Direct examination of Juanita Moore

📄 Direct examination of Juanita Moore — Tuesday, July 18, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\18\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-JUANITA-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 117 of 167

◀ Jury instructions Cross-examination of Juanita Moore (part 1) ▶

Witness: Juanita Moore
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 • Utterances: 227

Juanita Moore, OJ Simpson's barber of 16 years, testified about his hair care history — specifically that she never dyed or treated his hair with chemicals, and that he periodically had dandruff during the off-season. She then described the last time she cut his hair: May 23, 1994 (her birthday), at his Rockingham home, where she, a female director, and Paula Barbieri all had dinner before she cut his hair around 8:30–9pm while he watched a Frogman video.

# 1 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury:)

# 2 THE COURT:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. All right. Let the record reflect we've been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

# 3 THE COURT:

And the Defense may call their next witness.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes. Thank you very kindly, your Honor. Our next witness will be Miss Juanita Moore. Miss Moore, would you step forward, please.

Juanita Moore, called as a witness by the Defendant, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 5 THE COURT:

All right. Miss Moore, would you stand right there, please, and face the clerk, Mrs. Robertson.

# 6 THE CLERK:

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?

# 7 MS. MOORE:

I do.

# 8 THE CLERK:

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

# 9 MS. MOORE:

My name is Juanita Moore, J-U-A-N-I-T-A, last name Moore, M-O-O-R-E.

# 10 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

# 11 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran.

# 12 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you kindly, your Honor. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. COCHRAN

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

Good afternoon, Miss Moore. How are you?

# 14 MS. MOORE:

I'm pretty good.

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

Very good, Miss Moore. Thank you for coming today. Miss Moore, what is your occupation, ma'am?

# 16 MS. MOORE:

I am a barber.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

And for long have you been a barber?

# 18 MS. MOORE:

Oh, approximately 30 years.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you have a barber shop somewhere within the confines of the County of Los Angeles?

# 20 MS. MOORE:

Yes. On Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles.

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And for how long have you been at that location?

# 22 MS. MOORE:

At that location, for 10 years.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, Miss Moore, do you--your barber shop is in the community; is that correct?

# 24 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you have a number of rather well-known patrons who patronize your barber shop?

# 26 MS. MOORE:

Yes, I do.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

Who are some of the people who you cut their hair?

# 28 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Irrelevant, your Honor.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

I'll link it up.

# 30 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 31 MS. MOORE:

Umm--do I answer?

# 32 THE COURT:

Sure. No. Go ahead.

# 33 MS. MOORE:

Okay. Deputy Chief Bernard Parks. That's one. Ray Charles, congressman Julian Dixon.

# 34 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you have a number of people in the community like that?

# 35 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 36 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you have a gentleman who is to my left over here, Mr. OJ Simpson--Mr. Simpson one of your customers?

# 37 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 38 MR. COCHRAN:

And how long did you cut Mr. Simpson's hair?

# 39 MS. MOORE:

Approximately 16 years.

# 40 MR. COCHRAN:

And during that period of time, in the 16 years that you've cut Mr. Simpson's hair, at any time, did you ever tint or dye Mr. Simpson's hair?

# 41 MS. MOORE:

Tint or dye, no.

# 42 MR. COCHRAN:

And so what we see is--well, at least up to the time that you last saw him, what we see is what we're getting with him; is that right?

# 43 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 44 MR. COCHRAN:

You know how they say only your hairdresser will know for sure?

KEY QUOTE

# 45 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 46 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you at no time ever tinted or dyed his hair; is that correct?

# 47 MS. MOORE:

No, I didn't.

# 48 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, in that connection, during the time, the 16 years that you cut Mr. Simpson's hair, did he have dandruff in his hair?

# 49 MS. MOORE:

Uh, periodically he would have dandruff, yes.

# 50 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you recall particular times when he'd have dandruff more than at other times?

# 51 MS. MOORE:

Uh, it seemed that he would have dandruff more in the off season, when he was playing golf and in the sun a lot.

# 52 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, when you say the off season, so we're clear about that, in the last 10 years or so, when you would cut Mr. Simpson's hair, when you say off season, what do you mean by off season as opposed to on season?

# 53 MS. MOORE:

Well, when he wasn't working as a reporter or he wasn't playing football.

# 54 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So was there a particular period of the year when Mr. Simpson would either be playing football or working as a sportscaster?

# 55 MS. MOORE:

Yes. Uh, well, in the recent years, he would be gone like on the season, which would start like September to like January.

# 56 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Would that be during football season?

# 57 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 58 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And during those periods of time, you wouldn't see him to cut his hair regularly; is that correct?

# 59 MS. MOORE:

Not as regularly as during the off season.

