Sidebar: statement admissibility

📄 Sidebar: statement admissibility — Friday, February 3, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\3\SIDEBAR-STATEMENT-ADMISSIBILIT.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 12 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Catherine Boe (part 1) Direct examination of Catherine Boe (part 2) ▶

Date: Friday, February 3, 1995 • Utterances: 42

Defense counsel requested an offer of proof regarding the upcoming testimony of a witness named Mrs. Colby, who Darden expected to testify about OJ Simpson visiting her home when Nicole locked him out — describing his emotional state and difficulty accepting the breakup. The sidebar also addressed a procedural concern about the witness not understanding courtroom procedure and answering questions before objections could be ruled on.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. WE ARE OVER AT THE SIDE BAR.

# 3 MR. SHAPIRO:

YOUR HONOR, I WOULD REQUEST AN OFFER OF PROOF AS TO RELEVANCE AS TO ANY CONVERSATIONS O.J. HAD WITH HER. THERE IS NO FOUNDATION. WE HAVE NO DISCOVERY ON THIS. I HAVE CALLED THIS LADY AND ASKED TO TALK TO HER AND SHE REFUSED TO TALK TO US.

# 4 MR. DARDEN:

YOU JUST NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET FROM MRS. COLBY.

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IF YOU TALKED TO HER.

KEY QUOTE

# 6 MR. DARDEN:

I HAVE, BUT I BELIEVE SHE IS GOING TO TESTIFY THAT --

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

SHE IS AN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

KEY QUOTE

# 8 MR. DARDEN:

SHE IS GOING TO TESTIFY AS TO WHAT I TOLD YOU ON THE TELEPHONE. THERE WERE OCCASIONS IN WHICH NICOLE WOULD NOT LET HIM IN THE HOUSE AND HE WOULD COME INTO HER HOUSE AND USE THE BATHROOM AND EAT PIE AND THEN THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT HE AND NICOLE AND SHE TOLD US SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THE DEFENDANT, THINGS LIKE THAT. YOU REMEMBER THE THINGS I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT SUNDAY EVENING ON JANUARY 22ND?

KEY QUOTE

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

WE HAD A CONVERSATION? I DON'T REMEMBER. YOU HAVE TO TELL ME AGAIN. I DON'T REMEMBER THAT. IT WASN'T IN WRITING.

# 10 MR. DARDEN:

IT WAS A URINARY THING.

# 11 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. ENLIGHTEN US ALL.

# 12 MR. DARDEN:

IS THAT AN ORDER?

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE --

# 14 MR. DARDEN:

THAT PART? I'M JUST TRYING TO USE IT TO STIMULATE YOUR MEMORY.

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

THIS IS 23,000 PAGES PLUS. THAT IS A BIT.

# 16 MR. DARDEN:

CAN WE GO OFF RECORD FOR ONE MOMENT?

# 17 THE COURT:

SURE.

# 18 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND DEFENSE COUNSEL.)

# 19 THE COURT:

BACK ON THE RECORD. SHE IS GOING TO SAY, ACCORDING TO YOUR OFFER OF PROOF, THAT HE --

# 20 MR. DARDEN:

SHE IS GOING TO SAY THAT SHE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE --

# 21 THE COURT:

HE CAME OVER AND SAID SHE WON'T LET ME IN THE HOUSE?

# 22 MR. DARDEN:

SHE KNOWS IT BECAUSE HE TOLD HER AND THEY HAD A CONVERSATION ONE DAY AND HE TOLD HER HOW UPSET HE WAS BEING BROKEN UP AND HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS FOR HIM TO DEAL WITH NICOLE.

# 23 THE COURT:

OKAY.

# 24 MR. DARDEN:

AND I GOT THAT INFORMATION ON JANUARY 22ND ORALLY AFTER I SPOKE TO HER AND I CALLED JOHNNIE AND I TOLD JOHNNIE THE SAME DAY. THAT IS -- THAT IS ABOUT IT.

# 25 THE COURT:

OKAY.

# 26 MR. SHAPIRO:

OKAY.

