Sidebar: witness scope

📄 Sidebar: witness scope — Monday, February 6, 1995

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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\6\SIDEBAR-WITNESS-SCOPE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 13 of 167

◀ Administrative matters Direct examination of Candace Garvey ▶

Date: Monday, February 6, 1995 • Utterances: 50

A bench conference to establish the scope of Candace Garvey's testimony before she takes the stand. Darden attempts to expand beyond the recital to include a 1993 Christmas party incident involving a man named Joseph Perulli, but Judge Ito has no record of that incident in his prior domestic violence rulings and declines to allow it. Garvey ends up being called to testify only about the recital.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

BACK ON THE RECORD, UNSEALED.

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

THE NEXT WITNESS IS CINDY GARVEY?

# 4 MR. DARDEN:

CANDACE GARVEY.

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE IT CLEAR WHERE COUNSEL IS GOING TO GO, BECAUSE EACH TIME THEY DON'T TALK TO THEIR WITNESSES AND WE GET A LOT OF EXTRA STUFF IN, AND I WANT TO TRY TO AVOID JUST THAT. YOU SAID THAT IS PERMISSIBLE, SO MAYBE IF WE COULD HAVE AN OFFER OF PROOF.

# 6 THE COURT:

WHICH INCIDENTS? SHE IS JUST FOR THE RECITAL, TOO, ISN'T SHE?

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

ONLY THE RECITAL.

# 8 MS. CLARK:

THAT IS IT?

# 9 MR. DARDEN:

I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW.

KEY QUOTE

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

THREE DIFFERENT ANSWERS.

KEY QUOTE

# 11 MR. DARDEN:

THIS IS A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH. SHE MAY, YOU KNOW, TESTIFY TO SOMETHING ELSE, JUDGE.

KEY QUOTE

# 12 MR. COCHRAN:

WHAT IF HE KEPT IT OUT? DOES THAT BOTHER YOU AT ALL?

# 13 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. COME ON. COUNSEL, COUNSEL. THE OFFER OF PROOF IS THAT SHE IS GOING TO TESTIFY TO THE AFTERNOON OR THE EVENING RECITAL? WAS SHE ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WENT TO DINNER?

# 14 MS. CLARK:

NO, SHE DIDN'T GO.

# 15 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 16 MR. DARDEN:

WE ARE NOT GOING TO ASK HER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HIM TELLING HER IN CHURCH THAT HE CHEATED ON HIS WIFE AND ALL THAT OTHER --

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

THIS IS PART OF THE RECORD. IF YOU DON'T MIND, YOUR HONOR, WOULD YOU --

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

# 19 THE COURT:

WE ARE TALKING JUST THE AFTERNOON OF THE RECITAL, CORRECT?

# 20 MR. DARDEN:

WELL, THERE IS AN INCIDENT -- LET ME GET THE STATEMENT BECAUSE THERE IS AN INCIDENT IN WHICH SHE SEES A BRUISE ON NICOLE.

# 21 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 22 THE COURT:

BACK ON THE RECORD. AS TO CANDY GARVEY, WHAT ELSE IS SHE GOING TO TESTIFY TO? JUST THE RECITAL?

# 23 MR. DARDEN:

SHE IS GOING TO TESTIFY TO THE RECITAL. ARE YOU GOING TO ALLOW US THAT HE TOLD HER IN CHURCH IN 1991 THAT HE --

# 24 MR. COCHRAN:

NO.

# 25 MR. DARDEN:

I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY?

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

THAT IS NOT ON THE LIST.

# 27 MR. DARDEN:

I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED THE STATEMENT YET, MR. COCHRAN.

# 28 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY.

# 29 MR. DARDEN:

NEVER MIND. NEVER MIND. THERE IS AN INCIDENT IN 1993, CHRISTMAS EVE, INVOLVING JOSEPH PERULLI, WHICH YOU ALLOWED IN WHERE THEY HAD -- PERULLI SHOWED UP AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY, HE GOT UPSET AND STORMED OUT. I BELIEVE YOU ALLOWED THAT IN.

