ALL RIGHT. I HAVE MISS DORIS WEITZ PRESENT WHO IS A CERTIFIED SPANISH INTERPRETER. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR CLIENT IS FROM THE COUNTRY OF EL SALVADOR; IS THAT CORRECT?
ALL RIGHT. LET ME HAVE MISS WEITZ SPEAK WITH HER BRIEFLY. AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SIXTY MAJOR DIALECTS WITHIN THE SPANISH LANGUAGE AND I WOULD LIKE HER TO BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH THAT.
YOUR HONOR, BEFORE WE DO, I BELIEVE THE COURT HAS A COPY OF A KMEX TELEVISION INTERVIEW.
ALL RIGHT. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE THE REPORTER HERE TODAY, HOWEVER; IS THAT CORRECT?
ALL RIGHT. I THINK THE PROPONENT OF THE 1335 SHOULD SPEAK FIRST IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION.
WE HAVE NEVER RECEIVED SUCH INTERVIEW AND WE WOULD LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THAT IF IT IS IN THE NATURE OF IMPEACHMENT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS FOR. AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, IT WAS NOT AN INTERVIEW OF MISS ROSA LOPEZ. IT MAY BE AN INTERVIEW OF THE REPORTER WHO ALLEGEDLY TALKED TO MISS LOPEZ. I HAVE NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT. I THINK WE WOULD BE ENTITLED WITH THAT. SECONDLY, MISS LOPEZ IS PRESENT AND WE WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED. I WOULD LIKE TO INDICATE TO THE COURT, AS I MENTIONED TO THE COURT JUST BRIEFLY YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, BECAUSE OF THE MEDIA HARASSMENT AND THE PROBLEMS VISITED UPON MISS LOPEZ, SHE NO LONGER LIVES EVEN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SHE DID NOT ARRIVE BACK INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UNTIL AFTER 1:30 THIS MORNING. WE ARRANGED TO PICK HER UP AND TO BRING HER HERE TODAY. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT SHE WILL BE, AFTER LEAVING -- AFTER CONCLUDING TESTIMONY, IF SHE IS SO ALLOWED, SHE WILL BE RETURNING TO THE OTHER STATE AND WILL PICK UP HER BELONGINGS AND WILL BE LEAVING FOR EL SALVADOR TOMORROW AS WE SO INDICATED TO THE COURT. THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BECAUSE OF THE GREAT AMOUNT OF HARASSMENT SHE HAS SUFFERED SINCE THIS HAPPENED. IT HAS CAUSED A GREAT PROBLEM WITH HER FAMILY. I THINK MR. BAILEY INDICATED TO THE COURT BEFORE THAT SHE HAS HAD ONE SON WHO DIED IN EL SALVADOR. SHE HAS HAD -- HER FAMILY HAS HAD A HISTORY OF PROBLEMS WITH THEIR HEART, AND THEY ARE ALL UNDER GREAT STRESS AND PRESSURE AND THEY ARE ALL QUITE FRIGHTENED BY THIS WHOLE PROCEDURE. HER DAUGHTER HAS BASICALLY STOPPED TALKING WITH HER AND THE GRANDCHILDREN BY VIRTUE OF HER WILLINGNESS TO COME BACK AND DO THIS. SHE CAME BACK ON HER OWN LAST NIGHT, BUT AS I INDICATED, WANTS TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER. SO THIS IS CERTAINLY A SITUATION WHERE IN THE INTERESTS OF MR. SIMPSON'S FAIR TRIAL WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROCEED TO PRESERVE THIS LADY'S TESTIMONY. SHE WILL BE, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, BE IN EL SALVADOR AFTER TOMORROW. SHE NO LONGER LIVES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THERE HAS BEEN GREAT HARASSMENT, AND IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE TELEVISION YOU HAVE SEEN THE NUMBER OF REPORTERS AND OTHERS CAMPED OUT IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE, ALL OF WHICH THINGS ARE ON VIDEO. AND WE ARE READY TO PROCEED. I WOULD ASK ONLY THAT I BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE VIDEO THAT COUNSEL WAS REFERRING TO AND I WOULD ASK ALSO THAT ANY POTENTIAL WITNESSES, OTHER WITNESSES, SHOULD BE OUT OF THE COURTROOM BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT -- THAT STANDING ORDER.
