Jury scheduling and discovery matters

📄 Jury scheduling and discovery matters — Tuesday, January 24, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\24\JURY-SCHEDULING-AND-DISCOVERY-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 5 of 167

◀ Motion: opening statement exhibits Sidebar: sealed proceedings ▶

Date: Tuesday, January 24, 1995 • Utterances: 18

Before opening statements begin, the prosecution raises a discovery complaint against the defense, noting they received yet another late witness statement — a memo from defense investigator William Pavelic dated November 2, 1994. Hodgman asks the court to order the defense to turn over all outstanding witness statements immediately. Carl Douglas disputes Hodgman's characterization of their earlier exchange and commits to auditing the defense files overnight, with Judge Ito ordering him to report back the next morning.

# 1 MR. COCHRAN:

WHAT TIME, YOUR HONOR?

# 2 THE COURT:

3:30, TO ACCOMMODATE THAT. AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TALK TO COUNSEL AT SOME POINT IN TIME REGARDING YOUR PROPOSAL REGARDING A SCENE VIEW, WHEN YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE INVITE THE JURORS TO JOIN US?

# 3 MR. HODGMAN:

YOUR HONOR, MAY WE HAVE A MOMENT?

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

# 5 THE COURT:

AND THE NEW CHART WILL BE PEOPLE'S NEXT IN ORDER, A PHOTOCOPY OF THAT, FOR THE RECORD PURPOSES. ALL RIGHT. MR. HODGMAN.

# 6 (COURT'S 3 FOR ID = CHART)

# 7 MR. HODGMAN:

THANK YOU AND GOOD MORNING, YOUR HONOR. YOUR HONOR, FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS A MATTER THAT WE WILL NEED TO APPROACH SIDE BAR. I THINK THE COURT CAN HANDLE IT QUICKLY, BUT IT IS A POINT OF INFORMATION I THINK ALL OF COUNSEL NEED TO KNOW BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH OPENING STATEMENTS.

# 8 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 9 MR. HODGMAN:

BEFORE WE DO THAT, YOUR HONOR, BEFORE WE DO THAT -- I'M SORRY, I WAS JUST -- YESTERDAY WE RAISED A DISCOVERY CONCERN WITH REGARD TO THE DEFENSE. THIS MORNING I HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH ANOTHER WITNESS STATEMENT FROM THE DEFENSE, A MEMORANDUM FROM A MR. WILLIAM PAVELIC DATED NOVEMBER 2ND, 1994. I HAD ASKED THE COURT YESTERDAY THAT THE COURT ORDER THAT THE DEFENSE TURN OVER ALL DISCOVERY THAT IS IN THEIR PIPELINE, SO TO SPEAK, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BE SURPRISED ANY MORE. NOW, I HAVE ASKED MR. DOUGLAS THIS MORNING IS THIS IT? IS THERE ANY OTHER WITNESS STATEMENT THAT THEY HAVE, REGARDLESS OF AGE, AND I BELIEVE HIS RESPONSE WAS THAT HE COULD NOT BE DEFINITIVE ABOUT IT. IS THAT CORRECT, MR. DOUGLAS?

# 10 MR. DOUGLAS:

NO, THAT IS NOT CORRECT.

KEY QUOTE

# 11 MR. HODGMAN:

I WILL LET HIM SPEAK FOR HIMSELF, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE THE COURT TO DO IS TO REMIND THE DEFENSE OF THEIR OBLIGATION TO TURN OVER TO US WITNESS STATEMENTS TIMELY FASHIONED. WE ARE ASKING THAT EVERYTHING BE DISGORGED, AS I DID YESTERDAY, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT ORDER MADE CLEAR FOR THE DEFENSE.

# 12 THE COURT:

MR. DOUGLAS.

# 13 MR. DOUGLAS:

YOUR HONOR, YESTERDAY THERE WAS A SPECIFIC REFERENCE MADE TO AN INTERVIEW OF A SCOTT MATSUDA WHOSE NAME WAS ADDED TO THE WITNESS LIST AND I SPECIFICALLY HAD ASKED MY INVESTIGATOR FOR THAT PARTICULAR REPORT AND I ASKED HIM TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THE NAMES THAT WERE ADDED THAT THERE WERE ANY REPORTS THAT HAD NOT BEEN TURNED OVER. THAT WAS THE REPORT THAT I WAS GIVEN. THAT WAS THE REPORT THAT I TURNED OVER AND I WILL AGAIN ENDEAVOR TO REVIEW MY FILES, TO REVIEW THE FILES OF THE OTHER COUNSEL, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NOT ANY OTHER REPORTS STILL OUTSTANDING THAT HAVE NOT BEEN TURNED OVER. AND IF I FIND SO, I WILL GIVE THEM TO MR. HODGMAN.

# 14 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO REPORT BACK TO THE COURT TOMORROW MORNING, MR. DOUGLAS, AS TO THAT SEARCH.

# 15 MR. DOUGLAS:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 16 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MR. HODGMAN, CAN WE APPROACH NOW?

# 17 MR. HODGMAN:

YES.

# 18 THE COURT:

THANK YOU.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

William Hodgman

WE DON'T WANT TO BE SURPRISED ANY MORE. NOW, I HAVE ASKED MR. DOUGLAS THIS MORNING IS THIS IT? IS THERE ANY OTHER WITNESS STATEMENT THAT THEY HAVE, REGARDLESS OF AGE

Signals an ongoing pattern of late defense discovery disclosures that is frustrating the prosecution on the eve of opening statements.

William Hodgman

I WOULD LIKE THE COURT TO DO IS TO REMIND THE DEFENSE OF THEIR OBLIGATION TO TURN OVER TO US WITNESS STATEMENTS TIMELY FASHIONED. WE ARE ASKING THAT EVERYTHING BE DISGORGED

Hodgman's use of 'disgorged' signals the prosecution's aggressive posture on discovery compliance.

Carl Douglas

NO, THAT IS NOT CORRECT.

Direct, flat contradiction of Hodgman's on-the-record characterization of their private conversation — a small but pointed moment of pushback.

Carl Douglas

I WILL AGAIN ENDEAVOR TO REVIEW MY FILES, TO REVIEW THE FILES OF THE OTHER COUNSEL, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NOT ANY OTHER REPORTS STILL OUTSTANDING THAT HAVE NOT BEEN TURNED OVER.

Douglas commits to a broader audit of the entire defense team's files, implying the discovery pipeline may span multiple attorneys.

Evidence (2)

Court's 3 for ID

A chart (photocopy) marked for record purposes — contents unspecified in this excerpt.

marked

Informal

Memorandum from defense investigator William Pavelic dated November 2, 1994, constituting a witness statement turned over late.

disclosed by defense, flagged by prosecution

Notable Exchanges (2)

William Hodgman•Carl Douglas

Hodgman characterizes Douglas as having said he 'could not be definitive' about whether more witness statements exist; Douglas immediately and flatly denies saying that on the record.

strategic

William Hodgman•Lance A. Ito

Hodgman requests a court order requiring the defense to turn over all discovery in their pipeline, framing it as preventing further surprise disclosures before opening statements.

procedural

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4430 • 18 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103