Jury instruction: limited admissibility of prior incident

📄 Jury instruction: limited admissibility of prior incident — Tuesday, January 31, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\31\JURY-INSTRUCTION-LIMITED-ADMIS.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 9 of 167

◀ Noon recess Cross-examination of John Edwards (part 2) ▶

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 • Utterances: 9

Judge Ito reconvened the jury after a noon recess and delivered a limiting instruction reminding jurors that testimony about the 1989 domestic incident was being received for a limited purpose only, as he had previously instructed. Detective John Edwards, who had been on the stand before the recess, was returned to the stand and Johnnie Cochran resumed his cross-examination.

# 1 THE COURT:

EVERYONE PLEASE HAVE A SEAT. ALL RIGHT. LET THE RECORD REFLECT WE HAVE NOW BEEN REJOINED BY ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR JURY PANEL. GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

# 2 THE JURY:

GOOD AFTERNOON.

# 3 THE COURT:

EARLIER IN OUR PROCEEDINGS I GAVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS THAT CERTAIN OF THE EVIDENCE THAT WOULD BE RECEIVED BY YOU WOULD BE RECEIVED FOR A LIMITED PURPOSE. THE TESTIMONY THAT YOU ARE HEARING REGARDING THIS 1989 INCIDENT IS ONE OF THOSE INCIDENTS THAT IS BEING RECEIVED FOR THE LIMITED PURPOSE THAT I HAVE ALREADY INSTRUCTED YOU ON, AND YOU ARE TO MAKE NOTE THAT AS YOU LISTEN TO THIS EVIDENCE, IT IS FOR THAT LIMITED PURPOSE THAT I HAVE ALREADY INSTRUCTED YOU ON. ALL RIGHT. LET'S HAVE, EXCUSE ME, DETECTIVE EDWARDS, PLEASE.

JOHN EDWARDS, THE WITNESS ON THE STAND AT THE TIME OF THE NOON RECESS, RESUMED THE STAND AND TESTIFIED FURTHER AS FOLLOWS:

# 4 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, DETECTIVE.

# 5 THE WITNESS:

GOOD AFTERNOON.

# 6 THE COURT:

YOU ARE REMINDED THAT YOU ARE STILL UNDER OATH.

# 7 THE WITNESS:

YES, YOUR HONOR.

# 8 THE COURT:

MR. COCHRAN, DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE YOUR CROSS-EXAMINATION?

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

YES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, YOUR HONOR.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (1)

Lance A. Ito

THE TESTIMONY THAT YOU ARE HEARING REGARDING THIS 1989 INCIDENT IS ONE OF THOSE INCIDENTS THAT IS BEING RECEIVED FOR THE LIMITED PURPOSE THAT I HAVE ALREADY INSTRUCTED YOU ON, AND YOU ARE TO MAKE NOTE THAT AS YOU LISTEN TO THIS EVIDENCE, IT IS FOR THAT LIMITED PURPOSE THAT I HAVE ALREADY INSTRUCTED YOU ON.

The judge formally constrains how the jury may use the 1989 domestic violence evidence, a critical guardrail given its potential to be highly prejudicial.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4550 • 9 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103