Redirect examination of Adalberto Luper (part 2) (1 of 2)

📄 Redirect examination of Adalberto Luper (part 2) (1 of 2) — Thursday, July 20, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\20\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-ADALBE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 119 of 167

◀ Session opening Sidebar: evidence collection ▶

Witness: Det. Bert Luper
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Thursday, July 20, 1995 • Utterances: 144

Cochran cross-examines Det. Luper about his actions during the search of OJ Simpson's Rockingham estate on June 13, 1994. Cochran methodically establishes that Luper moved evidence (luggage straps) before photographing the scene, took a brown glove from a bedroom drawer downstairs and 'forgot' it on a table before returning it, and could not confirm whether other detectives — Fuhrman, Lange, Vannatter, and Phillips — had been upstairs prior to his arrival.

# 1 MR. COCHRAN:

I'm going to approach the witness if I might, your Honor.

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

I want to show you first of all--and I'll put this on the elmo I guess--People's 167. And do you--I want you to see - have you ever seen that photograph before?

# 3 DET. LUPER:

Yes, I have.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

And do you see on the bed there there's something that looks like some kind of straps. Remember ever seeing that that day?

# 5 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 6 MR. COCHRAN:

What were those straps?

# 7 DET. LUPER:

Those were luggage straps or shoulder straps you'd put on luggage.

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Were those seized at all?

# 9 DET. LUPER:

No, sir.

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

Were those moved at all?

# 11 DET. LUPER:

Yes, they were.

# 12 MR. COCHRAN:

And who moved them?

# 13 DET. LUPER:

I did.

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

And with regard--I want you to take a look at 1256 now. See that photograph, 1256?

# 15 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 16 MR. COCHRAN:

And are the luggage straps depicted there also?

# 17 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 18 MR. COCHRAN:

And they're in a different position, aren't they?

# 19 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. One of them is.

# 20 MR. COCHRAN:

And was that because you moved it?

# 21 DET. LUPER:

That's correct, yes.

# 22 MR. COCHRAN:

And you moved it prior to having the photograph taken or after the photograph was taken?

# 23 DET. LUPER:

I don't understand your question.

# 24 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. On this photograph here, 167, none of the straps are hanging down on the bed; is that correct?

# 25 DET. LUPER:

Okay. I understand your--yes, that's correct.

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

And on the other photograph, Defendant's 1256 now, one of the straps is hanging down the bed; is that correct?

# 27 DET. LUPER:

That's correct, yes.

# 28 THE COURT:

Over the side of the bed.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

Over the side of the bed. Thank you, your Honor.

# 30 MR. COCHRAN:

And does that indicate that you had moved it at that point?

# 31 DET. LUPER:

No. It had not been moved as of yet. This--the 3-by-5 that you are showing me was prior to me moving it, and the other one, the larger photograph, was after it was moved.

# 32 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now--

# 33 THE COURT:

Excuse me, counsel. The record should reflect that the smaller photograph that Detective Luper referred to was 1256.

# 34 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, your Honor. 1256.

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

It appears that in 1256, the smaller photograph, something is hanging down by the side of the bed; does it not?

# 36 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

Was that the condition you found it in?

# 38 DET. LUPER:

That's the way it was found, yes, sir.

# 39 MR. COCHRAN:

And you then moved it up on the bed to take a picture of it?

# 40 DET. LUPER:

No. I moved it so I could look underneath the bed itself and then it was photographed.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

I see. So you actually moved this yourself?

# 42 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 43 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And so if we want to demonstrate that for the jury, we can show how it was found and how it was moved by you; is that right?

# 44 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 45 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Let's look at 1256 first of all. Now, that's the photograph of Defendant's 1256. It's your testimony that you found the--this luggage strap as you described it over the side of the bed like that hanging down toward the floor; is that correct?

# 46 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 47 MR. COCHRAN:

And you then moved that luggage strap?

# 48 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 49 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And at what time did you see the luggage strap and the condition as indicated in 1256?

# 50 DET. LUPER:

12:35, 12:40 in the afternoon.

# 51 MR. COCHRAN:

And were you the first police officer to go upstairs that day?

# 52 DET. LUPER:

I was the only police officer that went upstairs to my knowledge to that point. We didn't have a search warrant.

KEY QUOTE

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you came back pursuant to a search warrant?

# 54 DET. LUPER:

That's correct.

# 55 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, there had been other police officers in that house earlier that morning, had there not been?

# 56 DET. LUPER:

I was not aware of that.

# 57 MR. COCHRAN:

You weren't aware that Detective Fuhrman, Detective Lange, Detective Vannatter were in the house earlier that morning?

# 58 MR. DARDEN:

Objection. Hearsay, your Honor.

# 59 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 60 MR. COCHRAN:

Weren't you aware they were there earlier?

# 61 DET. LUPER:

No, sir. I was not aware they were inside the house prior to that, no.

# 62 MR. COCHRAN:

You didn't know that Detective Phillips was there also?

