like to pose an objection before he reads the whole thing because there will be no foundation for many of the items within this paragraph such as that he spoke to an L.A. police off--or the implication that he spoke to an L.A. police officer.

# 56 THE COURT:

Well, the question is, "Did you write the following text?"

# 57 MR. GOLDBERG:

But he was going to ask him whether or not it was true or accurate.

# 58 THE COURT:

Well, the objection is overruled at this time. That objection is premature.

# 59 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you write the following text, sir: "There has been enough leaking out here to sink camp OJ if it were on a barge by the Defense and the Prosecution alike, but both are pikers compared to the L.A. Police Department. It began last summer with the Los Angeles--with the LAPD passing out 911 tapes to journalists as if they were courtesy trinkets welcoming them to town and reached its mater with the, quote, DNA sock match, end quote, story. Of the latter, this I know. Within two hours of Judge Ito admonishing the police for, quote, reckless disregard, end quote, of the truth, LAPD's worse moment to that date, a certain police officer whose leaks had hitherto been most accurately--most accurate and offered--"

# 60 THE COURT:

Reread it.

# 61 MR. SHAPIRO:

"--mostly accurate and offered with corroboration started calling journalists with the story that blood on the socks found in OJ's bedroom was a DNA match with Nicole's. This time, however, the officer offered no corroboration and became angry and defensive when asked. A number of journalists turned him down. Apparently KNBC did not, and the rest is ugly history for both the press and the LAPD." Did you write that, sir?

# 62 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir, I did.

# 63 MR. SHAPIRO:

And what you wrote, was that truthful?

# 64 MR. GOLDBERG:

Well, now I interpose the objection that it calls for an opinion, conclusion, hearsay, no foundation, authentication, and--I mean there are many, many concepts within that article. So to ask him whether the whole thing is truthful is just a compound question.

# 65 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 66 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was that truthful, sir?

# 67 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 68 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was it accurate reporting, sir?

# 69 MR. BOSCO:

Yes, sir.

# 70 MR. SHAPIRO:

Nothing further.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Joseph Bosco

Within two hours of Judge Ito admonishing the police for, quote, reckless disregard, end quote, of the truth, LAPD's worse moment to that date, a certain police officer whose leaks had hitherto been most accurate and offered with corroboration started calling journalists with the story that blood on the socks found in OJ's bedroom was a DNA match with Nicole's. This time, however, the officer offered no corroboration and became angry and defensive when asked.

Core of the defense argument: LAPD leaked the sock DNA match story suspiciously fast, with no corroboration, right after being publicly rebuked — suggesting the evidence was planted or manipulated and the leak was damage control.

Joseph Bosco

A number of journalists turned him down. Apparently KNBC did not, and the rest is ugly history for both the press and the LAPD.

Establishes that multiple journalists recognized the leak as problematic and refused it — making KNBC's decision to air it a journalistic and institutional failure, not just an LAPD one.

Joseph Bosco

It began last summer with the Los Angeles--with the LAPD passing out 911 tapes to journalists as if they were courtesy trinkets welcoming them to town.

Frames the sock leak not as an isolated incident but as part of a pattern of LAPD media manipulation throughout the investigation.

Evidence (4)

Informal

Penthouse magazine article 'Notes from Camp OJ,' June 1995, authored by Joseph Bosco

read into record; Bosco confirmed authorship and accuracy

Informal

Book 'Blood Will Tell' by Joseph Bosco, written with involvement of Dr. Henry Lee

discussed to establish Bosco's credibility and connection to Dr. Lee

Informal

LAPD 911 tapes distributed to journalists prior to trial

referenced in article as prior instance of LAPD leaking

Informal

Blood on socks found in OJ Simpson's bedroom, DNA matched to Nicole Brown Simpson

referenced as the subject of the LAPD leak described in the article

Notable Exchanges (2)

Hank Goldberg•Lance A. Ito

Goldberg attempted a preemptive objection mid-Shapiro-reading, arguing the paragraph contained statements without foundation. Ito cut him off, saying the objection was premature since the question was simply whether Bosco wrote the text.

procedural friction

Hank Goldberg•Lance A. Ito

Goldberg objected to the compound truthfulness question with a kitchen-sink list of grounds (hearsay, opinion, foundation, authentication, compound). Ito overruled without elaboration.

prosecutorial frustration

Light Moments (1)

Joseph Bosco

Bosco forgot which professional organizations he belonged to mid-testimony, had to refresh from his declaration, and self-deprecatingly noted 'This is not my customary position.'

Objections

4 objections (0 sustained, 4 overruled)

Proceeding 7097 • 70 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103