Direct examination of Francesca Harman

📄 Direct examination of Francesca Harman — Tuesday, July 11, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\11\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-FRANCESC.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 112 of 167

◀ Witness transition Timing announcement ▶

Witness: Francesca Harman
Examiner: Robert Shapiro
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 • Utterances: 120

Francesca Harman, a hotel convention services manager, testified that she attended a dinner party at 11908 Dorothy Street on the night of June 12, 1994, leaving at 10:15 PM and driving past Nicole Brown Simpson's Bundy condo at approximately 10:20 PM. She heard no unusual sounds — no barking dog, no argument, no fighting — and saw no white vehicle in the area, directly undercutting the prosecution's timeline established through other witnesses who reported a wailing dog around that same time.

# 1 THE CLERK:

Raise your right hand, please. You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this Court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

# 2 MS. HARMAN:

I do.

# 3 THE CLERK:

Please have a seat in the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 4 MS. HARMAN:

My name is Francesca Harman.

# 5 THE CLERK:

May we have the spelling, please?

# 6 MS. HARMAN:

I can't--I can't hear the question.

# 7 THE COURT:

Could you spell the name, please.

# 8 MS. HARMAN:

The first or the last?

# 9 THE COURT:

Both.

# 10 MS. HARMAN:

First, Francesca, F-R-A-N-C-E-S-C-A, last name, Harman, H-A-R-M-A-N.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SHAPIRO

# 11 MR. SHAPIRO:

Good afternoon, Miss Harman.

# 12 MS. HARMAN:

Good afternoon.

# 13 MR. SHAPIRO:

Are you a little nervous this afternoon?

# 14 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I am.

# 15 MR. SHAPIRO:

Have you ever testified before?

# 16 MS. HARMAN:

No, I have not.

# 17 MR. SHAPIRO:

We're going to ask just a very few questions of you this afternoon. Were you in the Brentwood area on June the 12th, 1994?

# 18 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I was.

# 19 MR. SHAPIRO:

And is there any reason why that date is important to you and you remember it?

# 20 MS. HARMAN:

That was the date of a double homicide in Brentwood.

# 21 MR. SHAPIRO:

Where were you in the early evening hours of June the 12th?

# 22 MS. HARMAN:

I was at 11908 Dorothy Street at a dinner party.

# 23 MR. SHAPIRO:

Where was--who was this dinner party being held by?

# 24 MS. HARMAN:

It was being held by two--one colleague of mine who I work with, and then another colleague was also there and then an upstairs neighbor.

# 25 MR. SHAPIRO:

What type of work do you do?

# 26 MS. HARMAN:

I'm a convention service manager at a local hotel.

# 27 MR. SHAPIRO:

Which hotel is that?

# 28 MS. HARMAN:

It's the--

# 29 THE COURT:

Hold on. Is that necessary?

# 30 MR. SHAPIRO:

Thought they wanted to get a plug for the hotel. No, it is not, your Honor.

KEY QUOTE

# 31 MR. SHAPIRO:

And at what time did you arrive for this dinner party?

# 32 MS. HARMAN:

Somewhere between 6:00 o'clock and 7:00 o'clock. The dinner party was called for 6:00 and I arrived I would say about 6:35.

# 33 MR. SHAPIRO:

And what time did you leave the dinner party?

# 34 MS. HARMAN:

10:15.

# 35 MR. SHAPIRO:

How do you know the time?

# 36 MS. HARMAN:

There's a clock on a credenza by the doorway when I left, and so you can't help but see the clock as you leave.

# 37 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you have work the next morning?

# 38 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I did.

# 39 MR. SHAPIRO:

And what time do you work the next morning?

# 40 MS. HARMAN:

I had to be at work at 8:30 A.M.

# 41 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you have anything of an alcoholic beverage to drink during this dinner party?

# 42 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 43 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you go by yourself?

# 44 MS. HARMAN:

I drove there by myself, yes.

# 45 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you leave by yourself?

# 46 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I did.

# 47 MR. SHAPIRO:

Would you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what happened when you left this apartment dinner party?

# 48 MS. HARMAN:

Do you want me to point?

# 49 MR. SHAPIRO:

Yes, please, if that would be helpful to you.

