Sidebar: Denise Brown documents

📄 Sidebar: Denise Brown documents — Friday, February 3, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\3\SIDEBAR-DENISE-BROWN-DOCUMENTS.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 12 of 167

Date: Friday, February 3, 1995 • Utterances: 17

Defense attorney Robert Shapiro brought roughly a foot of LEXIS-compiled documents containing Denise Brown's public statements to use for impeachment, but had not provided copies to the prosecution due to copyright concerns. Shapiro argued he had given advance notice and that photocopying LEXIS materials would violate copyright law. Judge Ito suggested the court could make its own copies and restrict the prosecution from disseminating them, resolving the dispute by going off the record.

# 1 MS. CLARK:

YES, YOUR HONOR. I THINK WE NEED TO APPROACH BEFORE THE TESTIMONY IS BEGUN.

# 2 THE COURT:

WITH THE REPORTER, PLEASE.

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

# 4 THE COURT:

WE ARE AT THE SIDEBAR. COUNSEL, WHY ARE WE HERE? MR. GORDON.

# 5 MR. GORDON:

MR. SHAPIRO JUST SHOWED US EIGHT OR NINE INCHES OF DOCUMENTS, AND THERE WAS A QUESTION RAISED --

# 6 MR. SHAPIRO:

ABOUT A FOOT.

# 7 MR. GORDON:

-- FOOT OF DOCUMENTS THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT THERE WAS A QUESTION WITH REGARD TO COPYING BEFORE WE GOT THEM. DO YOU WANT TO DO IT IN OPEN COURT OR AT SIDEBAR?

# 8 MR. SHAPIRO:

THESE ARE THE DOCUMENTS I REFERRED TO THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK, YOUR HONOR, THAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO USE. THEY ARE THE LEXIS SEARCH OF ALL PUBLIC STATEMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO DENISE BROWN. AND I WAS INFORMED BY LAWYERS THAT I CONSULTED WITH THAT I COULD NOT PHOTOCOPY THEM, THAT IT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT LAWS. I INFORMED YOUR HONOR AND MR. DARDEN IF THEY WANTED THIS MATERIAL, THEY WOULD HAVE TO RUN IT ON LEXIS THEMSELVES AND POINTED OUT WHAT THE DOCUMENTS WERE.

# 9 MR. GORDON:

THE PROBLEM WITH THAT, WITHOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT THE PERIMETERS OF THE SEARCH RUN BY COUNSEL, WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME DOCUMENTS. THE COURT DOESN'T HAVE THAT. SO --

# 10 MR. SHAPIRO:

WE WILL GIVE YOU THE PERIMETERS. WE HAVE THAT. IT'S ALL SUBMITTED -- YOU KNOW HOW IT COMES OUT, DON'T YOU, JUDGE?

# 11 THE COURT:

UH-HUH.

# 12 MS. CLARK:

BEFORE THE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GET THAT -- AND I THINK WE HAVE WEST LAW. UNTIL THE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GET THEIR OWN COPY OF THE LEXIS MATERIAL MR. SHAPIRO IS REFERRING TO, HE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO REFER TO EITHER THE SIZE OR THE WEIGHT OR THE EXISTENCE OF THOSE DOCUMENTS. AND WE MAY HAVE SOME LITIGATION TO ENTER CONSIDERING WHAT IS PROPER IMPEACHMENT AND WHAT IS NOT. BUT AT THIS POINT, THE PEOPLE ARE NOT IN POSSESSION -- WE CAN'T PUT OUR HAND ON IT THIS MINUTE.

# 13 MR. SHAPIRO:

I HAVE NO OBJECTION IF THEY CALL THIS WITNESS OUT OF ORDER AT A LATER TIME. BUT THEY'VE HAD DUE WARNING ON THIS AND I WAS VERY CAREFUL TO BRING IT TO YOUR HONOR'S ATTENTION.

# 14 THE COURT:

I DON'T KNOW WHY I COULDN'T ORDER MY STAFF TO MAKE A PHOTOCOPY OF WHAT YOU HAVE AND DIRECT COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION NOT TO MAKE ANY COPIES OR OTHERWISE DISSEMINATE IT. I THINK USE IN COURT IS NOT A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.

KEY QUOTE

# 15 MR. SHAPIRO:

MAY WE GO OFF THE RECORD FOR A MOMENT?

# 16 THE COURT:

SURE.

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

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Robert Shapiro

THEY ARE THE LEXIS SEARCH OF ALL PUBLIC STATEMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO DENISE BROWN. AND I WAS INFORMED BY LAWYERS THAT I CONSULTED WITH THAT I COULD NOT PHOTOCOPY THEM, THAT IT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT LAWS.

Shapiro frames the discovery failure as a good-faith copyright concern rather than a tactical ambush, establishing that he had sought legal advice on the issue.

Marcia Clark

HE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO REFER TO EITHER THE SIZE OR THE WEIGHT OR THE EXISTENCE OF THOSE DOCUMENTS.

Clark tries to prevent even the jury-visible spectacle of Shapiro brandishing a foot-tall stack of impeachment material before the prosecution can review it.

Lance A. Ito

I DON'T KNOW WHY I COULDN'T ORDER MY STAFF TO MAKE A PHOTOCOPY OF WHAT YOU HAVE AND DIRECT COUNSEL FOR THE PROSECUTION NOT TO MAKE ANY COPIES OR OTHERWISE DISSEMINATE IT. I THINK USE IN COURT IS NOT A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.

Ito cuts through the dispute with a practical solution, signaling skepticism of the copyright argument as a barrier to normal court procedure.

Evidence (1)

Informal

LEXIS database search results compiling all public statements attributed to Denise Brown, approximately one foot of documents

disputed — defense sought to use for impeachment; prosecution had not received copies

Notable Exchanges (2)

Scott Gordon•Robert Shapiro

Gordon describes the stack as 'eight or nine inches'; Shapiro immediately corrects him — 'about a foot' — a small moment of gamesmanship over the sheer volume of impeachment material.

strategic

Marcia Clark•Robert Shapiro

Clark argues Shapiro should be barred from even referencing the documents until prosecution can obtain their own copy; Shapiro counters he offered fair warning and has no objection to calling Denise Brown out of order.

tense

Light Moments (1)

Robert Shapiro

Shapiro corrects Gordon's estimate of document height mid-sentence — 'about a foot' — as if the precise thickness of the impeachment stack is a point of pride.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Denise Brown

prior inconsistent statements

Shapiro compiled a LEXIS search of all public statements attributed to Denise Brown, apparently intending to impeach her testimony with her own prior public statements.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4662 • 17 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103