Direct examination of Josephine Guarin (part 4)

📄 Direct examination of Josephine Guarin (part 4) — 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 management Cross-examination of Josephine Guarin (part 1) ▶

Witness: Josephine Guarin
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Thursday, July 20, 1995 • Utterances: 86

Cochran wraps up his direct examination of Josephine Guarin, OJ Simpson's housekeeper, covering his sleep schedule, golf habits, and daily health routine. The strategic goal is to establish Simpson's arthritis condition — Guarin observed it in the way he walked and sat — though Cochran was repeatedly blocked from directly linking the juice regimen to that condition.

# 1 THE COURT:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. All right. The record should reflect we've been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. And, Mr. Cochran, you have a few concluding questions?

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes, I do, your Honor. Thank you very much.

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

Miss Guarin, just a couple other questions. Again, during the time frame that you worked for Mr. Simpson at the home, can you describe for the Court and jury the time on the evenings that Mr. Simpson would be home that he would normally go to bed at night?

# 4 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Irrelevant.

# 5 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 6 MS. GUARIN:

Usually, on his room, around 9:00 o'clock or earlier at night.

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

9:00 o'clock P.M. or earlier?

# 8 MS. GUARIN:

Uh-huh. Yes.

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

And what time would he normally get up in the morning?

# 10 MS. GUARIN:

He usually get up at 7:00.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. What about on days when he's going to play golf?

# 12 MS. GUARIN:

Usually when I wake up at 7:00 o'clock in the morning, he's not there anymore. He's playing golf already.

KEY QUOTE

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So when you would wake up at 7:00, he would already be gone?

# 14 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, he is.

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

And you became aware afterwards that he had played golf and had left early that morning?

# 16 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

So he would be early to bed, early to rise?

# 18 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, with regard to Mr. Simpson, did you ever see any pills around your house called juice plus pills?

# 20 MS. GUARIN:

There is some.

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You saw those at the house?

# 22 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

And did you ever make any special kind of drinks for Mr. Simpson?

# 24 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

What kind of drinks would you make?

# 26 MS. GUARIN:

It's a carrot and celery juice.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

And how often would you make carrot and celery juice for him?

# 28 MS. GUARIN:

Every day.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

Would he drink it?

# 30 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

Do you know why he was drinking carrot and celery juice?

# 32 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Irrelevant.

# 33 THE COURT:

Overruled, but I need a foundation here.

# 34 MR. COCHRAN:

All right.

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

You--when you first came and started working for Mr. Simpson, did you have any instructions on making this celery and carrot juice?

# 36 MR. DARDEN:

Objection.

# 37 THE COURT:

Overruled. Did you receive instructions on how to make it?

# 38 MS. GUARIN:

Yes, I do.

# 39 THE COURT:

And from whom did you get that?

# 40 MS. GUARIN:

From Michelle.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

And that was the previous housekeeper?

# 42 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 43 MR. COCHRAN:

Who was there before you came?

# 44 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 45 MR. COCHRAN:

And then you learned how to make--did you make this in a blender?

# 46 MS. GUARIN:

On a juice extractor.

# 47 MR. COCHRAN:

A juice extractor?

# 48 MS. GUARIN:

Uh-huh.

# 49 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And then he would drink it every day?

# 50 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 51 MR. COCHRAN:

How much would he drink?

# 52 MS. GUARIN:

A glass of--a glass of carrot and celery juice.

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. How big--hold the glass up. Show us how big the glass was for the Judge.

# 54 MS. GUARIN:

Like the beer--beer mug cup, something like that (Indicating).

KEY QUOTE

# 55 MR. COCHRAN:

The size of a beer mug cup?

# 56 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 57 MR. COCHRAN:

And you'd make that every day?

# 58 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 59 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you know why he was taking that carrot and celery juice?

# 60 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Calls for hearsay.

# 61 THE COURT:

Speculation.

# 62 MR. DARDEN:

And that too.

# 63 THE COURT:

Sustained. Foundation. I don't know that--

# 64 MR. COCHRAN:

I understand, your Honor.

# 65 THE COURT:

Okay.

# 66 MR. COCHRAN:

I'm with you.

# 67 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you ever have any conversation with Mr. Simpson as to why he would drink this carrot and celery juice? You can answer that yes or no.

# 68 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 69 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And were you aware of whether or not Mr. Simpson suffered with any kind of condition, physical condition?

# 70 MS. GUARIN:

I know he has arthritis.

KEY QUOTE

# 71 MR. COCHRAN:

Arthritis?

# 72 MS. GUARIN:

Yes.

# 73 MR. COCHRAN:

And how do you know that?

# 74 MS. GUARIN:

The way he walks sometimes.

KEY QUOTE

# 75 MR. COCHRAN:

And you could see that?

# 76 MS. GUARIN:

Yes. The way he walk and sits.

# 77 MR. COCHRAN:

And was the taking of the carrot and celery juice in any way related to this condition of arthritis?

# 78 MR. DARDEN:

Same objection.

# 79 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 80 MR. COCHRAN:

If you know.

# 81 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 82 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Do you know why he drinks carrot and celery juice?

# 83 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Asked and answered.

# 84 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 85 MR. COCHRAN:

Very well. I have nothing further of Miss Guarin. Thank you.

# 86 THE COURT:

Mr. Darden.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. DARDEN

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Josephine Guarin

Usually when I wake up at 7:00 o'clock in the morning, he's not there anymore. He's playing golf already.

Establishes Simpson as an early-rising, routine-driven person — part of a pattern the defense used to portray him as unlikely to have committed a late-night crime.

Josephine Guarin

I know he has arthritis.

The one substantive piece Cochran successfully extracted — relevant to challenging whether Simpson had the physical capability to commit the murders.

Josephine Guarin

The way he walks sometimes.

Grounds the arthritis claim in firsthand observation, making it harder to exclude than a statement from Simpson himself.

Josephine Guarin

Like the beer--beer mug cup, something like that (Indicating).

A small vivid moment — the witness demonstrating the glass size — that humanizes the daily routine testimony.

Evidence (2)

Informal

Juice Plus pills observed at the Simpson residence

discussed

Informal

Daily carrot and celery juice made with a juice extractor, served in a beer-mug-sized glass

discussed

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

Cochran made three attempts to connect the juice regimen to Simpson's arthritis — through direct question, foundational question, and rephrasing — and was blocked each time on hearsay, speculation, and asked-and-answered grounds. He got the arthritis admission but not the causal link.

strategic

Light Moments (2)

Josephine Guarin

Cochran asked the witness to physically hold up the glass to show the jury how big it was, and she compared it to a beer mug.

Johnnie Cochran

After being blocked on the juice question, Cochran told the judge 'I'm with you' — a brief moment of wry acceptance.

Witness Demeanor

(Indicating) — witness held up hands to demonstrate glass size

Objections

6 objections (3 sustained, 3 overruled)

Proceeding 6957 • 86 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103