Sidebar: speaking objections

📄 Sidebar: speaking objections — Tuesday, February 21, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\21\SIDEBAR-SPEAKING-OBJECTIONS.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 22 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Det. Tom Lange (part 8) Direct examination of Det. Tom Lange (part 9) ▶

Date: Tuesday, February 21, 1995 • Utterances: 14

A sidebar called by Cochran quickly became a scolding from Judge Ito after Clark complained that Cochran's objections were really closing arguments delivered in front of the jury. Ito threatened sanctions against any lawyer who made a 'speaking objection' rather than using one of the 12 recognized one-word objections. Cochran then immediately demonstrated the problem by launching into another speech about a disputed officer log record, and Ito explained the proper way to handle it on cross-examination.

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

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I BE HEARD?

# 3 MS. CLARK:

YOUR HONOR, EVERY TIME COUNSEL HAS AN OBJECTION, THERE'S A SPEECH THAT GOES WITH IT. HE'S BEEN DOING IT ALL DAY LONG.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

I'M TRYING TO AVOID COMING UP HERE EVERY TIME.

# 5 MS. CLARK:

THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO AVOID IT, BY MAKING ARGUMENT IN FRONT OF THE JURY. EVERY OBJECTION MEANS CLOSING ARGUMENT.

# 6 THE COURT:

FROM NOW ON, IF I DON'T HEAR -- I AM GOING TO SANCTION THE NEXT LAWYER WHO I HEAR MAKE AN OBJECTION THAT ISN'T ONE OF THE 12 RECOGNIZED OBJECTIONS. ONE WORD OBJECTION. ALL RIGHT.

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS, THIS OFFICER WAS NOT THERE. YOU JUST CAN'T TAKE A RECORD THAT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD BECAUSE WE HAVE ALREADY HEARD FROM CUMMINGS AND OTHERS -- IF YOU LOOK AT THIS RECORD, HE CHECKS OUT AT 10:00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. YOU CAN'T RELY UPON THAT RECORD. THAT IS MY OBJECTION. IT'S IMPROPER. THE PROBLEM IS, AS A LAWYER, IF I SEE SOMETHING THAT'S WRONG, CLEARLY WRONG, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING.

# 8 THE COURT:

MR. COCHRAN, WHAT YOU GET TO DO, YOU GET TO SAY, "IF THIS REFRESHES YOUR RECOLLECTION, HOW WAS IT, SIR, YOU WEREN'T THERE?" AND YOU KNOW THAT THAT IS NOT A RELIABLE RECORD AND THAT GOES TO HIS CREDIBILITY. THAT'S WHAT YOU DO WITH THAT.

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

I'M JUST TRYING TO SAVE SOME TIME.

# 10 THE COURT:

I KNOW.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

ON CROSS-EXAMINATION THEN, I'LL DO THAT.

# 12 THE COURT:

YOU CAN USE ANYTHING TO REFRESH RECOLLECTION.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

I KNOW. BUT MOST PEOPLE WILL SAY, "IT DOESN'T REFRESH MY RECOLLECTION IN EARLY DECEMBER." THIS WITNESS WASN'T EVEN THERE. OKAY.

# 14 THE COURT:

OKAY. COUNSEL, ONE-WORD OBJECTIONS. IT'S OVERRULED. THANK YOU.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Marcia Clark

EVERY OBJECTION MEANS CLOSING ARGUMENT.

Succinctly captures the complaint — Cochran was using objections to editorialize to the jury rather than simply preserve the record.

Lance A. Ito

I AM GOING TO SANCTION THE NEXT LAWYER WHO I HEAR MAKE AN OBJECTION THAT ISN'T ONE OF THE 12 RECOGNIZED OBJECTIONS. ONE WORD OBJECTION.

A direct judicial warning with real teeth — Ito's stricter courtroom style on full display.

Johnnie Cochran

AS A LAWYER, IF I SEE SOMETHING THAT'S WRONG, CLEARLY WRONG, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING.

Cochran's justification for speaking objections — framing it as professional duty rather than theatrics.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Officer log or duty record showing a check-out time of 10:00 a.m. — Cochran disputes its reliability because the officer was not present at the relevant location.

challenged

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia Clark•Lance A. Ito

Clark complained about Cochran's pattern of speaking objections throughout the day; Ito backed her up with a threatened sanction rule.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

After being warned, Cochran immediately launched into another speaking objection about the officer record; Ito calmly redirected him to handle it on cross-examination instead.

instructional

Light Moments (1)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran claimed he was making speeches 'to avoid coming up here every time' — the very sidebar he was currently in.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ unidentified officer witness

foundational challenge / reliability

Cochran argued the officer's log record was unreliable because the officer was not present at the relevant time or location, citing prior testimony from Cummings and others.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 4952 • 14 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103