Sidebar: jury requests and procedure

📄 Sidebar: jury requests and procedure — Thursday, July 6, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\6\SIDEBAR-JURY-REQUESTS-AND-PROC.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 109 of 167

◀ Morning session opening Jury entry and stipulation ▶

Date: Thursday, July 6, 1995 • Utterances: 15

Defense counsel Cochran makes a bench request regarding letters sent between jurors — specifically from juror 353 to juror 1290 — and seeks access to the contents of those letters. Cochran also requests expedited transcripts of the morning's proceedings to share with outside counsel Dershowitz and Uelmen. Judge Ito partially grants the requests, indicating he will ask juror 1290 to surrender the letter to the sheriffs and has already dispatched Sergeant Smith to interview deputies involved.

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

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

Your Honor, I hear remarks from the peanut gallery. I couldn't hear what was said. But your Honor, with regard to this, we spoke with our client after the interview, and we are in the process of trying to reach Professor Dershowitz and Dean Uelmen, but at minimal at this point, after talking with our client, we would request that we would like to have the Court get the first letter received by the juror from 353 to 1290, and we would like to see the contents of that letter because I think we are in a situation in this case where we will make another mistake, but at least seeing what the contents are. And we are going to specifically request that that letter--we need to see the contents of the letter specifically because there were messages to each and every juror or to several of the jurors, apparently.

# 3 THE COURT:

Okay.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

For that reason I thought we should do that, and as to anything else, we will give back to the Court. May I have just a second?

# 5 (Discussion held off the record between Defense counsel.)

# 6 MR. COCHRAN:

The second thing we would ask, your Honor, would be that we get some kind of a declaration or something where we be privy to talk to the sheriff's deputies who read the second letter so we can get the content.

# 7 THE COURT:

I have Sergeant Smith doing that as we speak.

# 8 MR. COCHRAN:

We would like--another thing, we would like, if at all possible, to get an expedited copy of the proceedings there and we will keep it under seal and give it to our lawyers--of the proceedings this morning so that we can share them with Professor Dershowitz and Dean Uelmen.

# 9 THE COURT:

Understanding that the court reporters are expediting other things right now.

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

I do, I do, as soon as possible.

# 11 THE COURT:

All right.

# 12 MR. SHAPIRO:

Thank you.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

Is that--I mean, we get each of the things we asked for?

KEY QUOTE

# 14 THE COURT:

No. I will at an appropriate time today ask 1290 to give the letter--the physical letter to the sheriffs, and I already have the sheriff's department interviewing the deputies who are involved in the other matters because I want to know what the content of the letter was.

KEY QUOTE

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Thank you.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran

we would request that we would like to have the Court get the first letter received by the juror from 353 to 1290, and we would like to see the contents of that letter because I think we are in a situation in this case where we will make another mistake

Cochran signals urgency around jury communications, framing the situation as one with prior missteps and ongoing risk to the proceedings

Lance A. Ito

No. I will at an appropriate time today ask 1290 to give the letter--the physical letter to the sheriffs, and I already have the sheriff's department interviewing the deputies who are involved in the other matters because I want to know what the content of the letter was.

Ito clarifies he is not fully granting defense requests — he will control the process of obtaining the letter himself rather than giving defense direct access

Johnnie Cochran

Is that--I mean, we get each of the things we asked for?

Cochran's direct follow-up reveals the ambiguity in Ito's responses and prompts a clarifying denial from the judge

Evidence (2)

Informal

Letter sent from juror 353 to juror 1290

discussed — defense requests access to contents; judge to have sheriffs collect physical letter

Informal

A second letter read by sheriff's deputies

discussed — Sergeant Smith dispatched to interview involved deputies about its contents

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran makes a three-part request: access to juror letter contents, a declaration from sheriff's deputies who read the second letter, and expedited transcripts for outside counsel. Ito grants partial access while maintaining court control over the letter and investigation.

strategic

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 6646 • 15 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103