# 63 DET. LUPER:

That's correct.

# 64 MR. COCHRAN:

You weren't aware that four of your brethren had been there earlier that morning?

# 65 DET. LUPER:

I knew they had been there--

# 66 MR. DARDEN:

Asked and answered.

# 67 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 68 DET. LUPER:

I knew they had been there, but I didn't know where they had been in the house if they had been in the house.

# 69 MR. COCHRAN:

The question was, did you know four LAPD officers, whose names I just gave, Phillips, Vannatter, Fuhrman and Lange, had been inside Rockingham earlier that morning of June 13th, 1994?

# 70 DET. LUPER:

Yes.

# 71 MR. COCHRAN:

So you were aware of that?

# 72 DET. LUPER:

I was aware that they were on the premises, yes.

KEY QUOTE

# 73 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. As to whether or not they came upstairs at some point, you don't know, do you?

# 74 DET. LUPER:

I have no idea.

# 75 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, with regard to 1256, which we've now shown, you then--you then moved the luggage handles as depicted in 167; is that correct? So if we look at 167, we notice now there's no--the strap is no longer hanging over the side of the bed; is that correct?

# 76 DET. LUPER:

That's correct.

# 77 MR. COCHRAN:

And you say you moved that so that you could look under the bed?

# 78 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 79 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, at the time, sir, that you--you said you made these observations at about 12:00 o'clock or shortly after 12:00 o'clock; is that correct?

# 80 DET. LUPER:

The initial--my initial walk-through or my first walk-through was around 12:35, 12;40, and then I was in and out of that room up until I left.

# 81 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And so that you made your initial observations. And then did you go in the bathroom area that we talked about before?

# 82 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 83 MR. COCHRAN:

And you indicated--described for Mr. Darden that the place was rather neat; is that correct?

# 84 DET. LUPER:

Yeah. Rather neat.

# 85 MR. COCHRAN:

And you didn't see things strewn all over the floor there, did you?

# 86 DET. LUPER:

No, sir, I did not.

# 87 MR. COCHRAN:

In fact, when you went in the bathroom, the clothes that ultimately were taken out of the hamper were done so by you to look at them closely and inspect them?

# 88 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 89 MR. COCHRAN:

And so as an investigator, you were looking for any kind of evidence in this case; isn't that correct?

# 90 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 91 MR. COCHRAN:

And you looked through the entire hamper and you looked through Mr. Simpson's clothes closet and you didn't seize anything, did you?

# 92 DET. LUPER:

That's correct.

# 93 MR. COCHRAN:

And even without--with regards to this glove that Mr. Darden asked you, you opened the drawer and you saw this brown glove, right?

# 94 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 95 MR. COCHRAN:

And you--at that time, you told Mr. Darden that glove was a large?

# 96 DET. LUPER:

I believe it was a large. Yes, sir.

# 97 MR. COCHRAN:

It wasn't extra large, was it?

# 98 DET. LUPER:

It looked like a large to me. I couldn't tell you the difference.

KEY QUOTE

# 99 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, that's the point. Did you look inside the glove to see what the label may have said in that glove?

# 100 DET. LUPER:

No, sir.

# 101 MR. COCHRAN:

So when you told Mr. Darden that it was a large, you just said that based upon looking at it; is that correct?

# 102 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 103 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You didn't look at any label inside there, right?

# 104 DET. LUPER:

That's correct, sir.

# 105 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you handled this brown glove and you brought it downstairs and then you inadvertently put that glove on a table, right?

# 106 DET. LUPER:

That's correct, yes, sir.

# 107 MR. COCHRAN:

And you kind of forgot about it for a while, right?

# 108 DET. LUPER:

Yeah. Unfortunately, yes.

KEY QUOTE

# 109 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And so that we're clear, at the end of the day before you left, you took that glove back upstairs and put it where it belonged, right?

# 110 DET. LUPER:

Not after the end of the day. I would say I had it back in my possession around 4:30, close to 5:00 o'clock.

# 111 MR. COCHRAN:

I'm saying, by the end of the day, did you take the glove back upstairs at some point?

# 112 DET. LUPER:

Yes, sir.

# 113 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you put it back in the--

# 114 DET. LUPER:

I put it back where I had found it.

# 115 MR. COCHRAN:

You put it back where you got it from?

# 116 DET. LUPER:

That's correct.

# 117 MR. COCHRAN:

You didn't leave there with it, did you?

# 118 DET. LUPER:

No, sir.

# 119 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And now, with regard to Mr. Willie Ford, were you walking around with Mr. Ford at the time that he was taking these videos?

# 120 DET. LUPER:

No, sir.

# 121 MR. COCHRAN:

Were you outside the house at that point?

# 122 DET. LUPER:

No, sir.

# 123 MR. COCHRAN:

Where were you?

# 124 DET. LUPER:

I was inside.

# 125 MR. COCHRAN:

Where were you when Mr. Ford was taking this video?

