Redirect examination of Kenneth Berris

📄 Redirect examination of Kenneth Berris — Tuesday, August 22, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\AUG\22\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-KENNET.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 140 of 167

◀ Cross-examination of Kenneth Berris Re-redirect examination of Kenneth Berris ▶

Witness: Kenneth Berris
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, August 22, 1995 • Utterances: 71

Cochran conducted a brief redirect examination of Detective Berris, attempting to establish that desk clerk Carol Gobern had given OJ Simpson a Band-Aid for a bleeding hand before police entered his hotel room. Most of his attempts were blocked by sustained hearsay objections, though he succeeded in getting the witness to confirm he spoke with Gobern and manager Phillips before entering the room, and that Gobern started work at 7:00 a.m. on June 13, 1994.

# 1 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you.

REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. COCHRAN

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, a few questions if I might, sir. You were asked by Mr. Darden whether or not you were informed whether or not Mr. Simpson had cut his hand or his hand was bleeding. You remember you said yes to that, that you were informed?

# 3 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir. Yes.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

You were informed by an employee by the name of Carol Gobern, were you not, Mr. Simpson--that she had given Mr. Simpson a Band-Aid for his hand when he came downstairs, his hand was bleeding?

# 5 MR. DARDEN:

Objection.

# 6 THE COURT:

Sustained. Sustained. It's hearsay.

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, let me ask--you talked to a Carol Gobern who was a clerk at the desk downstairs where you check in when Mr. Simpson came in that hotel; isn't that correct?

# 8 MR. DARDEN:

Exceeds direct. I would like to approach.

# 9 THE COURT:

Overruled. Did you speak to Carol Gobern?

# 10 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, I did, Judge.

# 11 THE COURT:

Next question.

# 12 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you had a conversation with her prior to your ever going upstairs in that room; isn't that correct?

# 13 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir, I did.

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

And as a result of that conversation, without telling us what she said, you found out that Mr. Simpson had had a cut hand; isn't that correct?

# 15 MR. DARDEN:

Objection, your Honor.

# 16 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

Well--

# 18 THE COURT:

The jury is to disregard that question and answer.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

Now--let me ask this, your Honor.

# 20 MR. COCHRAN:

At some point, did you ever ascertain whether or not Miss Gobern had given Mr. Simpson anything to put--

# 21 MR. DARDEN:

Objection, your Honor. All hearsay.

# 22 THE COURT:

Sustained. Sustained.

# 23 MR. DARDEN:

May I approach?

# 24 THE COURT:

No. Sustained.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, did you see any toothpaste in and around the sink that morning; do you recall?

# 26 MR. BERRIS:

No, I didn't.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, you were asked some questions or a question or two about a laundry bag. And I presume you're staying in a hotel somewhere now; is that correct?

# 28 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. We won't mention where. And it probably has a laundry bag or two in that room; is that correct?

# 30 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Irrelevant.

# 31 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 32 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, it does.

# 33 MR. COCHRAN:

And it's not unusual when you leave a hotel room to use your laundry bag on occasion, is it?

# 34 MR. DARDEN:

Your Honor, objection.

# 35 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 36 MR. BERRIS:

Yes.

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

It's not unusual to use your laundry bag on occasion when you're in the room; is that right?

# 38 MR. BERRIS:

No, I wouldn't say so.

# 39 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. You say it's not unusual, right?

# 40 MR. BERRIS:

Not unusual.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

Other than talking to Carol Gobern who was the desk clerk, you also had occasion to talk to this manager, Mr. Phillips, isn't that correct--

# 42 MR. BERRIS:

Yes.

# 43 MR. COCHRAN:

--before you ever went in the room?

# 44 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir.

# 45 MR. COCHRAN:

And you gained or garnered information from talking to both of those two people--

# 46 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. This calls for hearsay.

# 47 MR. COCHRAN:

This is not hearsay.

# 48 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 49 MR. COCHRAN:

You gained or garnered information from Carol Gobern and from the manager, Mr. Phillips, prior to the time you ever went inside that room; isn't that correct?

# 50 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir, that's correct.

# 51 MR. COCHRAN:

And with regard to Miss Gobern, can you tell this jury what hour she had come to work that day?

# 52 MR. DARDEN:

Your Honor, this is hearsay.

# 53 THE COURT:

Sustained. It's based on hearsay.

# 54 MR. COCHRAN:

Asked what time she came to work, your Honor?

# 55 THE COURT:

It's based on hearsay, counsel.

# 56 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, do you know what Miss Goldburn's working hours were to your own knowledge?

# 57 MR. DARDEN:

Same objection.

# 58 MR. COCHRAN:

He can answer that yes or no.

# 59 THE COURT:

Yes or no, do you know?

# 60 MR. COCHRAN:

Do you know her working hours?

# 61 MR. BERRIS:

I know when she starts work. I don't know when she finishes her shift. I'm sorry, Judge. I didn't know how else to answer.

KEY QUOTE

# 62 THE COURT:

It's all right.

# 63 MR. COCHRAN:

What time did she start work?

# 64 MR. DARDEN:

Same objection, your Honor.

# 65 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 66 MR. COCHRAN:

What time did she start work?

# 67 MR. BERRIS:

7:00 o'clock in the morning.

KEY QUOTE

# 68 MR. COCHRAN:

7:00 a.m. on June 13th, 1994?

# 69 MR. BERRIS:

Yes, sir.

# 70 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you. I have nothing further. Thank you for coming.

# 71 THE COURT:

Mr. Darden.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Kenneth Berris

I know when she starts work. I don't know when she finishes her shift. I'm sorry, Judge. I didn't know how else to answer.

Candid, slightly awkward moment where the witness apologizes to the judge for a nuanced answer — reveals the tight constraints of hearsay rulings in real time.

Kenneth Berris

7:00 o'clock in the morning.

The one concrete fact Cochran successfully extracted — Gobern's start time, implying she was present and could have witnessed Simpson's bleeding hand when he arrived.

Johnnie Cochran

And it probably has a laundry bag or two in that room; is that correct?

Cochran humanizes the laundry bag found in Simpson's hotel room by drawing a mundane parallel to the witness's own current hotel stay, defusing the implication of suspicious behavior.

Evidence (3)

Informal

Laundry bag found in or around Simpson's hotel room

discussed — Cochran normalized its presence by analogy

Informal

Band-Aid / cut hand — Simpson's bleeding hand on June 13, 1994

referenced obliquely; direct testimony blocked by hearsay rulings

Informal

Toothpaste near the sink in Simpson's hotel room

asked about; witness said he did not see any

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Cochran made multiple attempts to get Gobern's account of handing Simpson a Band-Aid into evidence; Darden objected each time on hearsay grounds and was sustained repeatedly, with the jury instructed to disregard one question and answer.

strategic/frustrated

Johnnie Cochran•Kenneth Berris

Cochran asked the detective — who is currently staying in a hotel — whether his own hotel room has a laundry bag, using the witness as an unwitting prop to normalize Simpson's use of one.

clever/light

Light Moments (1)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran asked the witness about his current hotel, then added 'We won't mention where' — a small joke that got the laundry bag line in front of the jury without embarrassing the detective.

Objections

11 objections (7 sustained, 4 overruled)

Proceeding 7410 • 71 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103