# 50 MS. HARMAN:

Dorothy Street and this street is Westgate.

# 51 MR. SHAPIRO:

Do we need that microphone, your Honor?

# 52 THE COURT:

No. As long as the jurors can hear.

# 53 MS. HARMAN:

Can you hear? Anyway, this is Westgate, this is Dorothy and 11908 is the corner apartment right here (Indicating). My car was parked right in front of the building facing east. So when I left, I got in my car. I had to take the Club off, turn the ignition on, pull out of the space and then go to this corner here and pull a U-turn and come back down Dorothy to the stop sign here at Dorothy and Bundy.

# 54 MR. SHAPIRO:

Let's just stop there for a moment. First, you said you had to take the Club off.

# 55 MS. HARMAN:

Yes.

# 56 MR. SHAPIRO:

What is that?

# 57 MS. HARMAN:

The Club is a metal contraption so that my car isn't stolen.

# 58 MR. SHAPIRO:

And about how long did it take you from the time you last saw the clock at 10:15 in the apartment to the time you actually started your car on Dorothy?

# 59 MS. HARMAN:

It's probably about two, two minutes before I left, did my pleasantries, walked from--the apartment's in the back of the building, and I had to walk to the front of the building, go down the stairs out of the building to my car and then in the car, I do all, you know, take the Club off.

# 60 MR. SHAPIRO:

What was the traffic conditions like on Dorothy?

# 61 MS. HARMAN:

Light.

# 62 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was there any car--any traffic going on that you remember?

# 63 MS. HARMAN:

No. Dorothy is a little bit of a narrow street. So it's--you have to be really conscious of cars coming because otherwise, you're going to run right into each other.

# 64 MR. SHAPIRO:

What about the noise on that street? Can you describe that for the jury?

# 65 MS. HARMAN:

When I was in my car here coming back down, I didn't hear any kind of noise that I thought was unusual in any way (Indicating).

# 66 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was it a quiet evening?

# 67 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, it was.

# 68 MR. SHAPIRO:

When you got to the corner of Dorothy and Bundy--

# 69 MS. HARMAN:

Uh-huh.

# 70 MR. SHAPIRO:

--do you have a way of estimating what time it was?

# 71 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I do.

# 72 MR. SHAPIRO:

And how can you do that?

# 73 MS. HARMAN:

In my car, I have a digital display for my radio and all the displays are in the same area. The digital display is broken, and the only way I can tell what station, radio station I'm on is if I stick my finger on it and look. And so by looking, the clock is right above it, and it was 10:20 because I had to find--I was looking to see what station I was on.

# 74 MR. SHAPIRO:

How fast were you driving as you got to Dorothy and Bundy?

# 75 MS. HARMAN:

There, probably about 10 miles an hour.

# 76 MR. SHAPIRO:

When you got to the corner of the intersection, could you describe what the conditions were at that location to the jury as far as traffic and noise in the area?

# 77 MS. HARMAN:

I didn't think that there was anything out of the unusual at the corner. When I got there, I stopped at the stop sign and then I rolled the car out a little bit into the street and I checked both ways just to be sure nothing was coming, and I made a right turn going north up towards Montana.

# 78 MR. SHAPIRO:

You were headed home?

# 79 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I was.

# 80 MR. SHAPIRO:

At some time later, did it come to your attention that you had passed the condominium where Nicole Brown Simpson lived and was murdered?

# 81 MR. DARDEN:

Objection, your Honor. Leading.

# 82 THE COURT:

Sustained. Rephrase the question.

# 83 MR. SHAPIRO:

Have you ever learned where Nicole Brown Simpson lived?

# 84 MR. DARDEN:

Hearsay, your Honor.

# 85 THE COURT:

Overruled. You can answer the question.

# 86 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I have learned where she lives.

# 87 MR. SHAPIRO:

And do you have any knowledge as to whether you passed that location?

# 88 MS. HARMAN:

On the night of the murder? I didn't know that she lived there.

# 89 MR. SHAPIRO:

Subsequently, did you come to learn where she lived?

# 90 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I did.

# 91 MR. SHAPIRO:

And subsequently, did you come to discover whether or not you had passed that location?

