Direct examination of Catherine Boe (part 2)

📄 Direct examination of Catherine Boe (part 2) — Friday, February 3, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\3\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-CATHERIN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 12 of 167

◀ Sidebar: statement admissibility Sidebar: hearsay objection ▶

Witness: Catherine Boe
Examiner: Christopher Darden
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Friday, February 3, 1995 • Utterances: 47

Miss Boe, a neighbor of Nicole Brown Simpson, testifies about OJ Simpson's visits to her home during periods when he was not permitted inside Nicole's house. She describes casual kitchen interactions, including feeding him peach cobbler, and confirms she overheard an argument between OJ and Nicole in the driveway — but the testimony is cut short by a Shapiro objection just as she is about to reveal the subject of that argument.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNSEL. MISS BOE, IF YOU WOULD, WOULD YOU LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY TO THE QUESTION WHICH IS ASKED AND ANSWER ONLY THE PRECISE QUESTION THAT IS ASKED OF YOU. ALSO, IF ONE OF THE ATTORNEYS MAKES AN OBJECTION, DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION UNTIL I RULE ON THE QUESTION. OKAY?

# 3 CATHERINE BOE:

YES.

# 4 THE COURT:

THANK YOU. MR. DARDEN, YOU MAY CONTINUE.

# 5 MR. DARDEN:

WAS THE LAST OBJECTION SUSTAINED?

# 6 THE COURT:

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER.

KEY QUOTE

# 7 MR. DARDEN:

IT WAS A VERY GOOD QUESTION, YOUR HONOR.

# 8 MR. SHAPIRO:

YES, IT WAS, YOUR HONOR.

# 9 THE COURT:

YES, IT WAS, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A STATEMENT BY THE DEFENDANT.

# 10 MR. DARDEN:

OKAY.

# 11 Q:

NOW, THE REASON THAT THE DEFENDANT CAME TO YOUR HOME ON THOSE FEW OCCASIONS YOU JUST MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO. OKAY. HOW DID YOU LEARN THE REASONS?

# 12 (NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE.)

# 13 Q:

WAS IT FROM WATCHING SOMETHING OR FROM TALKING TO SOMEONE?

# 14 A:

THAT IS WHAT HE TOLD ME.

# 15 Q:

OKAY. THAT IS WHAT THE DEFENDANT TOLD YOU; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 16 (NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE.)

# 17 Q:

YOU HAVE TO ANSWER OUT LOUD.

# 18 A:

YES.

# 19 Q:

OKAY. THE DEFENDANT -- WHAT DID THE DEFENDANT TELL YOU? WHAT REASON DID HE GIVE YOU FOR COMING OVER TO YOUR HOUSE?

# 20 MR. SHAPIRO:

OBJECTION, HEARSAY.

# 21 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 22 CATHERINE BOE:

HE DIDN'T HAVE TO GIVE ME A REASON. THE BOYS WERE BACK AND FORTH. MY KITCHEN DOOR WAS OPENED. I WAS WORKING IN THE KITCHEN. HE WOULD BE COMING BY TO SEE NICOLE AND THE CHILDREN. HE DIDN'T TELL ME WHY HE WASN'T ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE THAT DAY. HE JUST HUNG OUT IN MY KITCHEN FOR A WHILE.

# 23 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: DID HE TELL YOU THAT HE WASN'T ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE THAT DAY?

# 24 A:

YES, HE DID.

# 25 Q:

OKAY. AND YOU WOULD HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEFENDANT; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 26 A:

ONE TIME I FED HIM A PIECE OF PEACH COBBLER. ANOTHER TIME WE STOOD AND TALKED, YES, WE HAD DIALOGUE.

KEY QUOTE

# 27 Q:

OKAY. DID YOU TALK ABOUT NICOLE BROWN?

# 28 A:

I DID NOT TALK ABOUT NICOLE.

# 29 Q:

DID THE DEFENDANT TALK ABOUT NICOLE?

# 30 A:

THE DEFENDANT TALKED ABOUT NICOLE.

