ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING, COUNSEL. BACK ON THE RECORD IN THE SIMPSON MATTER. MR. SIMPSON IS AGAIN PRESENT BEFORE THE COURT WITH HIS COUNSEL, MR. SHAPIRO, MR. COCHRAN, MR. DOUGLAS, MR. BAILEY. THE PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTED BY MISS CLARK, MR. DARDEN AND MISS LEWIS. THE JURY IS NOT PRESENT. AND BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS MORNING'S SESSION, THE COURT WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE PERSONAL OPPORTUNITY TO WISH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RUTH ARCHIE WHO IS ONE OF OUR REGULAR AUDIENCE AND ON HER BIRTHDAY TODAY. ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, IS THERE ANYTHING WE NEED TO PUT ON THE RECORD BEFORE WE JOIN THE JURY AGAIN? MR. BAILEY.
YESTERDAY THERE WAS A QUESTION RAISED AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I HAD SPOKEN PERSONALLY TO A WITNESS NAMED MAX CORDOBA, AND THAT QUESTION AROSE FROM A MISTAKE MR. CORDOBA MADE WHEN BEING QUESTIONED ON DATELINE. NBC YESTERDAY, AT VARIOUS TIMES DURING THE DAY, AND DATELINE ITSELF LAST NIGHT CORRECTED THAT MISSTATEMENT. THEY FOUND MR. CORDOBA IN PHOENIX AND HE RECALLED THAT BRIEFLY WHILE MR. MC KENNA WAS INTERVIEWING HIM ABOUT THE FACTS OF THE CASE THAT I HAD SPOKEN WITH HIM ABOUT HIS APPEARANCE. AND I WOULD SIMPLY LIKE, BECAUSE THE PRIOR VERSION IS NOW A PART OF THIS CASE TO A DEGREE, TO SHOW THE COURT, WHO I GATHER HAS NOT SEEN IT, AND THE RECORD, THAT SUCH EVENT TOOK PLACE, IF I MAY.
THANK YOU. (BRIEF PAUSE.) MR. BAILEY: WELL, MR. HARRIS HASN'T LOCATED THE SPOT. PERHAPS THAT FACT IS SUFFICIENTLY NOTORIOUS SO THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PLAYED, THE RETRACTION, SO TO SPEAK, BY --
I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO HOLD UP THE JURY ANY MORE THAN WE HAVE. I WILL SIMPLY MAKE THAT ASSERTION, I TAKE IT, FROM LOOK OF ANY CONTRADICTION, THAT AT LEAST SOME MEMBERS OF THE PROSECUTION ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE CHANGE IN POSITION BY THE WITNESS.
I WOULD ONLY INDICATE, YOUR HONOR, THAT IN VIEW OF THE MORE RECENT STATEMENT OF MR. CORDOBA TO WHICH MR. BAILEY REFERS, AND I'M FAMILIAR WITH IT, THE REAL ISSUE IS MR. CORDOBA'S CREDIBILITY, AND I THINK WE SHOULD TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THAT AND GET ON WITH THIS IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER.
ALL RIGHT. IT WOULD THRILL ME TO DEATH IF COUNSEL WOULD APOLOGIZE TO EACH OTHER FOR THE RATHER HIGH LEVEL OF VITRIOL YESTERDAY.
KEY QUOTEALTHOUGH I CANNOT SAY, YOUR HONOR, THAT, SUBSTANTIALLY SPEAKING, THE RECORD -- THE EVIDENCE AND THE INFORMATION WE HAD DID NOT SUPPORT THE FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF THAT WE HAVE A WITNESS HERE WHO IS NOT TO BE BELIEVED, WHO HAS NO CREDIBILITY, I DO --
MISS CLARK, FORGIVE ME FOR INTERRUPTING YOU, BUT GIVEN THE STATE OF THE RECORD AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, GIVEN THE LEVEL OF THE COMMENTS YESTERDAY, WHICH WERE NOT APPROPRIATE, I THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO BEGIN THIS SESSION BY BOTH SIDES ACKNOWLEDGING GOING BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE, I UNDERSTAND, AND THAT WE ALL AGREE TO CONDUCT OURSELVES PROFESSIONALLY TODAY AND I ONLY ASK THAT OF YOU FIRST BECAUSE YOU ARE STANDING AND TALKING TO ME. I'M GOING TO ASK THE SAME OF MR. BAILEY AS SOON AS I HEAR FROM YOU.