# 60 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Would there be times, however, during the on season, during football season that he would still come in to see you when was in town?

# 61 MS. MOORE:

The on season?

# 62 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes.

# 63 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 64 MR. COCHRAN:

And in those times in the recent past when he came in to see you, would you always cut his hair at your shop on Adams Boulevard or would you do it someplace else on occasion?

# 65 MS. MOORE:

I would do it in both places. I would do it at his home and at the shop.

# 66 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And his home, you know his home to be on Rockingham, do you?

# 67 MS. MOORE:

Yes, I do.

# 68 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you've been there?

# 69 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 70 MR. COCHRAN:

All right, ma'am. Now, with regard to the so-called off season, you were saying that this condition of dandruff would be perhaps worse at times during the--I think you said off season when he's playing golf; is that correct?

# 71 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 72 MR. COCHRAN:

And what, if anything, would attribute to that, that he would have more dandruff in the off season?

# 73 MS. MOORE:

Well, it would happen mostly if he didn't put oil on his hair. If he put oil on his hair, he wouldn't have dandruff like he did. It would be in--when he played golf, he was in the sun, you know, and with the lack of oil that would create the dry scalp.

KEY QUOTE

# 74 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, you're not a dermatologist, are you?

# 75 MS. MOORE:

I'm not a dermatologist, no.

# 76 MR. COCHRAN:

And as such, with regard to when you would see dandruff in his hair or around his shoulders or whatever, what would you do for him or recommend to him?

# 77 MS. MOORE:

Well, I would tell him to be sure and to put more oil in his hair if he's going to be in the sun and I would tell him to use some kind of dandruff shampoo, you know, over-the-counter shampoo. It wasn't bad enough for him to go to a dermatologist, you know. He could just use a dandruff shampoo.

# 78 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Okay. And would you ever shampoo his hair or was that something he took care of himself?

# 79 MS. MOORE:

Oh, he would do that himself.

# 80 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, at any time during the--you've been cutting his hair for about 16 years plus?

# 81 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 82 MR. COCHRAN:

And so during that time frame, did you ever have occasion to put any chemicals or anything of that nature on Mr. Simpson's hair?

# 83 MS. MOORE:

No. Well, I did. About 10 years ago, I put a chemical relaxer on it to texturize it. And after that, we decided--the both of us decided that we didn't like it, so we wouldn't do that anymore.

# 84 MR. COCHRAN:

That was only one time in the last 16 years?

# 85 MS. MOORE:

Only one time.

# 86 MR. COCHRAN:

And that was about 16 years ago?

# 87 MS. MOORE:

About 10 years ago.

# 88 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. It was about 10 years ago?

# 89 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 90 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And so if you look at Mr. Simpson's hair now--you're not doing his hair. This is not your product right here (Indicating)?

# 91 MS. MOORE:

No, that is not my product.

# 92 MR. COCHRAN:

We will disclaim that. But the way his hair looks now, it seems to have a little more gray. Other than that, is that the way his hair looks in a natural state?

# 93 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 94 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, with regard to--did you ever do anything about the gray in his hair?

# 95 MS. MOORE:

Oh, yes. I would like clip them out to keep from putting chemicals in his hair.

# 96 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now--

# 97 MS. MOORE:

One by one.

# 98 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, I'd like to direct your attention back to the month of May of 1994. Do you recall a date toward the end of May of 1994 that you had occasion to cut Mr. Simpson's hair?

# 99 MS. MOORE:

Yes, I do.

# 100 MR. COCHRAN:

And can you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury the approximate date that you did Mr. Simpson's hair toward the end of May of 1994?

# 101 MS. MOORE:

Yes. I can tell them because it was my birthday.

KEY QUOTE

# 102 MR. COCHRAN:

And your birthday was what?

# 103 MS. MOORE:

May 23rd.

# 104 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you remember what day of the week that was?

# 105 MS. MOORE:

It was on a Monday.

# 106 MR. COCHRAN:

And in your barber shop, do you have--like other barber shops in the community, do you have a day when you're normally off?

# 107 MS. MOORE:

That's Monday.

# 108 MR. COCHRAN:

Monday is your day off?

# 109 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 110 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And so was that--May 23rd, was that a--1994, was that a Monday?

# 111 MS. MOORE:

Yes, it was.

# 112 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And that was your birthday; is that correct?

# 113 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 114 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Tell the jurors, members of the jury how it came that you did Mr. Simpson's hair and where you did it.

# 115 MS. MOORE:

Uh, I did his hair at his home.

# 116 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And do you remember about what time you arrived there, Miss Moore?

# 117 MS. MOORE:

Approximately 6:30ish. I guess 6:30.

# 118 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. When you arrived there, tell us what happened then, if anything.

