📄 Redirect examination of Denise Pilnak (part 2) — Tuesday, July 11, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\11\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-DENISE.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 112 of 167

Redirect examination of Denise Pilnak (part 2)

Witness: Denise Pilnak
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 • Utterances: 32
Cochran conducts a brief redirect of neighbor Denise Pilnak, reinforcing her written account that no dog was barking before 10:33 PM on June 12, 1994. He walks her through her own typed document to confirm the timeline, particularly her notation that it was 'exceptionally quiet outside' at 10:21 PM while she stood on her front porch. The examination ends with a procedural exchange about witness holding arrangements.
1 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, this is the second page of the document that Miss Clark was reading to you. And do you recall that at some point, you said aloud to yourself, "I hope that so and so dog stops barking before I go to sleep"?

2 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

3 MR. COCHRAN:

Remember saying that specifically?

4 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

5 MR. COCHRAN:

That's something you remember back on the late evening hours of June 12th, 1994 or the early morning hours of June 13th; is that right?

6 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

7 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. And you went on to talk about the dog barking for a very long time; is that correct?

8 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

9 MR. COCHRAN:

Then you put a paragraph in entitled, "No dog was barking at 10:15 P.M."; is that correct?

10 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

11 MR. COCHRAN:

You typed that in yourself on your computer?

12 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

13 MR. COCHRAN:

And you went on to indicate that, "My windows were open while my friend Judy was working on my computer." What windows were you talking about?

14 MS. PILNAK:

The front windows in the office.

15 MR. COCHRAN:

And those are the front windows in your house?

16 MS. PILNAK:

Yes. And they're on the--the north--they're right on Bundy and they're the farthest north side of the house.

17 MR. COCHRAN:

And so when you went on to say, "This room is in the front of my house and you can hear just about every noise on Bundy from it", is that accurate?

18 MS. PILNAK:

Yes. Yes.

19 MR. COCHRAN:

"And I was standing on the front porch at 10:21 P.M. while Judy was in the street by her car. It was exceptionally quiet outside at that time"; is that correct?

20 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

21 MR. COCHRAN:

And again, that was consistent with what you said when you talked to Vannatter; is that correct?

22 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

23 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And even since that time, you've had occasion to call the police and you corrected it even further and spelled out other things that you had done that day; is that correct?

24 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

25 MR. COCHRAN:

As you sit here now, Miss Pilnak, is there any doubt in your mind that you did not hear any dog bark on the evening of June 12th, 1994 before 10:33 P.M. in the evening? Any doubt at all?

26 MS. PILNAK:

There's no doubt.

27 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for coming.

28 MR. COCHRAN:

One last question. With regard to this room that you're in upstairs, is that a room where we're trying to house witnesses so we can bring them down as fast as possible? Is that correct?

29 MS. PILNAK:

Yes.

30 MR. COCHRAN:

And is there an attorney left in that room with you at all times?

31 MS. PILNAK:

Yes, there is.

32 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Denise Pilnak
There's no doubt.
Unequivocal confirmation that no dog barking was heard before 10:33 PM — directly supports the defense timeline by pushing the discovery of the bodies later than prosecution argues.
Denise Pilnak
It was exceptionally quiet outside at that time.
Her own written words, read back to her, describing conditions at 10:21 PM on Bundy — corroborates the defense's later-timeline theory.
Denise Pilnak
This room is in the front of my house and you can hear just about every noise on Bundy from it.
Establishes her vantage point as reliable — she was well-positioned to hear the dog if it had been barking.

Evidence (1)

Informal
Pilnak's typed personal account/document, previously read by Miss Clark on cross, describing her activities and observations the night of June 12, 1994
discussed, specific passages read back to witness for confirmation

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranDenise Pilnak
Cochran methodically walks Pilnak through her own written document paragraph by paragraph, locking in the no-barking-before-10:33 timeline with her own words.
strategic
Johnnie CochranDenise Pilnak
Cochran closes with a question about the witness holding room, apparently to preempt any suggestion that witnesses were coached or left unsupervised.
procedural

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 6735 • 32 utterances • Defense witness
Criminal Trial
Department 103
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📂 JUL 11, 1995 📄 Redirect examination of Denise
JUL 11, 1995 KRT DvH TD