Sidebar: Angela Spilker impeachment

📄 Sidebar: Angela Spilker impeachment — Thursday, February 2, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\2\SIDEBAR-ANGELA-SPILKER-IMPEACH.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 11 of 167

◀ Re-redirect examination of Ronald Shipp (part 1) Recross-examination of Ronald Shipp (part 2) ▶

Date: Thursday, February 2, 1995 • Utterances: 18

Defense attorney Carl Douglas approached the bench to preview additional impeachment questions about Angela Spilker, claiming a witness had more contact with her than previously admitted and that Spilker — not a woman named Madigan — was the person in a Jacuzzi incident. Judge Ito shut it down, noting the witness had already denied the relationship and that further impeachment on collateral matters is subject to Evidence Code 352.

# 1 MR. DOUGLAS:

MAY I AT SIDE BAR TELL THE COURT?

# 2 THE COURT:

PLEASE.

# 3 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD AT THE BENCH:)

# 4 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. WE ARE OVER AT SIDE BAR.

# 5 MR. DOUGLAS:

AS WILL FREQUENTLY HAPPEN IN THIS CASE, YOUR HONOR --

# 6 THE COURT:

HE HAS ALREADY DENIED THAT HE HAD ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS WOMAN, HASN'T HE?

# 7 MR. DARDEN:

YES.

# 8 MR. DOUGLAS:

DURING THE BREAK I SPOKE TO A PERSON WHO KNOWS THAT HE HAS HAD MORE THAN JUST THIS CONTACT, AND I'M GOING TO ASK THEM ABOUT THIS OTHER OCCASION WHEN THEY WERE TOGETHER, WHEN THEY SAT -- HE WORKED FOR A FRIEND OF MR. SIMPSON'S, TOM MC CULLUM AND HE INVESTIGATED THIS WOMAN, ANGELA SPILKER.

# 9 THE COURT:

YOU HAVE ALREADY ASKED HIM THAT.

# 10 MR. DOUGLAS:

YOUR HONOR, I'M GOING TO ASK HIM ABOUT ANOTHER INCIDENT WHEN I KNOW THAT HE WAS WITH HER.

# 11 THE COURT:

HE HAS ALREADY DENIED EVER BEING WITH HER OTHER THAN THIS ONE TIME. WE ARE WASTING A LOT TIME ON REAL TANGENTIAL STUFF.

# 12 MR. DOUGLAS:

FURTHER, I BELIEVE THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS IN THE JACUZZI WAS NOT THIS MADIGAN BUT WAS ANGELA SPILKER AND THAT IS WHY.

KEY QUOTE

# 13 THE COURT:

YOU HAVE ALREADY ESTABLISHED -- YOU HAVE ASKED HIM AND HE HAS DENIED IT AND HE IS SAYING IT IS SOMEBODY ELSE AND HE HAS DENIED HE HAS HAD ANY CONTACT WITH THIS SPILKER WOMAN OTHER THAN THIS TEN-SECOND TIME, SO YOU'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED ALL OF THAT.

# 14 MR. DOUGLAS:

VERY WELL.

# 15 THE COURT:

BUT BE WARY, BOTH SIDES BE WARY THAT IMPEACHMENT ON COLLATERAL ISSUES IS WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE COURT, SUBJECT TO 352.

KEY QUOTE

# 16 MR. DARDEN:

IS IT -- THE OBJECTION IS SUSTAINED?

# 17 THE COURT:

YES.

# 18 MR. DARDEN:

THANK YOU.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Carl Douglas

I BELIEVE THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS IN THE JACUZZI WAS NOT THIS MADIGAN BUT WAS ANGELA SPILKER AND THAT IS WHY.

Reveals the specific factual theory Douglas was pursuing — that the witness was lying about who he was with, tying Spilker directly to a compromising situation.

Lance A. Ito

WE ARE WASTING A LOT TIME ON REAL TANGENTIAL STUFF.

Ito signals his impatience with this line of attack and telegraphs his 352 ruling before formally issuing it.

Lance A. Ito

BUT BE WARY, BOTH SIDES BE WARY THAT IMPEACHMENT ON COLLATERAL ISSUES IS WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE COURT, SUBJECT TO 352.

The court's legal basis for limiting this entire line of questioning going forward — a warning to both sides, not just the defense.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Carl Douglas•Lance A. Ito

Douglas attempts to lay the groundwork for further impeachment of the witness on his contacts with Spilker; Ito repeatedly cuts him off by noting the witness has already denied the relationship, ultimately sustaining the implicit objection under Evidence Code 352.

strategic/blocked

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ unnamed witness (associate of Tom McCullum)

prior inconsistent statement / bias

Douglas sought to impeach the witness by introducing a second incident of contact with Angela Spilker — including a Jacuzzi encounter — that the witness had denied, arguing the witness was lying about the extent of their relationship. Ito ruled the witness had already denied it and further impeachment was collateral under EC 352.

Objections

1 objections (1 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 4569 • 18 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103