Sidebar: audiotape redaction

📄 Sidebar: audiotape redaction — Thursday, February 2, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\2\SIDEBAR-AUDIOTAPE-REDACTION.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 11 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Terri Moore (part 1) Direct examination of Terri Moore (part 2) ▶

Date: Thursday, February 2, 1995 • Utterances: 38

Out of the jury's presence, the court verified that an audiotape had been properly redacted per prior order, removing the phrase 'he's going to beat the shit out of me.' Cochran attempted to get an additional expletive ('f'ing going nuts') redacted as well, but Judge Ito denied the request, agreeing with Darden that the jury should hear the tape in its full context.

# 1 MR. DARDEN:

MAY WE APPROACH FOR A MOMENT WITHOUT THE REPORTER, YOUR HONOR?

# 2 THE COURT:

SURE.

# 3 (A CONFERENCE WAS HELD AT THE BENCH, NOT REPORTED.)

# 4 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THERE'S AN ISSUE I NEED TO TAKE UP OUT OF YOUR PRESENCE. I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO STEP BACK IN THE JURY ROOM. THIS SHOULD ONLY TAKE ABOUT FIVE OR EIGHT MINUTES.

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

# 6 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT THE JURY HAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE COURTROOM. BE SEATED. THANK YOU. MR. DARDEN, DO YOU HAVE THIS TAPE YOU WANT TO PLAY?

# 7 MR. DARDEN:

YES, I DO, YOUR HONOR. AS THE COURT IS AWARE, THE COURT ORDERED US TO REDACT FROM THE TAPE THE FOLLOWING COMMENT:

"HE'S GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ME," AND WE'VE REDACTED THE TAPE AS THE COURT HAS INSTRUCTED US TO DO.

# 8 THE COURT:

WHAT'S THE LENGTH OF THE TAPE, MR. DARDEN?

# 9 MR. DARDEN:

PARDON ME?

# 10 THE COURT:

WHAT IS THE LENGTH OF THE TAPE?

# 11 MR. DARDEN:

MR. DOUGLAS SAYS IT'S APPROXIMATELY 14 MINUTES.

# 12 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

WE'RE OFF BY ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE MINUTES.

# 14 THE COURT:

MY CONCERN IS MISS CLARK'S PROBLEM.

# 15 MS. CLARK:

IF I CAN MAKE A PHONE CALL, YOUR HONOR, MAYBE --

# 16 MR. COCHRAN:

I'LL STIPULATE MISS CLARK DOESN'T HAVE TO USE THE TAPE.

# 17 THE COURT:

DO WE HAVE THE TAPE CUED UP?

# 18 MR. FAIRTLOUGH:

YOUR HONOR, I'M EXPERIENCING MOMENTARY DIFFICULTY. I'LL DO AN AUDIO CHECK POSSIBLY USING THE SPEAKERS.

# 19 MR. DARDEN:

SHOULD WE PUT IN EARPLUGS?

# 20 MR. FAIRTLOUGH:

NO. IT'S SET DOWN LOW.

# 21 THE COURT:

I CAN JUST BRING IN MY BOOM BOX.

KEY QUOTE

# 22 MR. FAIRTLOUGH:

WE NOW HAVE THE PROPER AUDIO.

# 23 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. PLAY THE TAPE.

# 24 (AN AUDIOTAPE IS PLAYED.)

# 25 THE COURT:

THAT WAS THE PORTION THAT I RECALL THAT THE OTHER COMMENT WAS THAT THE COURT ORDERED REDACTED.

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER PART THAT I WOULD ASK THE COURT TO CONSIDER REDACTING.

# 27 THE COURT:

WHAT IS THAT?

# 28 MR. COCHRAN:

THE PART ABOUT HE'S F'ING GOING NUTS. DID YOU HEAR THAT PART?

# 29 THE COURT:

WELL, I THINK IT'S DESCRIPTIVE OF WHAT APPEARS TO GO ON.

# 30 MR. COCHRAN:

I DON'T THINK -- I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH THE COURT WITH REGARD TO THE F'ING PART. THAT'S WHAT I HAD REFERENCE TO. I JUST DON'T THINK WE NEED THE EXPLETIVE.

KEY QUOTE

# 31 THE COURT:

MR. DARDEN.

# 32 MR. DARDEN:

I'M NO GREAT FAN OF EXPLETIVES, YOUR HONOR, BUT I THINK THAT THE JURY HAS A RIGHT TO HEAR THE TAPE IN ITS FULL CONTEXT, AND THIS IS AN ISSUE WE DISCUSSED WEEKS AGO.

KEY QUOTE

# 33 THE COURT:

I AGREE.

# 34 MR. DARDEN:

AND I MEAN, LET'S MOVE ON WITH THE TRIAL.

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

WE WANT TO MOVE ON WITH THE TRIAL. ALL I'M SAYING TO THE COURT IS THAT IT'S THE SAME WHEN WE HAD TO EXCISE ALL THIS STUFF ABOUT POLYGRAPHS TO GET A DREAM THAT HE WANTED TO -- SO I'LL SUBMIT IT, BUT I THINK THE COURT HAS IN YOUR DISCRETION -- IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FLAVOR TO SAY HE'S GOING NUTS AS OPPOSED TO F'ING.

# 36 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THE COURT HAS CONSIDERED THAT PREVIOUSLY. ALL RIGHT. LET'S HAVE THE JURORS, PLEASE.

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

THERE'S MORE, YOUR HONOR. IS THAT ALL?

# 38 THE COURT:

THAT WAS THE PART THAT WAS TO BE REDACTED, AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT HAD IN FACT BEEN REDACTED. I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME IN THE COURT DAY TO PLAY THE TAPE.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Christopher Darden

THE COURT ORDERED US TO REDACT FROM THE TAPE THE FOLLOWING COMMENT: "HE'S GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ME," AND WE'VE REDACTED THE TAPE AS THE COURT HAS INSTRUCTED US TO DO.

Confirms the specific language the court had already ordered removed from the tape before jury presentation.

Johnnie Cochran

I DON'T THINK -- I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH THE COURT WITH REGARD TO THE F'ING PART. THAT'S WHAT I HAD REFERENCE TO. I JUST DON'T THINK WE NEED THE EXPLETIVE.

Cochran's attempt to further sanitize the tape for the jury, signaling defense concern about inflammatory language.

Christopher Darden

I'M NO GREAT FAN OF EXPLETIVES, YOUR HONOR, BUT I THINK THAT THE JURY HAS A RIGHT TO HEAR THE TAPE IN ITS FULL CONTEXT, AND THIS IS AN ISSUE WE DISCUSSED WEEKS AGO.

Prosecution pushes back on further redaction, framing it as a completeness and fairness issue.

Lance A. Ito

I CAN JUST BRING IN MY BOOM BOX.

A rare moment of levity from the judge during a technical audio setup problem.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Audiotape approximately 14 minutes in length, containing Nicole Brown Simpson's 911 call or similar recording with expletive content referencing OJ Simpson's behavior

Played for court review after redaction verification

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Cochran sought additional redaction of 'f'ing going nuts' from the tape; Ito ruled the language was descriptive and contextually relevant; Darden supported keeping it in.

strategic

Lance A. Ito•Mr. Fairtlough

Technical difficulty getting the tape cued up and audio working, leading to Ito's joke about his boom box.

light

Light Moments (2)

Lance A. Ito

Ito quipped 'I CAN JUST BRING IN MY BOOM BOX' while the courtroom technician struggled with the audio setup.

Christopher Darden

Darden asked 'SHOULD WE PUT IN EARPLUGS?' during the audio check.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4615 • 38 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103