Afternoon recess and jury instructions

📄 Afternoon recess and jury instructions — Monday, February 27, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\27\AFTERNOON-RECESS-AND-JURY-INST.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 26 of 167

◀ Sidebar: prior statement and accommodations Direct examination of William Pavelic ▶

Date: Monday, February 27, 1995 • Utterances: 25

Judge Ito called an afternoon recess and ordered two witnesses — Miss Lopez and Sylvia Guerra — to return the following morning at 9:00 a.m. Lopez, still under cross-examination by Cochran, informed the court she had plane tickets for 11:00 a.m. the next day; the judge arranged to have those changed. Darden also sought an order barring Lopez from contacting Guerra before testimony resumed, which Ito denied over Cochran's objection.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT:)

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MISS LOPEZ, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BACK ON THE RECORD. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE OUR RECESS FOR THE AFTERNOON AT THIS TIME. MISS LOPEZ, WE'RE NOT FINISHED YET. UNFORTUNATELY, THE OTHER SIDE STILL HAS TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS. MR. COCHRAN HAS NOT FINISHED ASKING YOU QUESTIONS. I'M GOING TO ORDER YOU TO COME BACK TOMORROW MORNING AT 9:00 O'CLOCK. MR. COCHRAN WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOU FOR THE EVENING. COME BACK HERE TOMORROW MORNING AT 9:00 O'CLOCK. ALL RIGHT? THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. YOU MAY STEP DOWN.

# 3 THE WITNESS:

CAN I SAY SOMETHING?

# 4 THE COURT:

SURE.

# 5 THE WITNESS:

I HAVE MY TICKETS PURCHASED FOR TOMORROW AT 11:00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

KEY QUOTE

# 6 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS CHANGED.

# 7 THE WITNESS:

THANK YOU VERY KINDLY. I APPRECIATE IT.

# 8 MR. DARDEN:

YOUR HONOR?

# 9 THE COURT:

YES.

# 10 MR. DARDEN:

YOUR HONOR, I HAVE HERE SYLVIA GUERRA, G-U-E-R-R-A. WOULD THE COURT KINDLY ORDER HER BACK FOR 9:00 CLOCK TOMORROW MORNING?

# 11 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MISS GUERRA, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH?

# 12 MS. GUERRA:

YES.

# 13 THE COURT:

YOU ARE ORDERED TO RETURN HERE AT 9:00 O'CLOCK. THANK YOU, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT.

# 14 MR. DARDEN:

YOUR HONOR, WOULD YOU ALSO ORDER MISS LOPEZ NOT TO DISCUSS HER TESTIMONY WITH ANYONE EXCEPT HER LAWYERS OR AGENTS?

# 15 THE COURT:

YES. I FORGOT TO ADVISE YOU, MISS LOPEZ, PLEASE DON'T DISCUSS YOUR TESTIMONY WITH ANY OTHER PERSON OTHER THAN THE ATTORNEYS IN THE CASE. THANK YOU, MA'AM.

# 16 MR. DARDEN:

CAN WE ORDER HER NOT TO CONTACT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT MISS GUERRA?

# 17 THE COURT:

NO. IT'S NOT NECESSARY. ALL RIGHT.

# 18 MR. COCHRAN:

THAT'S RIDICULOUS.

# 19 MR. DARDEN:

YOU WON'T THINK IT'S RIDICULOUS TOMORROW, MR. COCHRAN.

KEY QUOTE

# 20 THE COURT:

MISS LOPEZ, YOU MAY STEP DOWN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MA'AM.

AND, MR. COCHRAN, DID YOU FIND OUT THE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS? AND WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR THAT.

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY, YOUR HONOR.

# 22 THE COURT:

I'LL HAVE MY CLERK MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR US. LET'S HAVE MR. -- CAN WE HAVE MR. PAVELIC BROUGHT IN? MS. HAMBURGER, I'M GOING TO ORDER YOU TO RETURN TOMORROW MORNING AS WELL, 9:00 O'CLOCK, WITH CLIENT IN TOW. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MADAM INTERPRETER. MS. HAMBURGER, DO YOU WANT TO ESCORT YOUR CLIENT OUT?

# 23 MS. LEWIS:

YOUR HONOR, DOES THE INTERPRETER NEED TO BE ORDERED BACK?

# 24 THE COURT:

YES. MADAM INTERPRETER, TOMORROW MORNING AT 9:00 O'CLOCK. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. CAN WE HAVE MR. PAVELIC, PLEASE.

# 25 MS. CLARK:

I GUESS WE DON'T NEED THE INTERPRETER FOR MR. PAVELIC.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Christopher Darden

YOU WON'T THINK IT'S RIDICULOUS TOMORROW, MR. COCHRAN.

Darden's sharp retort hints that Lopez and Guerra's testimonies are strategically linked and that contact between them could be problematic — implying he expects something damaging to emerge.

Johnnie Cochran

THAT'S RIDICULOUS.

Cochran dismisses Darden's request to bar Lopez from contacting Guerra, suggesting the defense sees no legitimate basis for the separation order.

The Witness

I HAVE MY TICKETS PURCHASED FOR TOMORROW AT 11:00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

A small human moment — a witness caught between court obligations and personal travel plans.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Christopher Darden•Johnnie Cochran

Darden requested the court order Lopez not to contact Guerra before tomorrow's session; Cochran called it ridiculous; Ito denied the request. Darden's retort suggested he expects the two witnesses' accounts to clash in a way the defense won't like.

strategic

Light Moments (2)

Lance A. Ito

Witness Lopez politely informs the court she has plane tickets for 11 a.m. the next morning, and the judge matter-of-factly says 'We'll make sure that that gets changed.'

Marcia Clark

Marcia Clark deadpans that they probably don't need the interpreter for Mr. Pavelic as he is being called in.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4993 • 25 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103