📄 Status conference — Thursday, June 29, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUN\29\STATUS-CONFERENCE.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 106 of 167

Status conference

Date: Thursday, June 29, 1995 • Utterances: 18
The court reconvenes without the jury to address a major discovery dispute. Defense counsel Cochran announces that a five-page FBI report by Agent Deedrick — titled 'The search for the source — carpet fibers found on the leather glove and the knit hat in the O.J. Simpson case' — was found inside a notebook the court had to order Deedrick to produce the previous day. Cochran characterizes the undisclosed report as a serious discovery violation and requests 15 minutes to confer with co-counsel and Simpson before arguing for remedies.
1 (Appearances as heretofore noted.)
2 (Janet M. Moxham, CSR no. 4855, official reporter.)
3 (Christine M. Olson, CSR no. 2378, official reporter.)
4 (The following proceedings were held in open Court, out of the presence of the jury:)
5 THE COURT:

Back on the record in the Simpson matter. Mr. Simpson is again present before the Court with his counsel, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Blasier, Mr. Neufeld, Mr. Bailey. The People are represented by Miss Clark and Mr. Darden. The jury is not present. Counsel, what is our status at this point?

6 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes.

7 THE COURT:

Good morning, Mr. Cochran.

8 MR. COCHRAN:

Good morning, your Honor. Your Honor, you will recall that yesterday after the jury had been recessed for the day, we had to ask your Honor to order Mr. Deedrick, the FBI agent, to turn over this notebook, and we now know why he didn't want to turn over that notebook because contained in that notebook is a five-page single-spaced report which makes the discovery violations that we talked about yesterday seem like child's play. And given that, we want--I would ask the Court to allow us about ten or fifteen minutes now to mobilize our discussion, and we just uncovered some additional things we wanted to bring to the Court's attention. And we would like to have until about 9:15 and come back and argue these matters to the Court as to the appropriate remedies.

9 THE COURT:

Would you tell me the nature of this report that you found?

10 MR. COCHRAN:

We can give your Honor a copy of it. Here, let me give him that. The nature of this report is entitled "The search for the source--carpet fibers found on the leather glove and the knit hat in the O.J. Simpson case." It was inside that book that you ordered him to turn over that we had so much trouble getting. There is a litany of events that took place before we got it. They gave us a little single-spaced first. This agent was questioned. He kept putting off and not answering. It was only after you made the order and then he wanted to talk with you, as you recall, when you gave him the order, in which Miss Clark concurred in, and it was only after that we discovered this, but we found even additional things that we are now aware of this morning we did not know about. We just need a little bit of time to discuss with our client the appropriate way to address this and we have--I am ready to argue except I need to discuss it with my co-counsel and with the Defendant and then we may proceed. In the meantime, I have no objection, I will be glad to give the Court a copy of this report.

11 THE COURT:

All right. Any comment from the People before--with regard to the request for some additional time this morning to confer amongst each other?

12 MS. CLARK:

We have no objection. But just so the Court will know, what Mr. Cochran is referring to is simply that Mr. Deedrick called--what do you call them--the automotive industry's carpet manufacturers to ask them about the production of the carpet fibers in question and what cars they were placed in, and that is what we are talking about, which is a source available to the Defense as well. He made the call. That is the report they are referring to.

13 THE COURT:

Uh-huh.

14 MR. COCHRAN:

If I might, your Honor, that is a nice spin, but I would like for you to see the report and I would like for you to hear arguments on this. This is not what this report is about. It is discoverable and we did not get it. We only got it after you made that order, questioning about it at this stage of the trial and it is very, very disturbing. So I would like to give to it your Honor's clerk.

KEY QUOTE
15 THE COURT:

All right. How long do you need to confer?

16 MR. COCHRAN:

About fifteen minutes, your Honor.

17 THE COURT:

Okay. We'll take 15.

18 (Recess.)

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran
we now know why he didn't want to turn over that notebook because contained in that notebook is a five-page single-spaced report which makes the discovery violations that we talked about yesterday seem like child's play.
Cochran frames the newly discovered report as a discovery violation more serious than whatever prompted yesterday's dispute, setting up a major confrontation over FBI agent Deedrick's conduct.
Marcia Clark
what Mr. Cochran is referring to is simply that Mr. Deedrick called — what do you call them — the automotive industry's carpet manufacturers to ask them about the production of the carpet fibers in question and what cars they were placed in, and that is what we are talking about, which is a source available to the Defense as well.
Clark attempts to minimize the report's significance, characterizing it as a routine industry inquiry rather than a substantive undisclosed analysis.
Johnnie Cochran
If I might, your Honor, that is a nice spin, but I would like for you to see the report and I would like for you to hear arguments on this. This is not what this report is about.
Cochran directly rebuts Clark's characterization, signaling that the report's contents are more damaging than the prosecution is letting on.

Evidence (2)

Informal
Five-page single-spaced FBI report by Agent Deedrick titled 'The search for the source — carpet fibers found on the leather glove and the knit hat in the O.J. Simpson case,' found inside a notebook the court ordered Deedrick to produce.
discovered and submitted to judge's clerk; not yet formally introduced
Informal
Deedrick's notebook, ordered produced by the court the previous day after resistance from the witness.
previously ordered produced; reviewed by defense overnight

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranMarcia Clark
Clark attempts to reframe the Deedrick report as a routine call to carpet manufacturers, a source equally available to the defense. Cochran immediately counters that this is 'a nice spin' and insists the report is substantive, discoverable, and was deliberately withheld.
strategic
Lance A. ItoJohnnie Cochran
Judge Ito asks Cochran to describe the nature of the report; Cochran provides the full title and context of how it was concealed, then asks for 15 minutes to confer before arguing remedies.
procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Douglas Deedrick
discovery violation / withholding evidence
Defense asserts Deedrick deliberately withheld a five-page analytical report inside his notebook, resisting production until a court order forced disclosure. Cochran implies the agent's reluctance was knowing and intentional.

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 6596 • 18 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
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📂 JUN 29, 1995 📄 Status conference
JUN 29, 1995 KRT DvH TD