# 119 MS. MOORE:

Well, when I arrived there, he was home alone and we went--

# 120 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, objection. I would like to approach.

# 121 THE COURT:

Yes. With the court reporter, please.

# 122 (The following proceedings were held at the bench:)

# 123 MS. CLARK:

This gives us some clue--

# 124 THE COURT:

Hold on. We're over at sidebar. Where are we going with this, Mr. Cochran?

# 125 MR. COCHRAN:

This is the last time she cut his hair. Judge, I'm going to just bring out the last time she cut the Defendant's hair at Rockingham, what condition his hair was in.

# 126 MS. CLARK:

That's all? Who was there, I want to hear about that. Why is that relevant?

# 127 MR. COCHRAN:

Why is it relevant who was there?

# 128 MS. CLARK:

Yes.

# 129 MR. COCHRAN:

It's very relevant.

# 130 MS. CLARK:

Then let's hear what it is.

# 131 MR. COCHRAN:

You're the Judge. I'm not--

# 132 MS. CLARK:

All right. Your Honor, you know, we've seen--

# 133 THE COURT:

Wait, wait, wait. Who's there? Who's there?

# 134 MR. COCHRAN:

Gigi cooked the dinner. The facts are, they had--Gigi Guarin is the housekeeper. She cooked dinner. I think the director, one of his directors of a movie or something. They had dinner. After that, OJ was watching Frogman or something like that. She cut his hair. That was it. I think Paula was there. That was it.

# 135 THE COURT:

Okay.

# 136 MR. COCHRAN:

No big thing.

# 137 MS. CLARK:

What is the relevance of Paula being there?

# 138 MR. COCHRAN:

Because she was there.

# 139 THE COURT:

The last time he had his hair cut?

# 140 MS. CLARK:

May I point out to the Court, if that is the offer, an unreliable offer of proof was made informally to Mr. Darden. Mr. Darden received the following offer of proof off the record just before we began: That she would testify to the fact that his hair was never treated. And we have now heard extensive testimony about dandruff and now about the last day she cut his hair. I am going to ask the Court to require an offer of proof and an offer that is complete and honest in the future when we have witnesses who have no statements. This is a trial by ambush now.

# 141 THE COURT:

Let's proceed.

# 142 MR. COCHRAN:

May I--

# 143 THE COURT:

No. No. Let's proceed.

# 144 MR. COCHRAN:

That was wrong.

# 145 THE COURT:

Let's proceed.

# 146 (The following proceedings were held in open court:)

# 147 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, counsel. Mr. Cochran.

# 148 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, your Honor.

# 149 MR. COCHRAN:

I think I was just asking before we were interrupted who was present at the time that you arrived there and then what happened after that.

# 150 MS. MOORE:

Uh, Mr. Simpson was home alone.

# 151 MR. COCHRAN:

And then what happened after you saw him, you saw Mr. Simpson?

# 152 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 153 MR. COCHRAN:

And then what did you do?

# 154 MS. MOORE:

We went into the family room and he was showing me a new musical system that he had installed and was kind of like a little toy for him. He was showing me how it works; it plays upstairs and downstairs and this room, et cetera.

# 155 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. First time you had seen that?

# 156 MS. MOORE:

First time I had, yes. I had seen that, yes.

# 157 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. And what happened after that?

# 158 MS. MOORE:

And we'd just sit there and we listened to the music and we were waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive.

# 159 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Did some other people arrive?

# 160 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 161 MR. COCHRAN:

And who arrived, ma'am?

# 162 MS. MOORE:

Uh, it was a lady, I can't remember her name, but he introduced me to her and I forgot her name, but he was--she was his director.

# 163 MR. COCHRAN:

Director in what?

# 164 MS. MOORE:

In I suppose the movies and maybe frogman. I'm not sure.

# 165 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. And--

# 166 MS. MOORE:

And--

# 167 MR. COCHRAN:

She arrived?

# 168 MS. MOORE:

Yes, she arrived.

# 169 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Did someone else arrive?

# 170 MS. MOORE:

A little later on, yes.

# 171 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And who was that?

# 172 MS. MOORE:

Paula Barbieri.

# 173 MR. COCHRAN:

Paul Barbieri?

# 174 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 175 THE COURT:

Excuse me, counsel. Ma'am, if you would, Miss Moore, would you allow Mr. Cochran to finish asking you the question before you start to speak because the court reporter can only report one person talking at a time, okay?

# 176 MS. MOORE:

Okay.

# 177 THE COURT:

And, Mr. Cochran, would you let her finish answering before you start to ask the next question?

# 178 MR. COCHRAN:

I'm sorry, your Honor. I certainly will.

# 179 THE COURT:

Thank you.

# 180 MR. COCHRAN:

So that we're clear for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury, tell us the order that people arrived there on that evening.