# 27 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. BUT WHAT WE ARE GETTING IS NICOLE SAID THAT BECAUSE NICOLE WOULDN'T LET HIM IN.

# 28 MR. SHAPIRO:

RIGHT.

# 29 THE COURT:

SO YOU NEED TO REPHRASE YOUR QUESTION.

# 30 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I SUGGEST ONE THING, YOUR HONOR? THIS WITNESS DOESN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT COURT AND SHE -- MAYBE MR. DARDEN SHOULD TELL HER SHE SHOULD WAIT. I MEAN, IT IS HARD FOR BOB TO OBJECT. HER ANSWER IS OUT AND YOU WILL SAY "SUSTAINED" AND SHE GIVES THE ANSWER. SHE UNDERSTANDS THE COURT. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

# 31 THE COURT:

WELL --

# 32 MR. COCHRAN:

A REQUEST FOR WITNESSES.

# 33 THE COURT:

FOR THE RECORD, MR. DARDEN, TO SAY THAT THE ATTORNEYS -- IF MR. SHAPIRO MAKES AN OBJECTION, DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION UNTIL THE COURT HAS RULED ON THE OBJECTION.

# 34 MR. DARDEN:

DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL HER THAT?

# 35 THE COURT:

YEAH.

# 36 MR. DARDEN:

I THINK YOU SHOULD TELL HER.

# 37 MR. SHAPIRO:

I WILL.

# 38 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. ARE WE READY.

# 39 MR. DARDEN:

YEAH.

# 40 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. ONE OF THE -- ONE OF THE JURORS LEFT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM QUICKLY, SO WE WILL WAIT FOR A FEW MOMENTS HERE.

# 41 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 42 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO BACK ON THE RECORD.

Temperature

light

Key Quotes (4)

Christopher Darden

SHE IS GOING TO TESTIFY AS TO WHAT I TOLD YOU ON THE TELEPHONE. THERE WERE OCCASIONS IN WHICH NICOLE WOULD NOT LET HIM IN THE HOUSE AND HE WOULD COME INTO HER HOUSE AND USE THE BATHROOM AND EAT PIE AND THEN THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT HE AND NICOLE AND SHE TOLD US SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THE DEFENDANT

Core offer of proof: establishes OJ's pattern of being excluded from Nicole's home and his emotional distress over the relationship — key domestic violence narrative thread

Christopher Darden

HE TOLD HER HOW UPSET HE WAS BEING BROKEN UP AND HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS FOR HIM TO DEAL WITH NICOLE.

Direct statement attributed to OJ about his emotional state regarding Nicole — potentially admissible as a party admission showing motive

Johnnie Cochran

SHE IS AN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

Cochran's colorful warning about the witness's unpredictability, foreshadowing the procedural concern about her ignoring objections

Johnnie Cochran

IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IF YOU TALKED TO HER.

Pointed dig at Darden about the difficulty of managing an uncooperative or erratic witness

Notable Exchanges (3)

Christopher Darden•Johnnie Cochran

Cochran claims not to remember a January 22nd phone call from Darden about Mrs. Colby's expected testimony, saying it wasn't in writing. Darden references a 'urinary thing' to jog his memory, prompting Ito to say 'enlighten us all.'

light/bantering

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Cochran raises the concern that Mrs. Colby doesn't understand courtroom procedure and blurts out answers before objections can be ruled on. Darden and Ito go back and forth about who should instruct her — Shapiro ultimately volunteers.

strategic/procedural

Robert Shapiro•Christopher Darden

Shapiro objects that the defense has no discovery on Mrs. Colby's expected testimony, that she refused to speak with defense counsel, and requests a full offer of proof before she testifies.

procedural

Light Moments (3)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran jokes that unpredictable witness Mrs. Colby is 'an alien from another planet'

Christopher Darden

Darden references a 'urinary thing' from their January 22nd phone call to jog Cochran's memory, prompting Ito's deadpan 'enlighten us all' and Darden's reply 'is that an order?'

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran claims he doesn't remember the January 22nd phone call with Darden because 'it wasn't in writing' — delivered amid 23,000 pages of discovery

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4597 • 42 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103