📄 Witness scheduling and procedural matters — Friday, June 16, 1995
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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUN\16\WITNESS-SCHEDULING-AND-PROCEDU.DOC
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▲ Day 97 of 167

Witness scheduling and procedural matters

Date: Friday, June 16, 1995 • Utterances: 42
Pre-jury administrative session covering witness scheduling and procedural disputes. Darden announces he will recall glove expert Richard Rubin on 'shrinkage' and plans to use OJ Simpson's golf bag to show golf glove sizes. The court also addressed scheduling for upcoming 1101(B) witnesses (Acosta, the limousine driver; Aguilera, the Victoria Beach incident) and Cochran's objection to a new domestic discord witness, Redfern, for whom he had not received the prosecution's motion.
1 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, counsel. This is a fascinating situation with starting a trial with twelve alternates. I mean that is something highly unusual, even in this courthouse. I spoke to Judge Pounders the other day, who tried the two and a half year McMartin case, and he tried that case with six alternates, and I was criticized by some of my colleagues for having started this case with twelve alternates, for having too many people, and that it would increase the cost of sequestration enormously, which was fascinating in and of itself, that discussion. But I have never seen a situation where individual jurors have been the subjects of such great public scrutiny. And that is one of the interesting aspects of this case that we will have to think about when this case is all over. All right. Counsel, I'm going to take your motion under submission. I will read the declarations that have yet to be filled and I will issue a ruling as soon as that has been completed. All right. Let's have the jurors. I'm sorry, there is one other matter. Mr. Darden, you indicated you wished to reopen with Mr. Rubin?

2 MR. DARDEN:

Yes, your Honor. I believe I indicated that in chambers late yesterday afternoon.

3 THE COURT:

What area are you going to go into?

4 MR. DARDEN:

Shrinkage primarily.

KEY QUOTE
5 MR. COCHRAN:

May I be heard, your Honor? Thank you, your Honor. Two things: I would like if we could have an offer of proof with regard to the opening, your Honor. The word "Shrinkage" is not particularly revealing, as the Court has inquired in the past, and in the list of Mr. Witnesses that Mr. Darden indicated--we may not get to it today--but I have a problem with one of the witness, Miss Redfern, who may have been on the witness list. But in the discussion about domestic discord, if the Court recalls, I don't think the Court was ever asked to deal with that particular issue, and I think that we would at a minimum have a right to a 402 hearing on that particular--the subject matter of her testimony. So before he recalls her or announces her name, I would ask the Court to allow us that and I could ask for an offer of proof as to why Rubin was being recalled. I thought we were finished with him with the exception of our brief conversation in chambers after court yesterday, your Honor.

6 THE COURT:

All right. As to the issue of recalling Mr. Rubin, what is your time estimate on the recall?

7 MR. DARDEN:

Fifteen minutes of direct.

8 THE COURT:

All right. I will allow it.

9 MR. DARDEN:

And on the issue of Redfern, your Honor, can we--can we argue that issue then today? That is our 1101(B) motion.

10 THE COURT:

Yes, I think you need to.

11 MR. DARDEN:

Fine.

12 THE COURT:

Because all the eighty odd incidents that were presented to the Court back in I believe, January, the Court--I mean we had an extensive hearing and argument, and my recollection the Court issued an eight or nine-page ruling on that issue, and this is not an incident that I am familiar with. Mr. Gordon.

13 MR. GORDON:

You are absolutely correct. And when we had done that motion we had indicated to the Court that we were still receiving information with regard to various incidents that were occurring, and upon receipt of any information we would provide the Defense with those reports in discovery and place those witnesses on the witness list, which we did with these witnesses in that addendum and indicated to the Court that if we came up with any further incidents that were not known to us at the time that we litigated that motion, that we would, A, attempt to see that they conform within the Court's ruling, and B, that--make the Court aware at that time we sought to introduce them and that is exactly what we have done with this addendum, indicated to the Court where they fit within the Court's ruling. And no. 2, out of courtesy to the Defense, they have already been given over in discovery and put on the witness list back in April, and we bring it to the Court's attention, but these witness were discovered post-litigation of that motion or they certainly would have been included within that motion.

14 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran.

15 MR. COCHRAN:

One other problem, your Honor. There was an indication yesterday the People had filed a motion in this domestic discord area. I have not received a copy of it, it was never received in here, and I have not seen it, was not received in my office, and I have not received it and I have not seen the motion.

