📄 Sidebar: defendant's hands — Thursday, June 15, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUN\15\SIDEBAR-DEFENDANT-S-HANDS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 96 of 167

Sidebar: defendant's hands

Date: Thursday, June 15, 1995 • Utterances: 16
At a bench conference, prosecutor Darden sought to have a glove expert witness examine OJ Simpson's hands directly and testify about whether Simpson could fit them into the gloves. Cochran objected that the defense had already complied with the court's earlier directives and that anything further was improper, arguing the jury should make the determination themselves. Judge Ito allowed the witness to approach Simpson and assess his hand size, reasoning that a glove expert could offer relevant opinion on that question.
1 (The following proceedings were held at the bench:)
2 MR. DARDEN:

I needed to ask the witness whether the latex would alter the fit of the glove; but also, I want him to come back over and show his hands again to the jury.

3 MR. COCHRAN:

We object, your Honor. Counsel--first of all, we agreed to do that without counsel making those statements over there. That's why I stayed `way back. We tried to object to that. So we've done what they've asked. We would object to anything else at this point. We never talked about anything else. I didn't want to object in front of the jury, but we've done everything you asked him to do. I would object to him doing anything else, your Honor.

4 MR. DARDEN:

I want him to show his hands to the witness as well.

5 THE COURT:

For what purpose?

6 MR. DARDEN:

So he can tell us whether he expects that Mr. Simpson can place his hands into those gloves.

7 MR. COCHRAN:

The best evidence is what happened. This witness had an opportunity to observe what he did in front of the jurors, and the Court indicated that he had to do what he did. He did it and I had no objection to that. That's totally improper, to have him showing his hands. The jurors are the ones who have to determine whether his hands go in there or not.

8 THE COURT:

The jury saw what happened. They'll make the judgment. You can ask the witness about what impact latex gloves might have and you can ask him to step over to where Mr. Simpson is to look at his hands. You can ask him to do that.

9 MR. DARDEN:

Can he walk through the well?

10 THE COURT:

Yes. I have to break at a quarter to, and it's raining.

KEY QUOTE
11 MR. COCHRAN:

Judge, may I just ask for what purpose they want a follow-up question to ask him to look at his hands? I mean what's that--I mean, I don't understand that.

12 THE COURT:

He is an expert witness in gloves. He can tell us what size hands those are. Could be extra, extra large. Who knows?

KEY QUOTE
13 MR. COCHRAN:

But he's been a businessman now for like 10 years.

KEY QUOTE
14 THE COURT:

He's a leather glove expert.

15 MR. COCHRAN:

He was, but I'm not sure he is now.

16 THE COURT:

Thank you.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Johnnie Cochran
The jurors are the ones who have to determine whether his hands go in there or not.
Core defense argument: the glove demonstration is a question of fact for the jury, not expert opinion — trying to limit expert testimony scope.
Lance A. Ito
He is an expert witness in gloves. He can tell us what size hands those are. Could be extra, extra large. Who knows?
Ito's casual framing cuts against Cochran's objection and signals the court's willingness to let the expert weigh in on hand size.
Johnnie Cochran
But he's been a businessman now for like 10 years.
A quick credibility attack on the witness's current expertise — suggesting his glove knowledge is stale.
Lance A. Ito
I have to break at a quarter to, and it's raining.
An oddly mundane aside in the middle of a contested ruling — characteristic of Ito's matter-of-fact bench style.

Evidence (1)

Informal
The gloves at issue — witness had already demonstrated fit in front of jury
discussed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranLance A. Ito
Cochran challenged whether the glove expert retained current expertise after working as a businessman for 10 years; Ito dismissed this, calling him 'a leather glove expert' and ending the exchange with 'Thank you.'
terse
Christopher DardenJohnnie Cochran
Darden sought additional examination of Simpson's hands by the witness; Cochran argued the defense had already complied fully with court directives and nothing further was agreed to.
strategic

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito
Ito noted mid-ruling that he needs to break soon and that 'it's raining' — entirely non-sequitur to the legal argument at hand.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ glove expert witness (likely Richard Rubin)
qualification challenge
Cochran suggested the witness's glove expertise was no longer current, noting he had been working as a businessman for approximately 10 years rather than in the glove industry.

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 2 overruled)
Proceeding 6396 • 16 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 JUN 15, 1995 📄 Sidebar: defendant's hands
JUN 15, 1995 KRT DvH TD