Cross-examination of Rosa Maria Lopez (part 8)

📄 Cross-examination of Rosa Maria Lopez (part 8) — Thursday, March 2, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\2\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-ROSA-MARI.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 29 of 167

◀ Sidebar: witness credibility Sidebar: phone bill evidence ▶

Witness: Rosa Lopez
Examiner: Christopher Darden
Called by: Defense • Date: Thursday, March 2, 1995 • Utterances: 65

Darden continues cross-examining Lopez, pressing her on why she never approached the many uniformed officers stationed outside the Simpson home to share information she described as 'dangerous.' Lopez gives evasive, deflecting answers — at one point saying 'if you say so' when challenged on prior testimony — and insists she would not go looking for police on her own. The session ends abruptly when Darden attempts to introduce a GTE phone bill that Cochran has never seen, prompting a sidebar.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT, OUT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY:)

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MR. SHULMAN, DO WE STILL HAVE POWER ON THE CAMERA?

# 3 MR. SHULMAN:

YES, WE DO.

# 4 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. COUNSEL, GIVEN THE NATURE OF OUR PROCEEDING, THE COURT ELECTS TO PROCEED IN LIGHT OF THE WHIZ BANG SYSTEM POWER SHORTAGE AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO DO IT THE OLD FASHION WAY. ALL RIGHT. PROCEED. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER EXHIBITS THAT ARE ELECTRONICALLY GENERATED?

# 5 MR. DARDEN:

WE CAN KEEP GOING.

# 6 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNSEL.

# 7 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: MISS LOPEZ, PLEASE GIVE ME THE FIRST NAMES OF YOUR THREE CLOSEST FRIENDS.

# 8 A:

VICTORIA GONZALEZ.

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

FIRST NAME.

# 10 THE COURT:

YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE US THE FIRST NAME.

# 11 ROSA LOPEZ:

VICTORIA, ALMA AND CORALIA.

# 12 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: OKAY. YOU TOLD US THE OTHER DAY THAT YOU WERE EXPECTING A POLICEMAN TO COME TO THE HOUSE AND ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS, CORRECT?

# 13 A:

YES.

# 14 Q:

OKAY. AND WERE YOU CONCERNED AFTER SO MUCH TIME WENT BY AND NO POLICE OFFICER CAME?

# 15 A:

NO. WHY SHOULD I?

# 16 Q:

WELL, YOU KNEW THE INFORMATION YOU HAD WAS IMPORTANT, CORRECT?

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I OBJECT TO THE FORM OF THAT. ASSUMES FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE.

# 18 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 19 ROSA LOPEZ:

I DON'T KNOW.

# 20 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: WELL, A MOMENT AGO, YOU TESTIFIED THAT YOU THOUGHT THAT THE INFORMATION YOU HAD WAS IMPORTANT, DIDN'T YOU?

# 21 A:

NOT IMPORTANT. DANGEROUS MAYBE.

KEY QUOTE

# 22 Q:

WELL, YOU JUST TESTIFIED A FEW MOMENTS AGO THAT YOU THOUGHT THE INFORMATION YOU HAD WAS IMPORTANT; ISN'T THAT TRUE?

# 23 A:

IF YOU SAY SO.

# 24 Q:

I'M ASKING YOU, MISS LOPEZ, DID YOU CONSIDER THE INFORMATION IMPORTANT?

# 25 A:

NOT TO ME.

# 26 Q:

OKAY. SO WHEN YOU TOLD US A FEW MINUTES AGO THAT THE INFORMATION YOU KNEW AND HAD WAS IMPORTANT, YOU WEREN'T BEING HONEST WITH US?

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, THAT'S ARGUMENTATIVE. OBJECTION.

# 28 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 29 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: WELL, WHY DID YOU TELL US IT WAS IMPORTANT IF IN FACT YOU DID NOT BELIEVE IT TO BE IMPORTANT?

# 30 A:

BECAUSE NO ONE EVER CAME TO ASK ME ABOUT IT. NO ONE EVER WORRIED ABOUT IT BEFORE.

# 31 Q:

WELL, AFTER THE MURDERS, LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE CAME BY THE SIMPSON HOME, CORRECT?

# 32 A:

YES.

# 33 Q:

OKAY. HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF CARS BEGAN DRIVING UP AND DOWN ROCKINGHAM AND ASHFORD?

# 34 A:

THAT'S TRUE.

# 35 Q:

LOTS AND LOTS OF REPORTERS CAMPED OUT AT THE ROCKINGHAM INTERSECTION?

# 36 A:

YES. THAT'S TRUE.

# 37 Q:

AND THE POLICE WERE CALLED IN TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC, CORRECT?

# 38 A:

THAT'S TRUE.