ALL RIGHT. BUT I THINK WE HAVE A PRELIMINARY FACT TO DETERMINE AT THIS POINT, DON'T WE?
YES, YES. I HAVE GIVEN YOU SOME IDEA ABOUT IT, BUT YES, YES, WE DO. THAT IS WHAT I WAS ADDRESSING, YOUR HONOR.
YOUR HONOR, ALL ALONG WE HAVE BEEN CONCERNED THAT DEFENSE WAS SEEKING TO ELICIT THIS WITNESS' TESTIMONY OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY SO THAT THEY CAN TEST IT AND EVALUATE AND ASSET ITS VALUE AND THEN PERHAPS PRESENT IT TO THE JURY AT A LATER TIME KNOWING ALL THE WHILE THAT WHEN THE DEFENSE PREPARES TO PUT ON ITS CASE THAT MISS LOPEZ WILL ACTUALLY BE AVAILABLE AND HERE IN THE COUNTRY. I DON'T THINK THAT THE DECLARATION THAT HAS BEEN FILED SO FAR IS SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE COURT TO HOLD A 1335 HEARING, AND WE HAVE MISS LOPEZ HERE, SO PERHAPS WE SHOULD DIRECT SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS TO HER, BUT I WILL NOTE THIS, AND POINT THIS OUT TO THE COURT, IF I MAY: THE DECLARATION SIGNED BY MISS LOPEZ DATED FEBRUARY 17TH AND FILED IN THE LAST ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN AN ORDER PURSUANT TO 1335 SIGNED BY MISS LOPEZ, AND IN THAT DECLARATION SHE INDICATES THAT SHE FEARS FOR HER PERSONAL SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF HER FAMILY AND SHE INDICATES AS WELL THAT SHE HAS DECIDED TO RETURN TO EL SALVADOR ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1995. NOW, THIS DECLARATION WAS OBVIOUSLY PREPARED FOR MISS LOPEZ IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, ONE OR MORE OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS SEATED HERE IN COURT, I WOULD IMAGINE. AND WHAT IS ODD ABOUT THIS DECLARATION IS JUST THAT FEW HOURS BEFORE, BEFORE THE DECLARATION WAS SIGNED, MISS LOPEZ SPOKE WITH A REPORTER FROM KMEX FOR TWO HOURS, FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS, AND DURING THAT TWO-HOUR CONVERSATION SHE TOLD THAT REPORTER THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE THE AREA, THAT SHE HAD NO DESIRE TO RETURN TO EL SALVADOR THAT SHE INTENDED TO REMAIN HERE. AND IN FACT MISS LOPEZ WAS FILLING OUT UNEMPLOYMENT FORMS DURING THAT CONVERSATION JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE, YOUR HONOR, AND MISS LOPEZ ALSO TOLD THAT REPORTER THAT SHE DID NOT TRUST HER ATTORNEY, WHOEVER THAT ATTORNEY MIGHT BE, AND I'M NOT POINTING FINGERS, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, BUT SHE ALSO TOLD THAT REPORTER THAT WHENEVER SHE WOULD ASK THE LAWYERS SOMETHING OR A QUESTION SHE WOULD GET AN ANSWER LIKE "YOU CAN GO BACK TO EL SALVADOR." AND SO I AM CONCERNED, YOUR HONOR, AND I THINK RIGHTFULLY SO, THAT THERE IS AN ATTEMPT HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COURT AND THE PROSECUTION AND THAT PERHAPS THE DEFENSE IS USING 1335 AS SOME TYPE OF SUBTERFUGE TO ELICIT TESTIMONY OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY SO THAT THEY CAN EVALUATE IT AND TEST IT. I THINK THE COURT SHOULD BE SKEPTICAL OF THE DEFENSE POSITION ON THIS ISSUE AND I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE THE MATTER UP WITH MISS LOPEZ.
MAY I RESPOND, YOUR HONOR, BRIEFLY? THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND, YOUR HONOR.
