Pre-jury administrative matters

📄 Pre-jury administrative matters — Tuesday, January 31, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\31\PRE-JURY-ADMINISTRATIVE-MATTER.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 9 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Mike Farrell Cross-examination of Mike Farrell (part 1) ▶

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 • Utterances: 20

Defense attorney Carl Douglas raised a scheduling matter regarding the defense's need to independently test physical (serological) evidence at Dr. Barbara Wolf's forensics lab in Albany, NY. The prosecution's key witnesses on evidence procedures were unavailable, so the matter was deferred to the following morning. Cochran also flagged that a 402 hearing would be needed before the next witness, Ron Shipp.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. WE'VE BEEN REJOINED BY OUR PROSECUTORS. ALL RIGHT. MR. DOUGLAS, YOU HAD SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO BRING TO THE COURT'S ATTENTION BEFORE WE INVITE THE JURY TO JOIN US?

# 3 MR. DOUGLAS:

I DID, YOUR HONOR. THERE WAS A LETTER THAT WAS TRANSMITTED TO THE COURT AND A COPY GIVEN TO COUNSEL CONCERNING OUR SUPREME INTEREST IN QUICKLY EXAMINING ITEMS OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. AS THE COURT IS AWARE, THE PEOPLE HAVE APPARENTLY NOW CONCLUDED THEIR TESTING ON ITEMS OF EVIDENCE. THERE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSIONS FROM MR. BLASIER, MR. SCHECK ALONG WITH MR. CLARK AND MR. HARMON, AND THERE HAS BEEN AN AGREEMENT THAT THE ITEMS MAY BE SHIPPED TO THE FORENSICS LABORATORY IN ALBANY, NEW YORK, OF DR. BARBARA WOLF, ONE OF OUR DOCTORS. WE HAVE NOT IN EARLIER OCCASIONS HAD A CHANCE TO PHYSICALLY TOUCH ANY OF THE ITEMS OF EVIDENCE, ANY OF THE SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE MIND YOU. WE HAD NOT HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE OUR OWN PICTURES.

WE WERE HOPING THAT THIS CAN BE DONE SOON AND WE WERE SEEKING TO INTRODUCE THE PROTOCOL CONSISTENT WITH THAT WHICH WAS USED WITH CELLMARK SO THAT THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE PRESENT FOR CHAIN OF CUSTODY MATTERS. THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO OBSERVE THE CUTTING OR THE SPLITTING OF ANY SAMPLES. HOWEVER, THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WATCH THE ACTUAL TESTING SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF OUR TESTING METHODOLOGIES. I WANTED TO TRY TO GET SOME SORT OF CLOSURE ON THIS ISSUE SO THAT WE MAY QUICKLY BE ABLE TO GET THE ITEMS TAKEN BACK, TESTED AND THEN RETURNED BEFORE THEY BE USED IN THIS ACTUAL TRIAL. GIVEN THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ON THE DOMESTIC DISCORD ASPECT OF THE TRIAL WHERE THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IS LESS PROBATIVE OR EVEN NECESSARY, I WAS HOPEFUL THAT I COULD FASHION SOME RESOLUTION TODAY SO THAT WE HAVE THOSE ITEMS SENT OUT IN THE COMING DAYS.

# 4 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK.

# 5 MS. CLARK:

YES.

# 6 THE COURT:

I DID RECEIVE A PHOTOCOPY OF A FAX LETTER AND I DON'T RECALL -- HOWEVER, THAT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING AS WE WERE TRYING TO DEAL WITH OTHER MATTERS. MISS CLARK.

# 7 MS. CLARK:

YES, YOUR HONOR.

I SPOKE TO MR. DOUGLAS THIS AFTERNOON AND HE INFORMED ME AT A QUARTER TO 3:00 THAT HE WANTED TO ADDRESS THIS MATTER AT 3:15. I CALLED UPSTAIRS TO FIND OUT IF I COULD GET ROCK AND WOODY HERE BECAUSE THEY DID HAVE VERY SPECIFIC REQUESTS ABOUT THE PROCEDURES THEY WANTED TO HAVE EMPLOYED. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE AT SID. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE IT UNTIL TOMORROW. HOWEVER, I ASKED THAT THEY BE AVAILABLE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING TOMORROW TO ADDRESS IT.

# 8 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THAT SOUNDS REASONABLE. MR. DOUGLAS, I HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THAT LETTER BECAUSE OF THE OTHER MATTERS WE HAD THIS MORNING.

# 9 MR. DOUGLAS:

VERY WELL, YOUR HONOR. SO WE'LL TAKE IT UP IN THE MORNING?

# 10 THE COURT:

FIRST THING.

# 11 MR. DOUGLAS:

THANK YOU.

# 12 MS. CLARK:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 13 THE COURT:

GREAT. ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE ASK THE JURY TO JOIN US?

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

THE PROBLEM IS, I THINK OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, WE SHOULD ADVISE THE COURT THAT AFTER WE FINISH THIS WITNESS, I THINK BEFORE THE NEXT WITNESS, MR. DARDEN HAS INDICATED IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO HAVE PERHAPS A 402 HEARING. WE MAY NOT HAVE MENTIONED THAT TO THE COURT. SO I WANTED TO LET THE COURT KNOW.

# 15 THE COURT:

WHO IS THE NEXT WITNESS?

# 16 MR. DARDEN:

RON SHIPP, YOUR HONOR.

KEY QUOTE

# 17 THE COURT:

THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY.

# 18 MR. DARDEN:

BUT THAT MAY REQUIRE A CHAMBERS CONFERENCE BEFORE WE GO ON THE RECORD.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

WE CAN START OFF IN OPEN COURT.

# 20 THE COURT:

I'M AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THANK YOU. DEPUTY MAGNERA, LET'S HAVE THE JURY, PLEASE.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Carl Douglas

WE HAVE NOT IN EARLIER OCCASIONS HAD A CHANCE TO PHYSICALLY TOUCH ANY OF THE ITEMS OF EVIDENCE, ANY OF THE SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE MIND YOU. WE HAD NOT HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE OUR OWN PICTURES.

Defense asserting they have been denied independent access to physical evidence — a foundational complaint underlying their evidence-handling challenge strategy.

Carl Douglas

GIVEN THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ON THE DOMESTIC DISCORD ASPECT OF THE TRIAL WHERE THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IS LESS PROBATIVE OR EVEN NECESSARY, I WAS HOPEFUL THAT I COULD FASHION SOME RESOLUTION TODAY SO THAT WE HAVE THOSE ITEMS SENT OUT IN THE COMING DAYS.

Reveals defense's awareness of trial phase and their urgency to test evidence before it becomes more central to proceedings.

Christopher Darden

RON SHIPP, YOUR HONOR.

Identifies the next witness — Ron Shipp, a significant figure whose testimony about Simpson's dream confession would require a preliminary 402 hearing.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Serological evidence items — physical evidence the prosecution had finished testing, proposed to be shipped to Dr. Barbara Wolf's forensics lab in Albany, NY for independent defense testing

discussed — logistics of defense independent testing being negotiated

Notable Exchanges (2)

Carl Douglas•Marcia Clark•Lance A. Ito

Douglas sought same-day resolution on evidence transfer protocol; Clark noted prosecution's evidence specialists (Rock and Woody) were at SID and unavailable until tomorrow; Ito deferred matter to next morning.

cooperative

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

Cochran flagged that a 402 hearing (admissibility pre-screening) would be needed before Ron Shipp took the stand; Darden suggested a chambers conference; Ito indicated he was already aware of the issue.

strategic

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4598 • 20 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103