AND I DO. NO, NO. I'M SORRY, YOUR HONOR. I'M NOT GOING TO BE FACETIOUS. I DO MEAN THAT. I REALLY I DON'T LIKE TO ENGAGE IN THAT SORT OF EXCHANGE. I THINK IT IS -- I THINK IT IS UNSEEMLY AND I THINK IT IS BAD FOR THE ENTIRE PROFESSION. AND I DO EXTEND TO MR. BAILEY MY APOLOGY FOR THE -- THE EXTREME NATURE OF THE EXCHANGE YESTERDAY. I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT HAPPENING AGAIN. AND I THINK THAT WE WILL ALL, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, CONDUCT OURSELVES AS PROFESSIONALS, SEASONED PROFESSIONALS THAT WE ALL ARE.
I, WITHOUT HESITATION, APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I HAVE FOUND IS AN UNWARRANTED COMMENT DIRECTED AT MISS CLARK AND THAT WAS THAT HER EYESIGHT AND MEMORY WERE DEFICIENT. VERY PLAINLY THAT WAS UNFAIR SINCE HER EYESIGHT IS EXCELLENT AND HER MEMORY HAS PROVEN TO BE THE SAME. MY MOST PROFOUND APOLOGY IS DIRECTED AT THE COURT. I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR FORTY YEARS AND I WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD WITH THAT ACCUSATION AND MY REACTION WAS CERTAINLY LESS RETRAINED AND LESS PROFESSIONAL THAN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. AND THE THING THAT PAINS ME BOTH IS ANY CRITICISM THAT HAS BEEN DIRECTED BY THE COURT BECAUSE OF MY CONDUCT. IN MY VIEW YOU ARE ONE OF THE FINEST TRIAL JUDGES I HAVE EVER THE HAD PRIVILEGE TO APPEAR BEFORE AND I THINK THAT CRITICISM IS UNWARRANTED, BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT I CAUSED IT, I DO APOLOGIZE.
KEY QUOTEMAY I JOIN IN THAT, YOUR HONOR. I WAS NOT AWARE OF CRITICISM BEING LEVELED AT THE COURT. IF THAT IS THE CASE, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INDICATE THAT WE FROM THE PROSECUTION DO NOT SHARE IN THAT VIEW AT ALL. WE EXTEND OUR MOST SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR ANY ILL REACTION THAT WAS CAUSED BY OUR CONDUCT YESTERDAY TO THE COURT. IT WAS CERTAINLY UNWARRANTED, UNFAIR AND UNJUSTIFIED.
WELL, COUNSEL, I APPRECIATE THAT THOUGHT; HOWEVER, THAT IS WHY I GET PAID THE BIG BUCKS. ALL RIGHT. LET'S PROCEED. DEPUTY MAGNERA, LET'S HAVE THE JURORS.
KEY QUOTEAS WE AWAIT THE JURORS, SO THAT THE RECORD IS CLEAR, THE PEOPLE DO NOT INTEND TO CALL MAX CORDOBA. HE IS OFF OUR WITNESS LIST AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED.
IT WOULD THRILL ME TO DEATH IF COUNSEL WOULD APOLOGIZE TO EACH OTHER FOR THE RATHER HIGH LEVEL OF VITRIOL YESTERDAY.
I, WITHOUT HESITATION, APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I HAVE FOUND IS AN UNWARRANTED COMMENT DIRECTED AT MISS CLARK AND THAT WAS THAT HER EYESIGHT AND MEMORY WERE DEFICIENT. VERY PLAINLY THAT WAS UNFAIR SINCE HER EYESIGHT IS EXCELLENT AND HER MEMORY HAS PROVEN TO BE THE SAME.
THE PEOPLE DO NOT INTEND TO CALL MAX CORDOBA. HE IS OFF OUR WITNESS LIST AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED.
WELL, COUNSEL, I APPRECIATE THAT THOUGHT; HOWEVER, THAT IS WHY I GET PAID THE BIG BUCKS.