Sidebar: photographs and exhibits

📄 Sidebar: photographs and exhibits — Thursday, February 9, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\9\SIDEBAR-PHOTOGRAPHS-AND-EXHIBI.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 16 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Robert Riske (part 1) Direct examination of Robert Riske (part 2) ▶

Date: Thursday, February 9, 1995 • Utterances: 53

At the bench, counsel and Judge Ito physically walked over to the jury box to assess how crime scene photographs appeared on the monitor from the jury's angle. Cochran argued that several photographs were cumulative and overly gruesome, but Ito rejected that argument by methodically describing what distinct evidentiary purpose each of the six photographs served. The parties also agreed to cut the television feed whenever the crime scene photos were displayed, including during cross-examination.

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

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

SORRY. I MAY HAVE RESOLVED THIS. ON THE MONITOR IT LOOKS A LOT CLEARER AND MORE WELL-LIT AND IT MAY BE BECAUSE THAT IS A PARABOLIC SCENE.

# 3 THE COURT:

GO STAND OVER BY THE JURY AND SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

WE CAN DO THAT. THAT MIGHT RESOLVE IT.

# 5 THE COURT:

YES.

# 6 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 7 MS. CLARK:

WHILE WE ARE HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION. WITH RESPECT TO WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE AND NOT TO SEE, WITHOUT IT GETTING INTO AREAS OF SPECULATION, YOUR HONOR, COULDN'T THE OFFICER TESTIFY THAT THE DARKNESS AND THE NATURE OF THE LIGHTING IN THE AREA PRECLUDED HIM FROM SEEING ANYTHING UNTIL HE DIRECTED HIS ATTENTION TO THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION? I DON'T THINK THAT CALLS FOR SPECULATION.

# 8 THE COURT:

YOU CAN ASK HIM QUESTIONS WERE YOU ABLE TO SEE IT WITHOUT THE AID OF YOUR FLASHLIGHT OR WHATEVER. YOU CAN ASK HIM OTHER QUESTIONS FROM WHICH INFERENCES CAN BE DRAWN, BUT TO ASK HIM CONCLUSIONS BASED ON SPECULATION, THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE.

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

NOW, WHILE WE ARE UP HERE, SO WE CAN SAVE SOME TIME AND CUT THESE DOWN, DO YOU WANT TO GET THAT CHART SO WE WON'T WASTE SOME TIME?

# 10 MS. CLARK:

WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND LOOK AT THE SCREEN.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

WHY DON'T YOU BRING IT AROUND THIS WAY.

# 12 THE COURT:

LET'S ALL GO LOOK.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY. LET'S ALL LOOK.

# 14 MS. CLARK:

WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SEE?

# 15 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 16 THE COURT:

THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT COUNSEL ARE GOING OVER TO EXAMINE THE VIEW FROM THE JURY BOX.

# 17 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 18 MR. COCHRAN:

YES. IT IS BECAUSE IT IS LIKE A PARABOLIC SCREEN. FROM THEIR ANGEL THEY CAN SEE IT MUCH BETTER. WHEN WE ARE LOOKING IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS INTENTIONALLY DARK. WE HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT ANYWAY, SO WE CAN SAVE SOME TIME.

# 19 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 20 (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 21 MS. CLARK:

OKAY. I BROUGHT AN ADDITIONAL BOARD SO I COULD COVER IT.

# 22 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU.

# 23 MS. CLARK:

SURE. BY THE WAY, YOU REMEMBER THE VICTIM BOARD. YOU ALREADY LOOKED AT THAT ONE. OKAY. THAT IS GOING TO BE USED FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. REMEMBER?

# 24 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY. WE SAW THIS.

# 25 MS. CLARK:

I DIDN'T KNOW WE CHANGED IT.

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

YOU CHANGED SOMETHING.

# 27 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT THAT COUNSEL ARE OBSERVING TWO BOARDS.

# 28 MS. CLARK:

SO THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, RIGHT?

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

THIS WAS A NEW BOARD FROM YESTERDAY.

# 30 MS. CLARK:

RIGHT.

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

AND I WAS -- I JUST SAW THIS AND I ASKED IF WE COULD SEE IT BEFORE --

# 32 MR. SHAPIRO:

EXCUSE ME.

# 33 MR. COCHRAN:

THERE IS A BRIGHT LIGHT DOWN HERE. EXCUSE ME.

# 34 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 35 MS. CLARK:

REFLECTION THERE.

# 36 THE COURT:

DO YOU WANT TO SHOW TO IT YOUR CLIENT?

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

JUDGE, I JUST HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. I MEAN, THERE IS -- THERE SEEMS TO BE TWO OF EVERYTHING AND WHEN I FIRST SAW THESE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO USE EITHER ONE OF THOSE TWO, IF THEY ARE PROBATIVE, YOU DON'T NEED BOTH OF THEM, AND THE SAME THING WITH MR. GOLDMAN. ONE IS A CLOSE UP SHOT THAN THE OTHER ONE. IT SEEMS TO BE -- HALF OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS SEEMS LIKE THEY OUGHT TO BE ENOUGH. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PRETTY GRUESOME PICTURES.

# 38 THE COURT:

WELL, HERE IS THE PROBLEM, THOUGH, MR. COCHRAN: EACH ONE OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW AND ANGLE. FOR EXAMPLE, GOING FROM TOP TO -- TO THE TOP ROW GOING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT --

# 39 MR. COCHRAN:

YES.