# 30 THE COURT:

NEVER HEARD OF IT.

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

NEVER HEARD OF IT. IT WASN'T BROUGHT UP IN THE DOMESTIC STUFF.

# 32 THE COURT:

I DON'T HAVE IT IN MY RULING.

# 33 MR. COCHRAN:

NOT IN THE RULING AND IT IS NOT IN MY INCIDENT INDEX. HOLD ON.

# 34 MS. CLARK:

ARE YOU SURE, JUDGE?

# 35 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 36 THE COURT:

CHRIS, HONESTLY, I DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT INCIDENT.

ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, I HAVE GONE THROUGH MY LIST OF THE EVENTS, AND I DON'T HAVE A JOSEPH PERULLI MENTIONED. LET ME CHECK ONE MORE TIME, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE I DON'T HAVE IT HERE.

KEY QUOTE

# 37 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 38 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MR. DARDEN, I DON'T SEE IT HERE AND IT IS NOT IN MY INCIDENT REPORT.

# 39 MR. DARDEN:

DO YOU SEE THE 1993 JANUARY CHRISTMAS PARTY ANYWHERE? THAT MIGHT --

# 40 MR. COCHRAN:

AND WE REALLY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT, CHRIS, SO --

# 41 THE COURT:

HONESTLY, I DON'T HAVE THAT.

# 42 MR. COCHRAN:

WE ARE NOT PREPARED ON THAT. STEVE GARVEY MIGHT BE A POTENTIAL WITNESS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE HIM WAIT OUTSIDE.

# 43 THE COURT:

SCOTT, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.

# 44 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 45 THE COURT:

OKAY. ARE YOU READY?

# 46 MR. DARDEN:

PUT SOMEBODY ON, BUT THAT IS JUST FILLER.

# 47 THE COURT:

OKAY.

# 48 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, ARE YOU READY? LET'S HAVE THE JURORS, PLEASE.

# 49 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. BE SEATED. ALL RIGHT. THE PEOPLE MAY CALL THEIR NEXT WITNESS.

# 50 MR. DARDEN:

CANDACE GARVEY, YOUR HONOR.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Christopher Darden

I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW.

Darden admits he doesn't know exactly what his own witness will testify to, prompting Cochran's sharp observation about the prosecution's lack of coordination.

Johnnie Cochran

THREE DIFFERENT ANSWERS.

Cochran's dry jab at the prosecution's disorganization — Clark, Darden, and apparent uncertainty produced contradictory responses in quick succession.

Christopher Darden

THIS IS A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH. SHE MAY, YOU KNOW, TESTIFY TO SOMETHING ELSE, JUDGE.

Darden tries to justify his vagueness by invoking the truth-seeking function of trial, which reads as a weak deflection given his admitted uncertainty.

Lance A. Ito

CHRIS, HONESTLY, I DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT INCIDENT. ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, I HAVE GONE THROUGH MY LIST OF THE EVENTS, AND I DON'T HAVE A JOSEPH PERULLI MENTIONED.

Ito flatly shuts down the Perulli Christmas party incident, confirming it was never part of his prior domestic violence rulings.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Christopher Darden•Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Darden tries to introduce a 1993 Christmas Eve incident in which OJ allegedly got upset and stormed out of a party when Joseph Perulli arrived. Cochran says it's not on the incident index; Ito says it's not in his ruling. The incident is effectively blocked without a formal ruling.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden

Cochran interrupts Darden mid-sentence to say the church confession incident 'is not on the list,' prompting Darden to snap back that he hasn't finished his statement yet.

tense

Light Moments (2)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran deadpans 'THREE DIFFERENT ANSWERS' after Clark and Darden give conflicting responses about what Garvey will testify to.

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran mistakenly calls the witness 'Cindy Garvey'; Darden corrects him with 'Candace Garvey.'

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4708 • 50 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103