Redirect examination of Louis Karpf (part 2)

📄 Redirect examination of Louis Karpf (part 2) — Wednesday, February 8, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\8\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-LOUIS-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 15 of 167

◀ Sidebar: hearsay objection Recross-examination of Louis Karpf ▶

Witness: Louis Karpf
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 • Utterances: 37

Marcia Clark conducts a brief redirect examination of Louis Karpf, probing the timing of his return home from the airport on the night of the murders and what his girlfriend told him about dogs barking. Clark pins down Karpf's arrival time to no later than 10:50 PM and establishes that he could not identify the dog-walker he saw near Bundy.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNSEL. PROCEED.

# 3 MS. CLARK:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. THE OBJECTION IS OVERRULED?

# 4 THE COURT:

YES.

# 5 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: AND SO THE DAY AFTER THIS DID MISS -- DID YOUR GIRLFRIEND, MISS STEIN, TELL YOU THAT SHE WAS AWAKENED BY DOGS BARKING A HALF HOUR BEFORE YOU GOT HOME?

# 6 A:

WE DID DISCUSS THAT SHE WAS AWAKENED FROM THE PREVIOUS NIGHT BY THE DOGS BARKING, YES.

# 7 Q:

AND DID SHE TELL YOU THAT SHE WAS AWAKENED ABOUT A HALF HOUR BEFORE YOU GOT HOME BY THE DOGS BARKING?

# 8 A:

I WOULD SAY THAT IS FAIRLY ACCURATE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS A HALF HOUR, 45 MINUTES, BUT IT IS IN THAT AREA, YES.

KEY QUOTE

# 9 Q:

I'M SORRY?

# 10 A:

IT WOULD BE WITHIN THAT AREA, A HALF HOUR BEFORE SHE -- BEFORE I GOT HOME AT LEAST, MAYBE EVEN MORE.

# 11 Q:

THAT IS WHAT SHE TOLD YOU?

# 12 A:

RIGHT.

# 13 Q:

AND THAT WAS THE DAY AFTER THE MURDERS?

# 14 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 15 Q:

AND YOU DIDN'T SPEAK TO THE POLICE TO GIVE AN ACTUAL STATEMENT UNTIL JULY 7?

# 16 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 17 Q:

NOW, YOU INDICATED THAT WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OR SO OF 10:45 IS WHEN YOU GOT HOME FROM THE AIRPORT?

# 18 A:

I WOULD SAY IT IS CLOSER TO 10:45, 10:50, IN THAT AREA.

# 19 Q:

SO ARE YOU -- ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOU GOT HOME BEFORE 11:00?

# 20 A:

YES, I AM.

# 21 Q:

ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN?

# 22 A:

ABSOLUTELY.

# 23 Q:

ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOU GOT HOME BEFORE 10:50?

# 24 A:

NOT ABSOLUTELY, NO.

# 25 Q:

OKAY. WHAT IS THE VERY LATEST YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN HOME?

# 26 A:

BY 10:50.

# 27 Q:

NO LATER THAN THAT?

# 28 A:

NO.

# 29 Q:

THE GENTLEMAN THAT YOU INDICATED THAT YOU SAW WALKING THE DOG, YOU DON'T REMEMBER HIS HEIGHT OR HIS WEIGHT? WAS THAT YOUR TESTIMONY?

# 30 A:

YES, I DID. I REALLY DIDN'T -- WASN'T TRYING TO OBSERVE HIM.

# 31 Q:

SO GIVEN THAT FACT, SIR, IF YOU DID SEE HIM AGAIN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WOULD YOU HAVE RECOGNIZED HIM?

# 32 A:

NO, I WOULDN'T.

# 33 Q:

OKAY. DO YOU RECALL HOW LONG YOU WERE OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF BUNDY WHEN YOU WENT TO GET THE MAIL?

# 34 A:

THE WHOLE PROCESS MAY HAVE TAKEN ONE TO TWO MINUTES.

# 35 MS. CLARK:

EXCUSE ME, YOUR HONOR.

# 36 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.)

# 37 MS. CLARK:

I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Witness

I WOULD SAY THAT IS FAIRLY ACCURATE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS A HALF HOUR, 45 MINUTES, BUT IT IS IN THAT AREA, YES.

Karpf confirms his girlfriend was awakened by dogs barking roughly 30-45 minutes before he arrived home, corroborating a timeline detail relevant to the night of the murders.

Witness

NOT ABSOLUTELY, NO.

Clark extracts an admission that Karpf is not absolutely certain he was home before 10:50, subtly softening his earlier certainty about the timeline.

Witness

NO, I WOULDN'T.

Karpf admits he could not recognize the dog-walker again, undermining any evidentiary value of that sighting.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia Clark•Witness

Clark systematically narrows Karpf's certainty about his arrival time — from 'before 11:00' (absolutely certain) to 'before 10:50' (not absolutely certain), landing on 'no later than 10:50' as his firm outer bound.

strategic

Marcia Clark•Witness

Clark establishes that Karpf's girlfriend reported dogs barking about a half hour before he arrived home the night of the murders, and that he didn't give a formal police statement until July 7.

methodical

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Louis Karpf

precision impeachment

Clark peels back Karpf's certainty about his 10:45–10:50 arrival, getting him to admit he is not 'absolutely' certain he was home before 10:50, and that he delayed giving a police statement until July 7 — nearly a month after the murders.

⚔ Louis Karpf

limitations of observation

Clark elicits that Karpf paid so little attention to the dog-walker near Bundy that he could not identify him again, diminishing the significance of that witness detail.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 4728 • 37 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103