# 92 MS. HARMAN:

Yes, I did. It was that Tuesday, June 14th, when I was told about what happened, and then I got into a discussion with young lady that held the party exactly what we were doing, and then my gosh, is it possible we were having dinner when this was happening and consequently watching TV and seeing pictures. So that's--

# 93 MR. SHAPIRO:

Can you point out for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury where the condominium that you later found that Nicole Brown Simpson resided at was located?

# 94 MS. HARMAN:

This one here (Indicating).

# 95 MR. SHAPIRO:

Pointing to the red--

# 96 MS. HARMAN:

The red one.

# 97 MR. SHAPIRO:

--stamp.

# 98 MS. HARMAN:

Uh-huh.

# 99 MR. SHAPIRO:

About how far fast were you driving when you went past that location?

# 100 MS. HARMAN:

Well, I had been at a stop. So zero, and then going up to five, maybe 10 miles by the time I passed it and then accelerating to get home.

# 101 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was there any traffic as you passed that location?

# 102 MS. HARMAN:

Just traffic that I would think was normal on the street.

# 103 MR. SHAPIRO:

Was there any noise that was unusual?

# 104 MS. HARMAN:

I didn't hear any noise.

# 105 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you hear the sound of a barking dog?

# 106 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 107 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you hear the wailing of a dog?

# 108 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 109 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you hear any argument or loud voices?

# 110 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 111 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you hear the sounds of something that would resemble a fight?

# 112 MS. HARMAN:

No.

# 113 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. This is leading, your Honor.

# 114 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 115 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 116 MR. SHAPIRO:

You then proceeded home?

# 117 MS. HARMAN:

Then I proceeded home. Went to Montana here and I turned left and I took Montana all the way home to Santa Monica (Indicating).

# 118 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you notice any white vehicle in the area between--on Bundy between Dorothy and Montana?

# 119 MS. HARMAN:

No, I did not.

# 120 MR. SHAPIRO:

Thank you. Nothing further.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Francesca Harman

I didn't hear any kind of noise that I thought was unusual in any way.

Challenges the prosecution's timeline anchored to neighbor witnesses who reported hearing Nicole's dog wailing around 10:15-10:20 PM as a marker of the murders.

Francesca Harman

No, I did not.

Her repeated denial of hearing a barking dog, wailing dog, argument, or fight sounds is the core of her value to the defense — she was in the precise location at the precise time and heard nothing.

Francesca Harman

The digital display is broken, and the only way I can tell what station, radio station I'm on is if I stick my finger on it and look. And so by looking, the clock is right above it, and it was 10:20.

Establishes an independent, concrete basis for her time estimate at Dorothy and Bundy — she wasn't guessing, she had a specific reason to check the clock.

Robert Shapiro

Thought they wanted to get a plug for the hotel. No, it is not, your Honor.

Brief levity that humanizes Shapiro's examination style and relaxes a nervous first-time witness.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Street map or diagram of the Brentwood area showing Dorothy Street, Bundy Drive, and the location of Nicole Brown Simpson's condominium (marked with a red stamp), which Harman used to physically trace her route for the jury

discussed, demonstrated

Notable Exchanges (2)

Robert Shapiro•Lance A. Ito

Shapiro asked which hotel Harman worked at; Ito cut him off asking if it was necessary; Shapiro quipped 'Thought they wanted to get a plug for the hotel' before conceding it was irrelevant.

light

Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

Darden's only sustained objection came when Shapiro asked a leading question that embedded the murder conclusion ('passed the condominium where Nicole Brown Simpson lived and was murdered'). Ito sustained and Shapiro rephrased. Darden's subsequent hearsay objection about Nicole's address was overruled.

strategic

Light Moments (1)

Robert Shapiro

Shapiro joked about getting a 'plug for the hotel' when the judge questioned whether Harman's employer was relevant testimony.

Witness Demeanor

Admitted being nervous, having never testified before

Asked clarifying questions before answering ('Do you want me to point?', 'On the night of the murder?')

Became animated and conversational when recounting learning about the murders on June 14th ('my gosh, is it possible we were having dinner when this was happening')

Objections

3 objections (1 sustained, 2 overruled)

Proceeding 6756 • 120 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103