AS I INDICATED, I HAVE NOT BEEN PRIVY TO THE STATEMENT FROM THE REPORTER FROM CHANNEL 34, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF DISTRESSED AND DISTRESSING PHONE CALLS FROM MISS ROSA LOPEZ WHO COULD NOT GO OUTSIDE OF HER DAUGHTER'S HOUSE, AND APPARENTLY THIS REPORTER CAME INSIDE AND TALKED TO HER. I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, SINCE EARLY THIS MORNING, TO TALK TO MISS LOPEZ ABOUT THAT. SHE HAS FEAR OF HER PERSONAL SAFETY. SHE WILL INDICATE THAT TO YOU. SHE HAS FEAR OF HER FAMILY. HER FAMILY HAS BEEN MADE DYSFUNCTIONAL BY ALL THIS. SHE HAS LOST HER JOB. HE IS RIGHT, SHE PROBABLY WAS TRYING TO GET UNEMPLOYMENT BECAUSE SHE LOST HER JOB WITH THE SALINGERS BY VIRTUE OF ALL OF THE HARASSMENT THAT HAS COME HER WAY.
MR. COCHRAN, FORGIVE ME FOR INTERRUPTING YOU. I THINK AT THIS POINT WE PROBABLY OUGHT TO HEAR FROM MISS LOPEZ. THE ONLY LOGISTICAL CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT IT APPEARS THAT MR. DARDEN IS GOING TO CROSS-EXAMINE HER --
-- ON THE BASIS OF ANY STATEMENTS MADE TO THE KMEX REPORTER. UNFORTUNATELY, MY RECOLLECTION OF MY DISCUSSIONS WITH MR. DARDEN EARLIER THIS WEEK IS THAT THIS TWO-HOUR INTERVIEW IS TAPE-RECORDED IN SPANISH, WHICH MAKES VIEWING OF IT AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS BEING SAID A LITTLE DIFFICULT; IS THAT CORRECT, MR. DARDEN?
IT IS NOT -- IT IS NOT AN INTERVIEW. MISS LOPEZ DOES NOT APPEAR ON CAMERA. THE REPORTER INTERVIEWED HER FOR TWO HOURS AND THEN THE REPORTER CAME ON CAMERA AND RECITED WHAT MISS LOPEZ SAID. THE REPORTER IS RIGHT HERE IN COURT, COUNSEL.
I DO HAVE A ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THAT -- A TRANSCRIPT IN ENGLISH OF THAT PORTION OF THE --
ALL RIGHT. WOULD YOU MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO MR. COCHRAN, AND MR. COCHRAN, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY -- WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE REPORTER FROM KMEX 34?
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MR. COCHRAN, WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST WE DO THEN IS TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT, ALLOW YOU TO REVIEW THE NOTES THAT MR. DARDEN HAS REGARDING THE INTERVIEW, ALLOW YOU TO INTERVIEW MISS VILLAPANDO HERE SO YOU ARE AT LEAST AWARE OF THE PARAMETERS OF THE CROSS-EXAMINATION THAT WILL TAKE PLACE.
SURE. I APPRECIATE THAT, YOUR HONOR. IS THERE AN INTERPRETER THAT WILL ASSIST ME WITH THAT? I COULD USE MY SPANISH, BUT IT MAY TAKE LONGER THAN YOU HAVE, SO DO WE HAVE AN INTERPRETER?
WE WILL TAKE A BRIEF RECESS. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU ARE AVAILABLE. AND ALSO, MISS WEITZ, REMAIN IN THE COURTROOM, PLEASE.
THE COURT: ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. (RECESS.) (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT, OUT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)
I AM CONCERNED, YOUR HONOR, AND I THINK RIGHTFULLY SO, THAT THERE IS AN ATTEMPT HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COURT AND THE PROSECUTION AND THAT PERHAPS THE DEFENSE IS USING 1335 AS SOME TYPE OF SUBTERFUGE TO ELICIT TESTIMONY OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY SO THAT THEY CAN EVALUATE IT AND TEST IT.
MISS LOPEZ ALSO TOLD THAT REPORTER THAT SHE DID NOT TRUST HER ATTORNEY... AND WHENEVER SHE WOULD ASK THE LAWYERS SOMETHING OR A QUESTION SHE WOULD GET AN ANSWER LIKE 'YOU CAN GO BACK TO EL SALVADOR.'
SHE HAS LOST HER JOB. HE IS RIGHT, SHE PROBABLY WAS TRYING TO GET UNEMPLOYMENT BECAUSE SHE LOST HER JOB WITH THE SALINGERS BY VIRTUE OF ALL OF THE HARASSMENT THAT HAS COME HER WAY.
HEARSAY.