Recross-examination of Pablo Fenjves (part 2)

📄 Recross-examination of Pablo Fenjves (part 2) — Tuesday, February 7, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\7\RECROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-PABLO-F.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 14 of 167

◀ Redirect examination of Pablo Fenjves (part 3) Jury recess ▶

Witness: Pablo Fenjves
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, February 7, 1995 • Utterances: 14

Cochran concludes his recross of neighbor Pablo Fenjves with a single pointed question: Fenjves admitted he did not know at the time that the house he heard the dog barking toward was Nicole's — he learned that only later through news coverage. The witness was then excused by the judge.

# 1 MR. COCHRAN:

ONE LAST QUESTION.

FURTHER RECROSS-EXAMINATION

# 2

BY MR. COCHRAN:

# 3 Q:

WHEN YOU SAID YOU LOOKED TOWARDS NICOLE'S HOUSE, YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS NICOLE'S HOUSE AT THAT TIME. SOMEBODY TOLD YOU THAT; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 4 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 5 Q:

WHO TOLD YOU THAT?

# 6 A:

WELL, OBVIOUSLY IN THE COURSE OF THE --

# 7 Q:

WHO TOLD YOU THAT?

# 8 A:

I CAN'T REMEMBER. I MEAN IT WAS JUST -- IT WAS BASICALLY INTERNATIONAL NEWS.

KEY QUOTE

# 9 Q:

OH, OKAY.

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

NOTHING FURTHER.

# 11 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK.

# 12 PABLO FENJVES:

THANK YOU.

# 13 THE COURT:

MR. FENJVES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING IN. I'M GOING TO EXCUSE YOU FROM FURTHER TESTIMONY AT THIS TIME. PLEASE DON'T DISCUSS YOUR TESTIMONY WITH ANYBODY ELSE EXCEPT FOR THE LAWYERS UNTIL THE CASE IS OVER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ORDER, SIR?

# 14 PABLO FENJVES:

THANK YOU.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (2)

Pablo Fenjves

I CAN'T REMEMBER. I MEAN IT WAS JUST -- IT WAS BASICALLY INTERNATIONAL NEWS.

Fenjves concedes his identification of Nicole's house as the source of the 'plaintive wail' came from post-event media exposure, not direct knowledge — undermining the precision of his timeline testimony.

Johnnie Cochran

YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS NICOLE'S HOUSE AT THAT TIME. SOMEBODY TOLD YOU THAT; IS THAT RIGHT?

Cochran's sole question plants the seed that Fenjves's testimony was colored by retrospective knowledge, not contemporaneous observation.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Pablo Fenjves

Cochran asks Fenjves twice in quick succession who told him the house was Nicole's — interrupting Fenjves's first attempt to explain — forcing the admission that he simply absorbed it from news coverage and cannot name a specific source.

strategic

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Pablo Fenjves

foundation challenge / post-hoc knowledge

Cochran establishes that Fenjves's identification of the location as Nicole's house was not based on independent knowledge at the time of the events, but on subsequent media saturation — suggesting his timeline testimony may be unconsciously reconstructed rather than purely recalled.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4722 • 14 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103