Redirect examination of Louis Karpf (part 3)

📄 Redirect examination of Louis Karpf (part 3) — Wednesday, February 8, 1995

Address:

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

TRIAL

▲ Day 15 of 167

◀ Recross-examination of Louis Karpf Sidebar: repeated questioning ▶

Witness: Louis Karpf
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 • Utterances: 63

Marcia Clark conducts further redirect examination of Louis Karpf, focusing on his police statement from July 7 regarding the time he arrived home from LAX (10:50 to 11:00 PM) and his girlfriend Eva Stein's account of dogs barking between 10:00 and 10:30 PM. Clark attempts to pin down Karpf's arrival time more precisely, but the witness hedges — saying it was 'closer to 10:50' but acknowledging 11:00 was possible. The proceeding ends at sidebar after repeated 'asked and answered' objections from Cochran.

# 1 LOUIS KARPF:

THANK YOU.

# 2 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK.

# 3 MS. CLARK:

DIRECTING COUNSEL'S ATTENTION TO PAGE 908 OF THE MURDER BOOK.

FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION

# 4

BY MS. CLARK:

# 5 Q:

MR. KARPF, I'M SHOWING YOU A STATEMENT HERE. DO YOU SEE YOUR NAME AT THE TOP?

# 6 A:

YES, I DO.

# 7 Q:

ALL RIGHT. I'M GOING TO DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO A LINE RIGHT HERE WHERE IT SAYS "WITNESS FURTHER STATED."

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I APPROACH, YOUR HONOR?

# 9 THE COURT:

YES.

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

# 11 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK.

# 12 MS. CLARK:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 13 Q:

NOW, THIS IS YOUR WITNESS STATEMENT, RIGHT, MR. KARPF?

# 14 A:

RIGHT.

# 15 Q:

YOUR NAME IS AT THE TOP?

# 16 A:

UH-HUH.

# 17 Q:

IT SAYS HERE:

"WITNESS FURTHER STATED THAT HIS GIRLFRIEND, EVA STEIN, HEARD DOGS BARKING EARLIER IN THE EVENING BETWEEN TEN O'CLOCK AND 10:30." WAS THAT YOUR STATEMENT TO THE POLICE, SIR?

# 18 A:

THAT IS WHAT I SAID, YES.

# 19 Q:

WAS THAT YOUR BEST RECOLLECTION BACK ON JULY 7 AS TO WHAT SHE HAD TOLD YOU?

# 20 A:

THAT WOULD BE MY BEST RECOLLECTION, YES.

# 21 Q:

AND DO YOU RECALL HER ALSO TELLING YOU, SIR, THAT SHE WAS AWAKENED BY DOGS BARKING A HALF AN HOUR BEFORE YOU GOT HOME?

# 22 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 23 Q:

NOW, IN YOUR STATEMENT ALSO YOU INDICATED THAT YOU ARRIVED HOME FROM LOS ANGELES AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 10:50 TO ELEVEN O'CLOCK?

# 24 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 25 Q:

HOW CAREFULLY WERE YOU QUESTIONED AS TO THE TIMING OF YOUR ARRIVAL FROM THE AIRPORT?

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECT TO THE FORM OF THAT QUESTION, YOUR HONOR.

# 27 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 28 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: AT THIS TIME, SIR, YOU'VE MADE AN EFFORT TO RECALL VERY PRECISELY WHAT TIME YOU GOT HOME; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 29 A:

YES, I HAVE.

# 30 Q:

AT THE TIME THAT YOU SPOKE TO THE POLICE WERE YOU AWARE THAT THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT OF YOUR STATEMENT WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT?

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECT TO THE FORM OF THAT QUESTION, YOUR HONOR. ARGUMENTATIVE AND I WOULD --

# 32 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 33 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: SIR, CAN YOU TELL US, DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA -- DID YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO BE -- TO BE VERY PRECISE IN THE TIMES THAT YOU GAVE THE POLICE OFFICERS WITH RESPECT TO WHEN YOU ARRIVED HOME FROM THE AIRPORT?

# 34 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECT TO THE FORM OF THAT QUESTION, YOUR HONOR. IT HAS BEEN ASKED AND ANSWERED. 10:50 TO ELEVEN O'CLOCK IS FAIRLY APPROXIMATE.

# 35 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 36 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: DO YOU REMEMBER THE QUESTION?

# 37 A:

STATE IT AGAIN SO I CAN ANSWER IT CORRECTLY.

# 38 MS. CLARK:

LET ME FIND IT.

# 39 THE COURT:

THE QUESTION WAS DID YOU TRY TO BE VERY PRECISE IN HIS ANSWERS TO THE OFFICERS AS TO THE TIMES.

