Jury admonition and attorney notification

📄 Jury admonition and attorney notification — Monday, January 30, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\30\JURY-ADMONITION-AND-ATTORNEY-N.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 8 of 167

◀ Sidebar: discovery and sanctions Opening statement — Johnnie Cochran (part 1) ▶

Date: Monday, January 30, 1995 • Utterances: 7

Judge Ito instructs the jury about a two-day delay caused by the defense's failure to disclose six witnesses and their statements to the prosecution before trial, as required by California law. He explains that Bill Hodgman is absent due to illness but that the parties have agreed to proceed. The judge directs the jury to disregard defense counsel's opening statement references to those undisclosed witnesses, while carefully noting that the attorneys' violation should not be taken as evidence of the defendant's guilt.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

EXCUSE ME, MR. COCHRAN, MR. DOUGLAS, WHY DON'T YOU BE SEATED UNTIL I FINISH INSTRUCTING THE JURY.

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 4 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, BE SEATED, PLEASE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

# 5 THE JURY:

GOOD MORNING.

# 6 THE COURT:

EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE SMILING TODAY. GOOD. ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY, I NEED TO ADVISE YOU OF CERTAIN THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, ONE OF THE ATTORNEYS HAS FALLEN ILL, MR. HODGMAN, AND HE IS NOT WITH US TODAY; HOWEVER, THE PARTIES HAVE ELECTED TO PROCEED IN HIS ABSENCE. ALSO, I NEED TO INSTRUCT YOU AND TO EXPLAIN TO YOU SOME OF THE REASONS FOR THE DELAY THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY, THE LAWS GOVERNING CRIMINAL PROCEDURE IN CALIFORNIA REQUIRE THAT EACH SIDE DISCLOSE AND GIVE TO THE OTHER SIDE THE NAMES OF THE PERSONS THEY INTEND TO PRESENT AS WITNESSES AND ANY WRITTEN RECORD OR RECORDING OF THE STATEMENTS MADE BY THESE WITNESSES. THE LAW ALSO REQUIRES THE DISCLOSURE OF ANY REAL OR TANGIBLE EVIDENCE. THESE DISCLOSURES MUST BE MADE BEFORE TRIAL IF THE WITNESSES OR EVIDENCE ARE THEN KNOWN. THESE LAWS EXIST TO PROMOTE THE ASCERTAINMENT OF TRUTH IN TRIALS, TO SAVE COURT TIME AND TO AVOID THE NECESSITY FOR FREQUENT INTERRUPTIONS AND POSTPONEMENTS. DURING THE COURSE OF THE OPENING STATEMENTS DEFENSE COUNSEL MENTIONED WITNESSES WHO HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN DISCLOSED TO THE PROSECUTION OR WHOSE WRITTEN STATEMENTS WERE NOT GIVEN TO THE PROSECUTION BEFORE TRIAL, AS REQUIRED BY LAW. THIS VIOLATION OF THE LAW -- THIS WAS A VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND ONE OF THE CAUSES OF THE TWO-DAY DELAY, INCLUDING THE ABSENCE OF MR. HODGMAN. KEEPING IN MIND THAT STATEMENTS BY THE LAWYERS ARE NOT EVIDENCE, YOU ARE DIRECTED TO DISREGARD THE COMMENTS OF DEFENSE COUNSEL DURING HIS OPENING STATEMENT AS THEY PERTAIN TO THE FOLLOWING POTENTIAL WITNESSES: MARY ANNE GERCHAS, MICHELLE ABUDRAHM, MARK PARTRIDGE, HOWARD WEITZMAN, SKIP TAFT, CHRISTIAN RIECHARDT. IF AND WHEN THESE WITNESSES ARE PRESENTED TO YOU DURING THIS TRIAL, YOU MAY CONSIDER THE EFFECT OF THIS DELAY IN DISCLOSURE, IF ANY, UPON THE CREDIBILITY OF THE WITNESSES INVOLVED AND GIVE TO IT THE WEIGHT TO WHICH YOU FEEL IT IS ENTITLED. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FAILURE OF THE DEFENDANT'S ATTORNEYS TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW IS NOT EVIDENCE OF THE DEFENDANT'S GUILT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH BY YOU. ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE WILL NOW CONCLUDE THE DEFENSE OPENING STATEMENT. MR. COCHRAN, DO YOU WISH TO CONCLUDE YOUR REMARKS?

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

YES, I DO. THANK YOU VERY KINDLY, JUDGE ITO.

KEY QUOTE

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Lance A. Ito

THIS VIOLATION OF THE LAW -- THIS WAS A VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND ONE OF THE CAUSES OF THE TWO-DAY DELAY, INCLUDING THE ABSENCE OF MR. HODGMAN.

The judge explicitly names the defense's discovery violation as the cause of the delay and Hodgman's illness, an unusually direct rebuke delivered in front of the jury.

Lance A. Ito

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FAILURE OF THE DEFENDANT'S ATTORNEYS TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW IS NOT EVIDENCE OF THE DEFENDANT'S GUILT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH BY YOU.

A required limiting instruction, but the fact that it needed to be said underscores how prejudicial the public admonishment could be.

Johnnie Cochran

YES, I DO. THANK YOU VERY KINDLY, JUDGE ITO.

Cochran accidentally calls Judge Ito 'Judge Ito' — a notable slip, given that Ito presided over the criminal trial and the civil trial is a separate proceeding.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Lance A. Ito•Johnnie Cochran

Ito stops Cochran and Douglas from taking their seats while he finishes instructing the jury, then delivers a pointed admonishment about the defense's discovery violations before handing the floor back to Cochran.

pointed/controlled

Light Moments (2)

Lance A. Ito

The judge notes that everybody seems to be smiling and responds positively to the jury's mood before pivoting to the admonishment.

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran, in thanking the judge, calls him 'Judge Ito' — confusing him with the criminal trial judge Lance Ito.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Mary Anne Gerchas, Michelle Abudrahm, Mark Partridge, Howard Weitzman, Skip Taft, Christian Riechardt

pre-emptive credibility instruction

Judge instructs the jury that if any of these six undisclosed witnesses testify, the jury may weigh the late disclosure against their credibility.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4434 • 7 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103