# 181 MS. MOORE:

Well, I came first and then the--his director came and Paula was last.

# 182 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Had you ever seen or did you know Paula Barbieri before that day?

# 183 MS. MOORE:

Yes. I had seen Paula prior to that.

# 184 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, after everybody arrived--and by the way, was the director a male or female?

# 185 MS. MOORE:

She was--it was a female.

# 186 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And after everyone arrived, tell us what happened then.

# 187 MS. MOORE:

We had a dinner.

# 188 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. And who prepared dinner, if you recall?

# 189 MS. MOORE:

Gigi.

# 190 MR. COCHRAN:

And is that Gigi Guarin, g-u-a-r-I-n?

# 191 MS. MOORE:

Gigi is the maid.

# 192 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Is that the lady who is a housekeeper there?

# 193 MS. MOORE:

Yes. Housekeeper.

# 194 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So did all of you have dinner together?

# 195 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 196 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And after you had dinner, what happened after that?

# 197 MS. MOORE:

His director left and Paula stayed for a while and then she talked for a while and then she left, and then I cut his hair and he put the frogman video on. So while I cut his hair, he watched a video.

# 198 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Were you able to see the video yourself at that time?

# 199 MS. MOORE:

Well, I couldn't concentrate on it because I was cutting his hair, but I did see--you know, look at it a little bit.

# 200 MR. COCHRAN:

So you then proceeded to cut his hair; is that correct?

# 201 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 202 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And about what time was that if you recall on the May 23rd date?

# 203 MS. MOORE:

Umm, probably about 8:30, 9:00 maybe.

# 204 MR. COCHRAN:

And on that occasion, with regard to cutting his hair, you did not shampoo his hair, did you?

# 205 MS. MOORE:

No. No.

# 206 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. He didn't have any chemicals in his hair, did he?

# 207 MS. MOORE:

No.

# 208 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you recall whether or not you did anything about the--if he had any gray at that time?

# 209 MS. MOORE:

Yeah. I clipped the grays out.

# 210 MR. COCHRAN:

And was this hair cut similar to other haircuts you gave him over the course of the 16 years you did his hair?

# 211 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 212 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, so in addition to being--in addition to Mr. Simpson being a patron or customer of yours, was he someone that who also over the years became a friend of yours also?

# 213 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 214 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, save some time and ask you this. You didn't see Mr. Simpson on June 12th, 1994, did you?

# 215 MS. MOORE:

No, I did not.

# 216 MR. COCHRAN:

And was May 23rd, 1994 about the last time you cut his hair?

# 217 MS. MOORE:

It was the last time, yes.

# 218 MR. COCHRAN:

And how had you gotten to that location, to Rockingham?

# 219 MS. MOORE:

How did--

# 220 MR. COCHRAN:

How did you get up there that night?

# 221 MS. MOORE:

I drove my car.

# 222 MR. COCHRAN:

And when it was over, you left; is that correct?

# 223 MS. MOORE:

I left.

# 224 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You came down here today pursuant to a request to testify; is that correct?

# 225 MS. MOORE:

Yes.

# 226 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very kindly.

# 227 MS. MOORE:

You're welcome.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Juanita Moore

I can tell them because it was my birthday.

Explains how she precisely remembers May 23rd — a self-authenticating memory anchor for the timeline.

Johnnie Cochran

You know how they say only your hairdresser will know for sure?

Folksy rhetorical flourish used to underscore that Moore has definitive knowledge of Simpson's natural hair state — no dye, no chemicals.

Marcia Clark

This is a trial by ambush now.

Clark's sidebar complaint that the offer of proof given to Darden was limited to hair treatment history, but testimony expanded well beyond that scope.

Juanita Moore

It would happen mostly if he didn't put oil on his hair. If he put oil on his hair, he wouldn't have dandruff like he did.

Establishes the dandruff condition as intermittent and situational — potentially relevant to hair/follicle evidence from the crime scene.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Marcia Clark•Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Clark requested a sidebar when Moore began describing who else was home on May 23rd. Clark argued the offer of proof provided to Darden was limited to hair treatment history and that the expanded testimony constituted trial by ambush. Ito cut the argument short and told both sides to proceed.

contentious

Light Moments (2)

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran invoked the Clairol tagline — 'only your hairdresser will know for sure' — to make the point that Moore has exclusive knowledge of Simpson's natural hair state.

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran jokingly disclaimed Simpson's current in-court hairdo: 'This is not your product right here' — to which Moore confirmed, 'No, that is not my product.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Johnnie Cochran

Offer of proof mismatch

Clark argued at sidebar that the informal offer of proof given to Darden pre-testimony was materially narrower than the actual testimony elicited, accusing the defense of intentional ambush.

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 6886 • 227 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103