# 40 MS. CLARK:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 41 Q:

DID YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO BE VERY PRECISE IN THE TIME THAT YOU GAVE THE POLICE OFFICERS WITH RESPECT TO WHEN YOU ARRIVED FROM THE AIRPORT?

# 42 A:

YES. I KNEW IT WAS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION AND DID TRY TO BE ACCURATE.

KEY QUOTE

# 43 Q:

OKAY. AND YOU TOLD THEM BETWEEN 10:50 AND ELEVEN O'CLOCK?

# 44 A:

THAT IS WHAT I SAID.

# 45 Q:

AND WAS THAT ACCURATE?

# 46 A:

I WOULD SAY IT WAS -- IT WAS FAIRLY -- YES, IT WAS ACCURATE.

# 47 Q:

WELL, TODAY YOU ARE SAYING IT WAS NO LATER THAN 10:50?

# 48 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECT, YOUR HONOR. SHE IS ARGUING WITH THE WITNESS, YOUR HONOR. I WOULD LIKE TO APPROACH.

# 49 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 50 LOUIS KARPF:

I WOULD SAY IT WAS CLOSER TO 10:50 THAN 11:00, BUT WITHIN THAT TEN MINUTES, WITHOUT DOCUMENTING IT, THAT WOULD BE ACCURATE.

KEY QUOTE

# 51 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: SO IS IT YOUR TESTIMONY AT THIS TIME THAT YOU COULD HAVE ARRIVED HOME AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK?

# 52 A:

I DON'T THINK SO, BUT THAT WOULD BE A POSSIBILITY.

KEY QUOTE

# 53 Q:

WHAT IS YOUR RECOLLECTION TODAY, SIR, AS TO WHEN YOU GOT HOME?

# 54 MR. COCHRAN:

ASKED AND ANSWERED, YOUR HONOR.

# 55 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 56 LOUIS KARPF:

IT WAS CLOSER TO 10:50.

# 57 Q:

AND SO IF YOU WERE TO GIVE THE MOST ACCURATE ESTIMATE OF WHEN YOU GOT HOME, THAT TIME WOULD BE?

# 58 MR. COCHRAN:

ASKED AND ANSWERED, YOUR HONOR.

# 59 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 60 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: SIR, YOU INDICATED THAT YOU GOT -- YOUR PLANE LANDED AT TEN O'CLOCK AND YOU FELT THAT YOU --

# 61 MR. COCHRAN:

THIS HAS BEEN ASKED AND ANSWERED, YOUR HONOR.

# 62 MS. CLARK:

FOUNDATIONAL.

# 63 THE COURT:

COUNSEL, LET'S APPROACH WITH THE COURT REPORTER, PLEASE.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Louis Karpf

I KNEW IT WAS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION AND DID TRY TO BE ACCURATE.

Karpf affirms he was consciously precise when giving police his arrival time, bolstering the reliability of the 10:50–11:00 window for the prosecution's timeline.

Louis Karpf

I WOULD SAY IT WAS CLOSER TO 10:50 THAN 11:00, BUT WITHIN THAT TEN MINUTES, WITHOUT DOCUMENTING IT, THAT WOULD BE ACCURATE.

Karpf slightly narrows his arrival time toward 10:50, which matters for the prosecution's timeline of events at Bundy, but he still leaves a 10-minute window open.

Louis Karpf

I DON'T THINK SO, BUT THAT WOULD BE A POSSIBILITY.

When pressed whether he could have arrived at 11:00 PM, Karpf admits it's possible — undercutting Clark's effort to establish a firm earlier time.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Page 908 of the Murder Book — Karpf's witness statement from July 7, recording Eva Stein's account of dogs barking between 10:00 and 10:30 PM, and Karpf's arrival time of approximately 10:50 to 11:00 PM

read into record, used to refresh and test witness recollection

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia Clark•Johnnie Cochran•Louis Karpf

Clark repeatedly asks Karpf to pin down his arrival time more precisely; Cochran objects multiple times on 'asked and answered' grounds, with mixed results from Ito. The proceeding ends at sidebar after Cochran's final objection.

strategic

Lance A. Ito•Marcia Clark

Ito reads the pending question back to Clark after the witness asks her to restate it, an unusual moment of judicial assistance.

procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Louis Karpf

prior inconsistent statement / precision challenge

Clark uses Karpf's own July 7 police statement to probe whether his current testimony (arrival 'closer to 10:50') is more precise than what he originally told police (10:50 to 11:00), implicitly questioning whether his recollection has sharpened or shifted over time.

Objections

7 objections (3 sustained, 3 overruled)

Proceeding 4730 • 63 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103