Direct examination of Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran (afternoon, part 3)

📄 Direct examination of Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran (afternoon, part 3) — Wednesday, June 14, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUN\14\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-DR-LAKSH.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 95 of 167

◀ Off-the-record discussion Recess announcement ▶

Witness: Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran
Examiner: Brian Kelberg
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, June 14, 1995 • Utterances: 21

Kelberg plays a brief audiotape of Dr. Irwin Golden's autopsy dictation (People's 344-A(1)) and has Dr. Lakshmanan authenticate it as a business record made in the ordinary course of Golden's duties. The examination focuses on a transcription discrepancy: Golden's dictation included 'Fragments of black olives' that was omitted from the written report, which Lakshmanan confirms by pointing to the handwritten Form 16 that does capture 'Pasta, rigatoni and black olives.'

# 1 MR. KELBERG:

We are now going to start with the gastrointestinal, I'm sorry.

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Proceed. Let's have a little more volume on that, please.

# 3 (At 2:42 P.M., People's exhibit 344-A(1), an audiotape, was played.)

# 4 (At 2:44 P.M. the playing of the audiotape concluded.)

# 5 MR. KELBERG:

Thank you.

# 6 MR. KELBERG:

Doctor, did you recognize the voice of the person dictating that information?

# 7 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Yes.

# 8 MR. KELBERG:

Who is that?

# 9 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Dr. Irwin Golden.

# 10 MR. KELBERG:

And is that dictation a tape that is produced in the ordinary course of Dr. Golden's responsibilities as a Deputy Medical Examiner at the Coroner's office?

# 11 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Yes, it is.

# 12 MR. KELBERG:

And is that a tape that is made by Dr. Golden at or near the time of the events which he is describing in the dictation?

# 13 MR. SHAPIRO:

Objection, no foundation.

# 14 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 15 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Yes.

# 16 MR. KELBERG:

Doctor, did you hear some additional information dictated by Dr. Golden on that exhibit that is not transcribed on page 11, first paragraph?

# 17 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Yes. He dictated saying that after "Rigatoni" he said "Fragments of black olives and spinach" and the "Black olive" is missing in this transcribed report.

# 18 MR. KELBERG:

Your Honor, may I on this document, between the words "Rigatoni" and "Fragments of apparent spinach" write "Fragments of black olives," and I will put that in quotation marks.

# 19 MR. KELBERG:

And doctor, in looking at the handwritten form 16 do you see an entry on the handwritten form--with the Court's permission if Dr. Lakshmanan could just step to where the board 16 is--do you see a handwritten entry which reflects "Black olives"?

# 20 DR. LAKSHMANAN:

Right here, "Pasta, rigatoni and black olives."

# 21 MR. KELBERG:

Thank you, doctor.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (2)

Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran

He dictated saying that after 'Rigatoni' he said 'Fragments of black olives and spinach' and the 'Black olive' is missing in this transcribed report.

Identifies a transcription error in the official autopsy report — the stomach contents record is being corrected on the record, which bears on time-of-death timeline.

Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran

Right here, 'Pasta, rigatoni and black olives.'

Confirms the handwritten Form 16 preserves the complete stomach contents entry that the typed transcript omitted.

Evidence (3)

People's 344-A(1)

Audiotape of Dr. Irwin Golden's autopsy dictation regarding gastrointestinal contents

played, authenticated by Lakshmanan as Golden's voice and a business record

Informal

Typed autopsy transcript page 11, first paragraph — missing 'Fragments of black olives'

discrepancy identified; Kelberg requests to annotate the document

Informal

Handwritten Form 16 — autopsy field notes listing 'Pasta, rigatoni and black olives'

referenced to corroborate the corrected stomach contents

Notable Exchanges (1)

Brian Kelberg•Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran

Kelberg walks Lakshmanan through the transcription gap between Golden's tape and the typed report, then physically brings him to a board to point out the handwritten entry confirming the missing item.

methodical

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 6384 • 21 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103