16 (Discussion held off the record between Deputy District Attorney and Defense counsel.)
17 THE COURT:

All right. At this point--

18 MR. COCHRAN:

I have now been handed a copy. I will try to read it, but we will be busy with other things.

19 THE COURT:

Who do you have, Mr. Darden, after Mr. Rubin?

20 (Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)
21 MR. DARDEN:

I believe that Mr. Acosta will be here by the time we complete the additional testimony from Mr. Rubin.

22 THE COURT:

All right. Who is Mr. Acosta?

23 MR. DARDEN:

He is one of the incidents that you approved under 1101(B).

24 THE COURT:

Which incident?

25 MR. DARDEN:

The limousine driver.

26 THE COURT:

I recollect. And what do you have after that?

27 (Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)
28 MR. DARDEN:

We are attempting to locate Mr. Aguilera, Victoria Beach incident.

29 THE COURT:

Yes. All right. I am familiar with that one.

30 THE COURT:

All right. Then we will proceed with recalling Mr. Rubin, then we will go to Mr. Acosta, and I think Mr. Cochran is entitled to a reasonable amount of time to read your motion, go over the reports before responding to whether or not that will be included, these additional incidents. All right. Deputy Magnera, let's have the jurors, please.

31 MR. DARDEN:

I should indicate that I'm going to be using the Defendant's golf bag briefly with the witness.

32 MR. COCHRAN:

May we have an offer of proof regarding that, your Honor?

33 THE COURT:

For what purpose?

34 MR. DARDEN:

Golf gloves size.

35 MR. COCHRAN:

Your Honor, may we have a further offer of proof regarding that, because as the Court recalls yesterday, that Mr. Darden continued to talk. During the process you had allowed certain things and he added some things and I was objecting and the Court did sustain some of those objections, but this so-called demonstration by ambush can and does very frequently backfire. But in order to obviate that, may we hear what the latest Prosecution demonstration is going to be this morning?

36 THE COURT:

Are we just going to bring out the golf bag and see what size golf gloves are in the golf bag?

37 MR. DARDEN:

Absolutely.

38 THE COURT:

We are not doing any other demonstrations with Mr. Simpson?

39 MR. DARDEN:

Not today, your Honor.

40 THE COURT:

All right.

41 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, your Honor, is that a representation? I'm just trying to find out where we are going.

42 THE COURT:

All right. That doesn't seem inappropriate. All right. Deputy Magnera, let's have a jurors, please.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Lance A. Ito
I have never seen a situation where individual jurors have been the subjects of such great public scrutiny.
Ito contextualizes his unusual decision to seat 12 alternates, acknowledging the extraordinary public pressure surrounding this jury.
Christopher Darden
Shrinkage primarily.
Bare-bones answer for why Rubin is being recalled — shrinkage of the gloves is the prosecution's key counter-argument to the 'it doesn't fit' narrative.
Johnnie Cochran
This so-called demonstration by ambush can and does very frequently backfire.
Cochran signals awareness that courtroom demonstrations are unpredictable and presses for an offer of proof before the golf bag is shown to the jury.
Christopher Darden
Golf gloves size.
The prosecution intends to use Simpson's own golf bag to establish that he wore a glove size consistent with the Bundy gloves — a direct counter to the defense's 'too small' argument.

Evidence (3)

Informal
Defendant's golf bag
Prosecution announces intent to introduce to establish golf glove size
Informal
1101(B) motion ruling (eight or nine pages, issued approximately January)
Referenced as governing framework for domestic discord witnesses
Informal
Prosecution's motion regarding Redfern (domestic discord witness)
Cochran states he had not received it; handed a copy during the session

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranChristopher DardenLance A. Ito
Cochran presses for an offer of proof on the golf bag demonstration, warning of 'demonstration by ambush.' Ito cuts through it by simply asking Darden to confirm the scope — golf gloves, no further Simpson demonstrations — and allows it.
strategic
Johnnie CochranScott Gordon
Cochran complains he never received the prosecution's motion on the Redfern domestic discord witness. A brief off-record discussion follows, and Cochran is handed a copy in open court.
tense

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito
Ito recounts being criticized by colleagues for seating 12 alternates, calling that criticism 'fascinating in and of itself' — a rare moment of judicial self-deprecation.

Witness Demeanor

(Discussion held off the record between Deputy District Attorney and Defense counsel.)
(Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)
(Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)
Proceeding 6429 • 42 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 JUN 16, 1995 📄 Witness scheduling and procedu
JUN 16, 1995 KRT DvH TD