Direct examination of Sam Poser

📄 Direct examination of Sam Poser — Tuesday, June 20, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUN\20\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-SAM-POSE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 99 of 167

◀ Housekeeping Cross-examination of Sam Poser ▶

Witness: Samuel Poser
Examiner: Hank Goldberg
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, June 20, 1995 • Utterances: 93

Hank Goldberg examines Sam Poser, an associate buyer in Bloomingdale's men's shoe department in New York, who sold shoes to OJ Simpson four or five times between 1990 and early 1992. Poser identifies the Bruno Magli Lorenzo boot (People's 375) as a shoe Bloomingdale's carried, confirms Simpson wore a size 12, and establishes that cash and gift certificate purchases leave no record tying a specific individual to a specific item.

# 1 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury:)

# 2 THE COURT:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. Let the record reflect we have now been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good morning.

# 3 THE COURT:

And Mr. Goldberg, you may call the People's next witness.

# 4 MR. GOLDBERG:

Thank you. People call Sam Poser to the stand.

# 5 THE COURT:

Mr. Poser, come forward, please. Mrs. Robertson.

Samuel Mark Poser, called as a witness by the People, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 6 THE CLERK:

Please raise your right hand. You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this Court, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

# 7 MR. Poser:

I do.

# 8 THE CLERK:

Please have a seat on the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 9 MR. Poser:

My name is Samuel Mark Poser.

# 10 THE CLERK:

The spelling, please.

# 11 MR. Poser:

Samuel--

# 12 THE COURT:

Would you pull the microphone closer, please.

# 13 MR. Poser:

S-A-M-U-E-L M-A-R-K P-O-S-E-R.

# 14 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

# 15 MR. GOLDBERG:

Good morning.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. GOLDBERG

# 16 MR. GOLDBERG:

Good morning, Mr. Poser.

# 17 MR. Poser:

Good morning.

# 18 MR. GOLDBERG:

What is your occupation, sir?

# 19 MR. Poser:

Associate buyer for mens shoes, Bloomingdales.

# 20 MR. GOLDBERG:

That is Bloomingdales in New York?

# 21 MR. Poser:

Yes.

# 22 MR. GOLDBERG:

And how long have you been with Bloomingdales?

# 23 MR. Poser:

Almost five years.

# 24 MR. GOLDBERG:

When did you start?

# 25 MR. Poser:

August of 1990.

# 26 MR. GOLDBERG:

And shortly after you started, let's say, around the winter season in 1990, did you see a Mr. Orenthal Simpson come into the store in the New York Bloomingdales?

# 27 MR. Poser:

Yes.

# 28 MR. GOLDBERG:

When you first saw him, did you recognize him?

# 29 MR. Poser:

Yes, I did.

# 30 MR. GOLDBERG:

As being Mr. Simpson?

# 31 MR. Poser:

Yes, I did.

# 32 MR. GOLDBERG:

And do you see him in court today?

# 33 MR. Poser:

Yes, I do.

# 34 MR. GOLDBERG:

Can you point him out for us and tell us what he is wearing today?

# 35 MR. Poser:

He is wearing a gray suit and a brown and black tie and a white shirt.

# 36 THE COURT:

Indicating the Defendant.

# 37 MR. GOLDBERG:

Now, sir, when you first saw Mr. Simpson, were you working in the shoe department?

# 38 MR. Poser:

Yes, I was.

# 39 MR. GOLDBERG:

And on that particular occasion and thereafter did you sell shoes to the Defendant?

# 40 MR. Poser:

Umm, yes, I did.

# 41 MR. GOLDBERG:

And approximately how many occasions in total would you say you sold shoes to him?

# 42 MR. Poser:

Four or five times.

# 43 MR. GOLDBERG:

Now, of the four or five times that you sold shoes, are there any occasions that you remember in terms of specifically what you sold?

# 44 MR. Poser:

Umm, only--not particularly to the shoe level, to the individual item.

# 45 MR. GOLDBERG:

Okay. Is there any instances where you have some recollection what you sold?

# 46 MR. Poser:

Yes, there is.

# 47 MR. GOLDBERG:

Can you tell us what that instance was?

# 48 MR. Poser:

Yes. He was in the store--

# 49 THE COURT:

Mr. Poser, can you pull the microphone closer.

# 50 MR. Poser:

Certainly. At one time he came in, he was about to do a broadcast for a bills game in buffalo and he needed a boot to wear for the bills game and I remember selling that--assisting in the sale, selling it to him.

# 51 MR. GOLDBERG:

Okay. And other than that, do you have any other specific recollections in terms of the types of shoes?

