📄 Sidebar: exhibits — Wednesday, July 26, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\26\SIDEBAR-EXHIBITS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 122 of 167

Sidebar: exhibits

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 1995 • Utterances: 18
Defense attorney Blasier sought to introduce demonstrative charts during redirect examination comparing ion count data from EDTA testing of paint samples from a metal can and the Bundy gate. Clark objected vigorously that the charts distorted Agent Martz's testimony by applying a four-times variance factor incorrectly, arguing it would mislead the jury about the nature of quantitation error. Judge Ito overruled all objections.
1 (The following proceedings were held at the bench:)
2 THE COURT:

All right. We are over at the side bar. And by the way, Mr. Blasier, we are going to go to 3:30 before we take a break.

3 MR. BLASIER:

Your Honor, I have some charts that I made for today. You are objecting to--

4 MS. CLARK:

Correct.

5 MR. BLASIER:

Let me tell you what this is. We ran the paint from the metal can and the gate on the 28th. These are the two area ion counts that he got. He has just testified that this could be four times as big or four times as small. I have adjusted it four times as small. This is based on his statement that the quantity used in both samples is identical, is two microliters. I intend to show, and Dr. Rieders will testify, that that quantization is not reliable and it could be ten times less. I have made this four times--I have changed it by a factor of four to compare those two under those conditions. It is a hypothetical.

6 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, this is completely misstating the testimony. He--first of all, he never said he could adjust it to make it four times more or less. What he said was that there is variance at different points in the day and that there were two runs that Mr. Blasier showed, to which the People did not object, showing that this was a run in the beginning of the day, that was at one peak--at one level, and at the end of the day when there had been thirty samples run through that column it was four times less, and that is because, as the agent has already testified, the column becomes less sensitive because it gets dirty because of the all the constant runs being shot through it. And when you go from one day to the next it can be also a discrepancy in the quantitation. Nevertheless, what has been brought forth, and what this deliberately misstates, is that when you run the samples at the same time, and you must do that, you will get an accurate ratio. You will never get a situation where one sample is run four times less and one sample is run four times more than in the same run, you know what I mean, within minutes of each other, so this is in direct contravention to the evidence. It is miss misleading, confusing and it is deceptive because it is to the contrary of the testimony.

7 THE COURT:

Mr. Blasier.

8 MR. BLASIER:

No. This is not based on--the gate sample here is not based on multiplying that by four because of variance in the machinery. That is based on his erroneous estimate of the quantity. If his quantity is wrong, if he says two microliters and it is really half a microliter, it is not going to do with the variation in the machinery. He has testified that he has much variation. She is free to come back and say that it could be four times higher than that, but that is what he has testified to. And Dr. Rieders will say also that that is not an unreasonable variation given electrospray and the way he did this testing, so this is a way of demonstrating that.

9 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, it is highly--this is actually in contravention to the testimony and it is a deceptive graph that is going to give to the jury an idea that has never been proven that Dr. Rieders really can't say because he doesn't operate that machine. And that is the limitations of his testimony. He can say a lot things, but he is not an operator and he is really not competent to make these assertions about the way this machine operates. This man is. Agent Martz is. And what this does is take and distort his testimony in a very graphic way so that the jury is deliberately deceived about what the nature of the quantitation issue is. Quantitation issue has to do with being--comparing runs at different times, not comparing runs at the same time when you will get the relative ratios in the appropriate amount.

10 THE COURT:

All right.

11 MR. BLASIER:

This is based on his data.

KEY QUOTE
12 THE COURT:

All right. The objection is overruled.

13 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, may I be heard? I would like for the--

14 THE COURT:

I'm sorry.

15 MS. CLARK:

I don't think that the Court can possibly appreciate how devastating that chart is and how deceptive it is.

KEY QUOTE
16 THE COURT:

Overruled.

17 MS. CLARK:

Can we have a 402 with the agent?

18 THE COURT:

Overruled.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Marcia Clark
I don't think that the Court can possibly appreciate how devastating that chart is and how deceptive it is.
Clark's unusually direct appeal to the judge — almost pleading — signals how seriously the prosecution viewed this demonstrative as a threat to their EDTA evidence.
Robert Blasier
This is based on his data.
Blasier's terse rebuttal cuts to the heart of the dispute: the chart uses Martz's own numbers, just applied under a different assumption about quantity.
Marcia Clark
What this does is take and distort his testimony in a very graphic way so that the jury is deliberately deceived about what the nature of the quantitation issue is.
Clark frames the chart not as argument but as deliberate deception — a strong accusation that reveals how pivotal the EDTA quantitation issue was to the blood-planting theory.

Evidence (2)

Informal
Defense charts showing adjusted ion counts from EDTA testing of paint from a metal can and the Bundy gate, scaled by a factor of four based on alleged quantitation error
offered by defense, objected to by prosecution, ultimately admitted over objection
Informal
Two prior runs shown to Agent Martz by Blasier during cross-examination showing column sensitivity degradation over the course of a day
referenced in argument as basis for the four-times variance claim

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia ClarkRobert Blasier
Clark argued the chart misapplies variance — the four-times factor reflects column degradation over many runs, not within-run quantitation error. Blasier countered that the adjustment is based on Martz's allegedly erroneous estimate of two microliters of sample, not machine variance, and that Dr. Rieders would support the range.
strategic
Marcia ClarkLance A. Ito
After two overrulings, Clark continued pressing — first with a direct appeal that the court couldn't appreciate how devastating the chart was, then requesting a 402 hearing with Agent Martz. Both attempts were overruled with a single word.
heated

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Roger Martz
demonstrative exhibit challenging quantitation reliability
Blasier's charts were designed to show that Martz's two-microliter quantity estimate was unreliable, and that the ion count ratio between the metal can and gate samples could vary dramatically — supporting the defense theory that the EDTA comparison was not scientifically valid.
⚔ Henry Lee Rieders
scope challenge
Clark argued Rieders was not an operator of the EDTA testing machine and therefore not competent to make assertions about how the machine operates — attempting to limit the weight the jury would give his forthcoming testimony on quantitation variance.

Objections

3 objections (0 sustained, 3 overruled)
Proceeding 7041 • 18 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
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📂 JUL 26, 1995 📄 Sidebar: exhibits
JUL 26, 1995 KRT DvH TD