📄 Jury seating and instructions — Wednesday, March 1, 1995
📅 Mar 1 — Day 28
⚖️ Lance A. Ito
jury
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\1\JURY-SEATING-AND-INSTRUCTIONS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 28 of 167

Jury seating and instructions

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 • Utterances: 12
Judge Ito replaces an excused juror by drawing alternate No. 353 and reshuffling seats, then explains to the jury that out-of-presence hearings will delay trial proceedings until Friday. He apologizes for the downtime and promises the jury Academy Award nominee screeners as compensation.
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. ALL RIGHT. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WE'VE NOW BEEN REJOINED BY ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR REMAINING JURY PANEL. GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

3 THE JURY:

GOOD MORNING.

4 THE COURT:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE COURT HAS FOUND GOOD CAUSE TO EXCUSE ONE OF THE JURORS ON THE ORIGINAL 12 AND WE ARE GOING TO SELECT A REPLACEMENT AT THIS TIME. MRS. ROBERTSON, WOULD YOU PLEASE DRAW A NUMBER FROM THE LIST OF ALTERNATES.

5 THE CLERK:

JUROR NO. 353, PLEASE HAVE A SEAT IN SEAT NO. 12.

6 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. NO. 353, WHEN I SAID WE NEEDED YOU TO STAY ON --

7 JUROR NO. 353:

I DIDN'T KNOW YOU MEANT IT SO LITERALLY.

KEY QUOTE
8 THE COURT:

WELL, I TRY TO MEAN WHAT I SAY MOST OF THE TIME. ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN -- LET'S SEE. LET'S HAVE JUROR NO 1296 --

9 JUROR NO. 1290:

1290?

10 THE COURT:

1290. MISS ROBERTSON, I NEED YOU TO REARRANGE THE SEATS THERE, BUT I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO TAKE THE EMPTY SEAT NOW, IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE. NOW YOU CAN HAVE ONE OF THE REAL SEATS.

11 JUROR NO. 1290:

GREAT. THANK YOU. IT'S LONELY AT THE BOTTOM.

KEY QUOTE
12 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET ME TELL YOU THAT IT'S ALWAYS MY POLICY TO TRY TO ADVISE THE JURY OF AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AS TO THE REASON FOR CERTAIN DELAYS. IF YOU RECALL, WHEN SOMEBODY LOOKING MUCH LIKE YOURSELVES CAME HERE LAST FRIDAY EVENING, I TOLD YOU THAT THERE WERE SOME UNUSUAL THINGS GOING ON AND THAT I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE GOING TO PRESENT A WITNESS TO YOU OUT OF ORDER. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF OTHER HEARINGS WHERE I AM TAKING TESTIMONY OUT OF YOUR PRESENCE, AND THIS IS A PROCEEDING THAT BY LAW IS NOT CONDUCTED IN YOUR PRESENCE, AND I HAVE TO ACTUALLY TAKE TESTIMONY FROM CERTAIN PEOPLE, AND THIS HAS GONE ON NOW, AS YOU KNOW, FOR TWO DAYS AND IT IS GOING TO GO ON PROBABLY THROUGH TOMORROW.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DID NOT ANTICIPATE THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO -- I'M RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF -- I NEED TO FINISH, AND REALISTICALLY, IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME AT LEAST ALL DAY THROUGH TOMORROW TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE ALL DAY WORKING. WE'RE COMING BACK HERE 1:30 WITH THE LAWYERS TO GO THROUGH OTHER MATTERS AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING TESTIMONY FROM PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR PRESENCE ON PROBABLY ALL DAY THURSDAY. SO I'M NOT GOING TO SEE YOU BACK HERE UNTIL FRIDAY, BUT I THINK YOU'RE ENTITLED TO KNOW WE'RE HERE AND WORKING ALL DAY. I APOLOGIZE TO YOU FOR THE DOWN TIME, BUT WE'VE HAD SOME ADDITIONAL ENTERTAINMENT THINGS. SOME OF THE PRODUCERS OF SOME OF THE ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES HAVE SENT US VIDEOTAPES OF THEIR FILMS WHICH ARE NOT OUT IN VIDEO YET. SO YOU'LL BE GETTING SOME TREATS SOON AND WE'LL MAKE IT AS PALATABLE AS POSSIBLE. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE TO DO THESE THINGS AND I HAVE TO DO IT OUT OF YOUR PRESENCE. I'M SURE YOU'RE NOT THRILLED ABOUT IT, BUT I'M SURE YOU'LL UNDERSTAND. AND WHEN THE TRIAL IS ALL OVER, AS I MENTIONED TO YOU, WE'RE GOING TO BE GIVING YOU VIDEOTAPES OF THE NEWS BROADCASTS THAT DEAL WITH THE TRIAL, SOME OF THE SUMMARY BROADCASTS THAT ARE DONE. AND IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE TO YOU MAYBE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHY IT IS WE ARE HAVING THIS DELAY. I REALLY CAN'T TELL YOU MUCH MORE THAN THAT, BUT TRUST ME, IT WILL BE INTERESTING WHEN YOU FIND OUT ABOUT IT. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE FRIDAY MORNING 9:00 O'CLOCK. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND, COUNSEL, AS FAR AS THE ATTORNEYS ARE CONCERNED, I'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE AT 1:30. WE'LL STAND IN RECESS.

Temperature

light

Key Quotes (3)

Juror No. 353
I DIDN'T KNOW YOU MEANT IT SO LITERALLY.
Wry callback to Ito having previously told alternates to 'stay on' — signals a relaxed courtroom atmosphere during a routine swap.
Juror No. 1290
GREAT. THANK YOU. IT'S LONELY AT THE BOTTOM.
Reveals the informal, human dimension of jury service; Ito allows the banter, setting his managerial tone.
Lance A. Ito
IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE TO YOU MAYBE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHY IT IS WE ARE HAVING THIS DELAY. I REALLY CAN'T TELL YOU MUCH MORE THAN THAT, BUT TRUST ME, IT WILL BE INTERESTING.
Unusually candid teaser about sealed out-of-presence proceedings — Ito acknowledges the delay is significant without revealing what it concerns.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Lance A. ItoJuror No. 353Juror No. 1290
During the seat reassignment, both incoming jurors exchange brief jokes with the judge; Ito plays along, reinforcing his policy of transparency with the panel.
light

Light Moments (3)

Juror No. 353
Juror No. 353 quips 'I didn't know you meant it so literally' when called from the alternate pool after Ito had previously told them to stay available.
Juror No. 1290
Juror No. 1290 jokes 'It's lonely at the bottom' after being moved from an alternate seat to a full juror seat.
Lance A. Ito
Ito announces the jury will receive pre-release Academy Award nominee videotapes as entertainment during the downtime, calling it 'treats' and 'entertainment things'.

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 4999 • 12 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
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📂 MAR 1, 1995 📄 Jury seating and instructions
MAR 1, 1995 KRT DvH TD