# 40 THE COURT:

-- THE ONE ON THE FAR LEFT SHOWS THE -- WHAT APPEARS TO BE DOG PAW MARKS IN BLOOD AT THE SIDEWALK WHERE THE WALKWAY COME OUT TO THE SIDEWALK. THE SECOND PHOTOGRAPH IN THE CENTER TOP ROW APPEARS TO DEPICT THE LONG PERSPECTIVE. THE THIRD PHOTOGRAPH ON THE TOP ROW APPEARS TO DEPICT NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON IN RELATION TO THE STEPS AND THEN THE GATE AND THE FENCE. ON THE BOTTOM ROW ON THE FAR LEFT IT SHOWS NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON, BUT ALSO HER PROXIMITY TO THE ENVELOPE WHICH CONTAINS THE GLASSES. AND THEN THE MIDDLE PHOTOGRAPH BOTTOM ROW SHOWS THE ENVELOPE AND ITS PROXIMITY TO RONALD GOLDMAN. AND THEN THE SIXTH PHOTOGRAPH BOTTOM ROW ON THE FAR RIGHT SHOWS RONALD GOLDMAN IN A MORE CLOSE-UP NATURE, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S -- EACH ONE OF THESE TELLS US A DIFFERENT STORY, SO THEY ARE NOT CUMULATIVE.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

ALL RIGHT. IN REGARD TO THESE PHOTOGRAPHS, YOUR HONOR, OBVIOUSLY WE WILL CUT THE FEED WHEN WE GET TO THIS POINT?

# 42 MS. CLARK:

I THINK WE OUGHT TO HAVE THE FEED CUT PERIOD WITH THIS WITNESS BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING. HE'S THE FIRST OFFICER ON THE SCENE.

# 43 THE COURT:

UH-HUH.

# 44 MS. CLARK:

IF YOU WANT, YOUR HONOR, I WILL TELL THE COURT WHEN THERE IS SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT, BUT THE FEED DOESN'T NEED TO BE CUT FOR IT, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW.

# 45 THE COURT:

UH-HUH.

# 46 MR. COCHRAN:

UNLESS CROSS-EXAMINATION --

# 47 MR. SHAPIRO:

YOUR HONOR, CAN WE KILL THE PICTURE THAT HAS BEEN UP THERE? IT HAS BEEN UP THERE FOR A REALLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

KEY QUOTE

# 48 THE COURT:

OKAY.

# 49 MS. CLARK:

SURE. (BRIEF PAUSE.)

# 50 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY.

# 51 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENT?

# 52 MR. COCHRAN:

NO. I THINK THAT HE -- YEAH. IF WE ARE GOING TO CUT THE FEED DURING THIS PORTION, I WOULD ALSO LIKE YOU TO DO IT ON CROSS-EXAMINATION, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF THEY ARE GOING TO GO INTO THIS, I'VE GOT TO CROSS-EXAMINE RISKE ON THE SAME THING.

# 53 THE COURT:

I UNDERSTAND. ALL RIGHT.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran

HALF OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS SEEMS LIKE THEY OUGHT TO BE ENOUGH. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PRETTY GRUESOME PICTURES.

Defense argument that the volume of crime scene photos is prejudicial — a standard attempt to limit cumulative graphic evidence.

Lance A. Ito

EACH ONE OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW AND ANGLE... THE ONE ON THE FAR LEFT SHOWS THE -- WHAT APPEARS TO BE DOG PAW MARKS IN BLOOD AT THE SIDEWALK... EACH ONE OF THESE TELLS US A DIFFERENT STORY, SO THEY ARE NOT CUMULATIVE.

Ito personally walks through all six photos to rule they are not cumulative — an unusually hands-on judicial analysis that forecloses the defense's exclusion argument.

Robert Shapiro

YOUR HONOR, CAN WE KILL THE PICTURE THAT HAS BEEN UP THERE? IT HAS BEEN UP THERE FOR A REALLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

Shapiro's concern that a crime scene image has been visible to the jury (or public) too long — suggesting awareness of the prejudicial impact of prolonged exposure.

Evidence (2)

Informal

Board of six crime scene photographs arranged in two rows: top row showing dog paw prints in blood, a long-perspective shot, and Nicole Brown Simpson in relation to the steps/gate; bottom row showing Nicole's proximity to the envelope containing eyeglasses, the envelope's proximity to Ronald Goldman, and a close-up of Goldman.

discussed, cumulativeness challenge rejected by court

Informal

A second board described as the 'victim board,' previously reviewed, intended for a different purpose

referenced, identified during bench review

Notable Exchanges (3)

Lance A. Ito•Johnnie Cochran

After Cochran argued the photographs were duplicative and gruesome, Ito methodically described each of the six photographs — dog paw prints in blood, long perspective, Nicole near the gate, Nicole near the eyeglass envelope, the envelope near Goldman, Goldman close-up — and ruled each served a distinct evidentiary purpose.

strategic

Lance A. Ito•Marcia Clark•Johnnie Cochran

All parties and the judge physically walked from the bench to the jury box to assess how the monitor displayed the photographs from the jurors' vantage point. Cochran noted the parabolic screen made images appear much clearer from that angle.

procedural

Marcia Clark•Johnnie Cochran

Agreement reached that the TV feed would be cut during the first officer's entire testimony (since it would consist entirely of crime scene photos), and also during Cochran's cross-examination of Officer Riske on the same material.

procedural

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

The entire bench — judge, prosecutors, and defense — collectively migrated from the sidebar to the jury box to peer at the monitor together, with Ito noting for the record that 'counsel are going over to examine the view from the jury box.'

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4742 • 53 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103