Direct examination of Josephine Guarin (part 1)

📄 Direct examination of Josephine Guarin (part 1) — Thursday, July 20, 1995

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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\20\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-JOSEPHIN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 119 of 167

◀ Jury recall Direct examination of Josephine Guarin (part 2) ▶

Witness: Josephine Guarin
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Thursday, July 20, 1995 • Utterances: 67

Johnnie Cochran conducts the direct examination of Josephine 'Gigi' Guarin, OJ Simpson's housekeeper at Rockingham since April 1994. Cochran attempts to establish Simpson's whereabouts and schedule in the months before the murders, particularly that Simpson was out of town (in Puerto Rico, apparently filming something) for most of April 1994. The examination ends abruptly at a sidebar after a disputed line of questioning about long-distance phone calls from Simpson.

# 1 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. All right. Mr. Cochran, you may call your next witness.

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very, very kindly, your Honor. We'll next call Miss Josephine, Gigi, Guarin, your Honor. Miss Guarin, come forward.

Josephine Guarin, called as a witness by the Defendant, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 3 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?

# 4 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 5 THE CLERK:

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

# 6 MS. GUARIN:

My name is Josephine, J-O-S-E-P-H-I-N-E, Guarin, G-U-A-R-I-N.

# 7 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. COCHRAN

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

Good afternoon.

# 9 MS. GUARIN:

Good afternoon.

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

Miss Guarin, are you nervous?

# 12 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I am.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

Is this the second time you've ever had to testify in your life?

# 14 MS. GUARIN:

Actually this is my third time. I appeared before in the grand jury.

KEY QUOTE

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. But this is the third time in connection with this case?

# 16 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you're a little bit nervous, are you?

# 18 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I am.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Well, just relax, okay, and kind of sit back, and if you can pull the microphone a little closer and speak right into that for us, will you? All right. Now, Miss Guarin, how are you employed presently?

# 20 MS. GUARIN:

I was Mr. Simpson housekeeper.

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

And Mr. Simpson, you're speaking of the gentleman over here to my far left, Mr. OJ Simpson (Indicating)?

# 22 MS. GUARIN:

Yes. Yes, he is.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

And approximately when did you start to work for Mr. OJ Simpson, ma'am?

# 24 MS. GUARIN:

Umm, April of 1994.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

And you succeeded another housekeeper at the time you came in, did you?

# 26 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I did.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And were you working full-time from April of 1994 on?

# 28 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

And are you still employed at the Rockingham residence now?

# 30 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, during the time that--let's talk about the period of April of 1994 to June of 1994. Did you work on a full-time basis for Mr. Simpson during that time?

# 32 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I am.

# 33 MR. COCHRAN:

And what was your regular work schedule during that period of time, Miss Guarin?

# 34 MS. GUARIN:

I work Monday through Friday.

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And would you normally have weekends off?

# 36 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, during that period of time, was Mr. Simpson always at home during that period of time or would he be out of town a lot?

# 38 MS. GUARIN:

He's out of town a lot of time. The whole month of April, he is out of town.

# 39 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So when you first started working for him, he was out of town pretty much that entire month?

# 40 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you know, Miss Guarin, where he was during that time period?

# 42 MS. GUARIN:

He's in Puerto Rico.

KEY QUOTE

# 43 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Speculation, hearsay.

# 44 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, I'll lay a foundation.

# 45 THE COURT:

All right. Proceed.

# 46 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You became aware that Mr. Simpson was out of town or out of the country during the month of April?

# 47 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, he is.

# 48 MR. COCHRAN:

And how did you--you were aware of what he was doing while he was out of town?

# 49 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, he is--I--

# 50 MR. COCHRAN:

And what was he doing?

# 51 MS. GUARIN:

He's filming--

# 52 MR. DARDEN:

Objection, your Honor.

# 53 THE COURT:

Excuse me. I'm sorry. Who's handling the witness here?

# 54 MR. DARDEN:

I am.

# 55 THE COURT:

All right. Sustained.

# 56 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you.

# 57 MR. COCHRAN:

Before Mr. Simpson left in April of 1994, did you have some conversation with him about where he was going?

# 58 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I have.

# 59 MR. COCHRAN:

And when he was out of town, he would let you know where he was going to be; is that correct?

# 60 MS. GUARIN:

Yes. He will call me where he is.

# 61 MR. COCHRAN:

And on occasion during the month of April, did Mr. Simpson call you from some location?

# 62 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, he is.

# 63 MR. COCHRAN:

And when he called you during this period of time, did you ascertain during the course of these phone conversations where he was? You can answer that yes or no.

# 64 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 65 MR. COCHRAN:

And when he called--have you ever received phone calls from like overseas or long distance before?

# 66 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Speculation.

# 67 THE COURT:

Overruled. Counsel, let me see you both at sidebar without the court reporter.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Josephine Guarin

The whole month of April, he is out of town.

Core testimony establishing Simpson's absence from Rockingham for nearly the entire month before the murders — potentially relevant to timeline and character of his movements.

Josephine Guarin

He's in Puerto Rico.

Specific location claim that immediately drew a hearsay/speculation objection from Clark, triggering a foundation dispute.

Josephine Guarin

Actually this is my third time. I appeared before in the grand jury.

Reveals Guarin had already testified before the grand jury, suggesting her account had been vetted earlier in the proceedings.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

Ito pauses the proceedings to clarify which prosecutor is handling the witness — Darden steps forward, not Clark. Ito then sustains Darden's objection when Guarin begins to volunteer that Simpson was 'filming' before the foundation was fully laid.

procedural, mildly tense

Johnnie Cochran•Josephine Guarin

Cochran opens by acknowledging Guarin's nervousness and coaching her to relax and speak into the microphone — a deliberate effort to humanize a sympathetic witness before the jury.

warm, strategic

Light Moments (1)

Johnnie Cochran / The Jury

Cochran says 'Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen' to the jury and they respond in unison — a small ritual that got its own transcript line.

Witness Demeanor

Witness acknowledged being nervous twice when asked directly by Cochran.

Guarin's non-native English grammar ('Yes, I do' / 'Yes, I am' / 'Yes, he is' used interchangeably) is consistent throughout, suggesting she was answering earnestly if imprecisely.

Objections

3 objections (1 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 6979 • 67 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103