# 52 MR. Poser:

Umm, he bought--he liked to buy dress casual shoes, not shoes to wear with jeans and so on.

# 53 MR. GOLDBERG:

Even though--well, did you recognize that he had some type of celebrity status when you first started selling to him?

# 54 MR. Poser:

Yes, I did.

# 55 MR. GOLDBERG:

Even though he had some type of celebrity status, did you--considering that he had that status, did you somehow also memorize the occasions when you sold him shoes and what you sold him?

# 56 MR. Poser:

No.

# 57 MR. GOLDBERG:

All right. Now, during the time period that you had sold shoes to Mr. Simpson, was Bloomingdales one of the forty stores that sold Bruno Magli Lorenzo shoes?

# 58 MR. Poser:

Yes, we did.

# 59 MR. GOLDBERG:

And I would like to show you what we've marked as People's 375 for identification. And maybe you could take the shoes out of there and tell us if one of those is Lorenzo.

# 60 MR. Poser:

This is the Lorenzo, the boot.

# 61 MR. GOLDBERG:

He is indicating what has previously been referred to as the size 12 semi and demi boot, your Honor.

# 62 MR. Poser:

Yes.

# 63 MR. GOLDBERG:

And what colors did Bloomingdales carry those in?

# 64 MR. Poser:

Black, brown and olive.

# 65 MR. GOLDBERG:

Do you remember whether or not you sold those shoes to the Defendant?

# 66 MR. Poser:

No, I do not.

# 67 MR. GOLDBERG:

You don't have a specific recollection one way or the other?

# 68 MR. Poser:

No.

# 69 MR. GOLDBERG:

Now, what price range did those shoes sell in?

# 70 MR. Poser:

I remember them to be under $200.00.

# 71 MR. GOLDBERG:

Okay. And how would you classify that? Is that an athletic shoe, a dress casual shoe? What type of a shoe?

# 72 MR. Poser:

It is address casual boot.

# 73 MR. GOLDBERG:

Okay. And if a person at Bloomingdales purchases items at the store with cash, is a record made of what they purchased?

# 74 MR. Poser:

A record of the purchase is made, but not particular to the person who purchased it.

KEY QUOTE

# 75 MR. GOLDBERG:

Okay. So there would be no record of a particular individual purchasing a particular item?

# 76 MR. Poser:

Correct.

# 77 MR. GOLDBERG:

Now, if a person--well, does Bloomingdales also have gift certificates?

# 78 MR. Poser:

Yes, we do.

# 79 MR. GOLDBERG:

And did they back in the time frame that you were waiting on Mr. Simpson?

# 80 MR. Poser:

Yes, we did.

# 81 MR. GOLDBERG:

And if a person makes a gift certificate purchase, is there a record of specifically what they purchased?

# 82 MR. Poser:

No.

# 83 MR. GOLDBERG:

And what time they purchased?

# 84 MR. Poser:

No, no.

# 85 MR. GOLDBERG:

When you sold shoes to the Defendant, did you ring up the sales?

# 86 MR. Poser:

No, I did not.

# 87 MR. GOLDBERG:

And when was the last time, if you can give us an estimate, that you would have sold shoes to the Defendant?

# 88 MR. Poser:

I believe it was--I believe it was early `92, but that is--you know, in the wintertime of `92, I believe.

# 89 MR. GOLDBERG:

And over this period of time that you say that the shoes were generally dress casual shoes?

# 90 MR. Poser:

Yes.

# 91 MR. GOLDBERG:

What size did the Defendant take?

# 92 MR. Poser:

Size 12.

# 93 MR. GOLDBERG:

Thank you. I have nothing further.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Samuel Poser

Size 12.

Confirms Simpson's shoe size matches the Bruno Magli Lorenzo prints found at the crime scene — the core evidentiary point of this examination.

Samuel Poser

No, I do not.

Poser cannot confirm he personally sold Simpson the Lorenzo shoes, limiting the direct evidentiary value of his testimony.

Samuel Poser

A record of the purchase is made, but not particular to the person who purchased it.

Explains why no purchase records can directly link Simpson to the Bruno Magli shoes — cash and gift certificate sales were anonymous.

Evidence (1)

People's 375

Bruno Magli Lorenzo boot, size 12 semi/demi boot, the style carried by Bloomingdale's in black, brown, and olive

introduced and identified by witness

Notable Exchanges (1)

Hank Goldberg•Samuel Poser

Goldberg establishes that Bloomingdale's kept no records linking a specific buyer to a specific cash or gift certificate purchase, closing off the avenue of documentary proof that Simpson bought the Lorenzo shoes.

strategic

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 6459 • 93 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103