Court called to order

📄 Court called to order — Tuesday, January 24, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\24\COURT-CALLED-TO-ORDER.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 5 of 167

◀ Recess until 10:30 Opening statement — Christopher Darden ▶

Date: Tuesday, January 24, 1995 • Utterances: 15

The court is called to order with all counsel present, and the jury is brought in to begin the opening statement phase of the trial. Judge Ito briefly instructs the jury that attorney opening statements are not evidence but rather a 'road map' for evaluating the evidence to come, noting the case will be long and evidence may be presented out of chronological order. Both sides confirm readiness, and Christopher Darden is called to begin the People's opening statement.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT, OUT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. BACK ON THE RECORD IN THE SIMPSON MATTER. MR. SIMPSON IS AGAIN PRESENT BEFORE THE COURT WITH HIS COUNSEL, MR. SHAPIRO, MR. UELMEN, MR. COCHRAN, MR. DOUGLAS, MR. BAILEY, PEOPLE REPRESENTED BY MISS CLARK, MR. DARDEN AND MR. HODGMAN. THE JURY IS NOT PRESENT. DEPUTY MAGNERA, MAY WE HAVE THE JURY, PLEASE.

# 3 THE BAILIFF:

YES, YOUR HONOR.

# 4 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)

# 5 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL AND THE AUDIENCE, PLEASE BE SEATED. ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

# 6 THE JURY:

GOOD MORNING.

# 7 THE COURT:

WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN WITH THE OPENING STATEMENTS MADE BY THE LAWYERS IN THE CASE. LET ME REMIND YOU FROM MY INSTRUCTIONS TO YOU YESTERDAY THAT ANY STATEMENTS MADE TO YOU BY THE ATTORNEYS DURING THE COURSE OF THEIR OPENING STATEMENTS ARE NOT EVIDENCE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH BY YOU. THESE OPENING STATEMENTS ARE NORMALLY GIVEN BY THE ATTORNEYS TO SORT OF GIVE YOU AN OVERALL VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE THAT THEY INTEND TO PRESENT. IT'S TO GIVE YOU A ROAD MAP SO TO SPEAK AS TO HOW TO EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE. THIS CASE, AS YOU KNOW, WILL BE RELATIVELY LONG. AND BY NECESSITY, SOME OF THIS EVIDENCE WILL BE PRESENTED TO YOU OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL OR LOGICAL ORDER. SO THEY'LL NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU THE CASE THAT THEY INTEND TO PRESENT. ALL RIGHT. ARE BOTH SIDES PREPARED TO GO FORWARD? MR. COCHRAN?

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

WE ARE, YOUR HONOR.

# 9 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK?

# 10 MS. CLARK:

YES, WE ARE, YOUR HONOR.

# 11 THE COURT:

DO THE PEOPLE WISH TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT?

# 12 MS. CLARK:

YES, WE DO, THANK YOU.

# 13 THE COURT:

YOU MAY PROCEED. MR. DARDEN.

# 14 MR. DARDEN:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 15 THE COURT:

THANK YOU.

OPENING STATEMENT

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (1)

Lance A. Ito

THESE OPENING STATEMENTS ARE NORMALLY GIVEN BY THE ATTORNEYS TO SORT OF GIVE YOU AN OVERALL VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE THAT THEY INTEND TO PRESENT. IT'S TO GIVE YOU A ROAD MAP SO TO SPEAK AS TO HOW TO EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE.

Ito's framing instruction to the jury sets expectations for a complex, lengthy case with non-linear evidence presentation.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4468 • 15 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103