# 126 DET. LUPER:

Could have been in several locations. I know I was upstairs in the bedroom and bathroom area and I was also downstairs and upstairs and downstairs both.

# 127 MR. COCHRAN:

You're still doing other work; is that correct?

# 128 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. Yes, sir.

# 129 MR. COCHRAN:

Would you agree with Mr. Ford's testimony, that he arrived at about 3:10?

# 130 DET. LUPER:

I would have to look at the crime scene log, but if it's on there and documented that way, I would have to agree.

# 131 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, if he arrived about 3:10, would it refresh your recollection that he left about 4:30?

# 132 DET. LUPER:

That's correct. If it's documented that way, it would refresh my recollection.

# 133 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. In fact, I'll be glad to show it to you, if I might, your Honor.

# 134 (Brief pause.)

# 135 MR. COCHRAN:

I'd like to approach, your Honor, if I might--

# 136 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 137 MR. COCHRAN:

--with People's 158.

# 138 MR. COCHRAN:

Sir, I'll just direct you to Ford and save some time here.

# 139 DET. LUPER:

All right, sir. Yes, sir. I see the entry is 3:10 and he does indicate that he leaves at 4:30.

# 140 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You have no reason to quarrel with those particular times, do you?

# 141 DET. LUPER:

No, sir, I do not.

# 142 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, Dennis Fung, are you aware that Dennis Fung--

# 143 MR. DARDEN:

I'm going to object at this time.

# 144 MR. COCHRAN:

Yeah. Perhaps we should approach for just a second.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Det. Bert Luper

Yeah. Unfortunately, yes.

Luper admits he forgot about a piece of potential evidence — the brown glove — after inadvertently leaving it on a table downstairs, a damaging concession about evidence handling.

Det. Bert Luper

It looked like a large to me. I couldn't tell you the difference.

Luper admits he identified the glove's size purely by visual inspection without checking the label, undermining his testimony on the glove's size — a detail central to the defense's 'if it doesn't fit' argument.

Det. Bert Luper

I was aware that they were on the premises, yes.

After initially denying knowledge, Luper concedes that Fuhrman, Lange, Vannatter, and Phillips were all at Rockingham earlier that morning, raising questions about what they may have done upstairs before the warrant was obtained.

Det. Bert Luper

I was the only police officer that went upstairs to my knowledge to that point. We didn't have a search warrant.

Luper's claim to be the first officer upstairs is significant because it is then complicated by his admission that he didn't know where the other four detectives had been inside the house.

Evidence (4)

People's 167

Photograph of OJ Simpson's bedroom showing luggage straps on the bed after Luper moved them

displayed on Elmo, used to compare pre- and post-movement positions of luggage straps

Defendant's 1256

Photograph showing a luggage strap hanging over the side of the bed as originally found

compared with People's 167 to establish Luper moved the strap before the larger photo was taken

People's 158

Crime scene log documenting arrival and departure times of personnel, including videographer Willie Ford (arrived 3:10, departed 4:30)

used to refresh Luper's recollection and confirm Ford's timeline

Informal

Brown glove found by Luper in a bedroom drawer, taken downstairs, left on a table, and later returned to its original location

discussed; chain of custody and size identification challenged

Notable Exchanges (3)

Johnnie Cochran•Det. Bert Luper

Cochran walks Luper through the two photographs to establish that Luper moved the luggage strap — first for his own inspection and then to look under the bed — before official photography, raising evidence handling concerns.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Det. Bert Luper

Cochran extracts an admission that Luper identified the brown glove as 'large' without ever checking the label inside, and that Luper took it downstairs, left it on a table, and forgot about it before returning it hours later.

revealing

Johnnie Cochran•Det. Bert Luper

Cochran presses Luper on whether he knew Fuhrman, Lange, Vannatter, and Phillips had been inside Rockingham earlier, getting Luper to concede awareness of their presence while admitting he had no idea where in the house they went.

strategic

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Judge Ito interjects mid-question to clarify the record — 'Over the side of the bed' — and Cochran thanks him, a minor moment of judicial helpfulness breaking the rhythm.

Credibility Attacks (3)

⚔ Det. Bert Luper

prior inconsistent statement / bias

Cochran establishes that Luper initially claimed not to know the other detectives had been inside the house, then walked it back to admit he knew they were 'on the premises' but not where.

⚔ Det. Bert Luper

evidence handling failure

Cochran gets Luper to admit he moved the luggage straps before photographing them, took the brown glove downstairs without properly logging it, forgot it on a table, and returned it hours later — painting a picture of a sloppy crime scene search.

⚔ Det. Bert Luper

lack of foundation for testimony

Cochran establishes that Luper's claim the glove was 'large' was based on visual guess alone — he never checked the label inside.

Witness Demeanor

(Brief pause.) — during sidebar approach with People's 158

Objections

3 objections (0 sustained, 2 overruled)

Proceeding 6984 • 144 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103