# 31 Q:

OKAY. WHAT DID HE TELL YOU? WHAT DID HE SAY ABOUT NICOLE?

# 32 A:

THAT SHE WOULDN'T LET HIM IN THE HOUSE.

# 33 Q:

DID HE SAY ANYTHING --

# 34 A:

AND HE TOLD ME THAT I HAD HEARD AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN THEM PRIOR TO ONE OF THESE OCCASIONS, AND FROM WHAT FRAGMENTS I HEARD, SHE WAS ANGRY AT HIM ABOUT --

KEY QUOTE

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECT TO THIS. THIS IS NONRESPONSIVE.

# 36 MR. DARDEN:

PLEASE LET HER CONTINUE, YOUR HONOR.

# 37 THE COURT:

NEXT QUESTION, MR. DARDEN.

# 38 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: YOU HEARD AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN THE DEFENDANT AND NICOLE BROWN?

# 39 A:

YES, I DID.

# 40 Q:

YOU COULD HEAR THE DEFENDANT SPEAKING?

# 41 A:

MY KITCHEN DOOR WAS OPEN. I COULD HEAR THE DEFENDANT SPEAKING. THEY WERE GOING THROUGH THE DRIVEWAY WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO MY BACK DOOR.

# 42 Q:

AND THEY WERE ARGUING?

# 43 A:

YES, THEY WERE.

# 44 Q:

AND COULD YOU DISCERN FROM WHAT THE DEFENDANT WAS SAYING WHAT IT WAS THAT THEY WERE ARGUING ABOUT?

# 45 A:

YES, I COULD.

# 46 Q:

WHAT WERE THEY ARGUING ABOUT?

# 47 MR. SHAPIRO:

OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Miss Boe

ONE TIME I FED HIM A PIECE OF PEACH COBBLER. ANOTHER TIME WE STOOD AND TALKED, YES, WE HAD DIALOGUE.

Establishes the neighborly, casual nature of her relationship with OJ — grounding her as a credible, intimate observer of his behavior around Nicole's home.

Miss Boe

HE DIDN'T TELL ME WHY HE WASN'T ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE THAT DAY. HE JUST HUNG OUT IN MY KITCHEN FOR A WHILE.

Confirms OJ acknowledged being barred from Nicole's home, which speaks to their troubled relationship dynamic near the time of the murders.

Lance A. Ito

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER.

Judge admitting he lost track of the last ruling — a rare candid moment that drew agreement from both Darden and Shapiro.

Miss Boe

AND HE TOLD ME THAT I HAD HEARD AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN THEM PRIOR TO ONE OF THESE OCCASIONS, AND FROM WHAT FRAGMENTS I HEARD, SHE WAS ANGRY AT HIM ABOUT --

Witness begins to reveal the subject of a Nicole-OJ argument; cut off by Cochran's nonresponsive objection before she can complete it, creating a notable gap in testimony.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden•Robert Shapiro

Ito admits he cannot remember the ruling on the last objection before this segment. Both Darden and Shapiro agree it was a good question. Ito clarifies it was sustained because it was not a statement by the defendant — signaling Darden's new approach of eliciting OJ's own words directly.

light then strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

As Miss Boe begins volunteering details about what she overheard from Nicole's argument with OJ, Cochran objects as nonresponsive. Darden asks the court to let her continue. Ito sides with Cochran, cutting off potentially significant testimony.

strategic

Light Moments (2)

Lance A. Ito

Judge Ito frankly admits he cannot remember the previous ruling ('IT HAS BEEN SO LONG I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER'), prompting Darden and Shapiro to jointly compliment the question.

Miss Boe

Miss Boe's matter-of-fact recollection that she fed OJ Simpson a piece of peach cobbler, delivered as a casual detail amid serious domestic violence testimony.

Witness Demeanor

(NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE.) — twice, early in examination; witness initially reluctant or hesitant to give verbal answers to questions about OJ's stated reasons for visiting

Objections

3 objections (1 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 4620 • 47 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103