# 39 Q:

AND THERE WERE POLICEMEN SURROUNDING MR. SIMPSON'S HOME DURING THAT FIRST WEEK AFTER THE MURDERS, CORRECT?

# 40 A:

THAT'S TRUE.

# 41 Q:

AND THOSE POLICEMEN WERE IN UNIFORM?

# 42 A:

SOME OF THEM AND OTHERS WEREN'T.

# 43 Q:

AND THOSE POLICEMEN ALL HAD BADGES, CORRECT?

# 44 A:

I THINK SO.

# 45 Q:

BUT YOU NEVER STOPPED ONE AND TOLD HIM OR HER ABOUT THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAD, DID YOU?

# 46 A:

WHY?

# 47 Q:

BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT.

# 48 A:

IF NO ONE COMES TO ME, I'M NOT GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY.

KEY QUOTE

# 49 Q:

YOU SAID THAT YOU NEVER GO LOOKING FOR ANYBODY. IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID?

# 50 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, MISSTATES THE EVIDENCE. OBJECTION.

# 51 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 52 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: WELL, WHAT DID YOU SAY?

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

WELL, ASKED AND ANSWERED.

# 54 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 55 ROSA LOPEZ:

THAT I AM NOT GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR THE POLICE TO INFORM THEM.

# 56 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: YOU ONLY HAD TO GO RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR OWN FRONT DOOR, CORRECT?

# 57 A:

YES.

# 58 Q:

BUT YOU DID GO LOOKING FOR MICHELLE, DIDN'T YOU?

# 59 A:

I DIDN'T GO LOOK FOR MICHELLE, SIR.

# 60 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND DEFENSE COUNSEL.)

# 61 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT PHONE BILL BEFORE.

# 62 THE COURT:

IS THAT AN OBJECTION AT THIS POINT?

# 63 MR. COCHRAN:

OBJECTION. YES, SIR. I DON'T HAVE A COPY.

# 64 MR. DARDEN:

OKAY. WE SDT'D THE PHONE BILLS FROM GTE AND THEY TOLD US THEY WERE FAXING THEM TO THE COURT.

# 65 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. LET ME SEE COUNSEL AT SIDEBAR.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Rosa Lopez

NOT IMPORTANT. DANGEROUS MAYBE.

Lopez contradicts her earlier characterization of her information as 'important,' creating an opening for Darden to attack her credibility through the distinction.

Rosa Lopez

IF NO ONE COMES TO ME, I'M NOT GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY.

Central to Darden's attack — Lopez admits she was surrounded by uniformed officers yet never approached one, undermining her claim to have had significant information.

Rosa Lopez

IF YOU SAY SO.

Evasive non-answer when pressed on her prior testimony; Darden uses it to suggest she was not being honest with the jury.

Lance A. Ito

THE COURT ELECTS TO PROCEED IN LIGHT OF THE WHIZ BANG SYSTEM POWER SHORTAGE AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO DO IT THE OLD FASHION WAY.

Reveals the courtroom's reliance on an early electronic display system and Ito's pragmatic, dry response to technical failure.

Evidence (1)

Informal

GTE phone bill subpoenaed by the prosecution and allegedly faxed to the court

attempted introduction; blocked by Cochran's objection that he had never seen it, leading to sidebar

Notable Exchanges (2)

Christopher Darden•Rosa Lopez

Darden methodically establishes that hundreds of uniformed officers were stationed outside the Simpson home in the days after the murders, then confronts Lopez with the fact that she never approached a single one — even though she claimed to have information she considered 'dangerous.'

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Cochran objects to the GTE phone bill on discovery grounds, stating he has never seen it. Darden explains it was SDT'd and faxed to the court. Ito calls both counsel to sidebar.

procedural

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Ito announces the courtroom will proceed despite the 'WHIZ BANG SYSTEM POWER SHORTAGE' and they'll 'do it the old fashion way' — a rare moment of judicial dry wit.

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Rosa Lopez

prior inconsistent statement

Darden confronts Lopez with her earlier testimony that her information was 'important,' then catches her walking it back to 'not important — dangerous maybe,' using the inconsistency to suggest she was being dishonest.

⚔ Rosa Lopez

omission / failure to act

Darden establishes the large police presence outside the Simpson home and argues Lopez had every opportunity to come forward but chose not to, undermining her credibility as a cooperative and truthful witness.

Witness Demeanor

Defensive and deflecting throughout — gives minimal, sometimes combative one-line answers ('Why?', 'If you say so', 'I don't know')

Draws a careful distinction between 'important' and 'dangerous' when pressed, suggesting rehearsed evasiveness rather than genuine confusion

Objections

5 objections (2 sustained, 2 overruled)

Proceeding 5115 • 65 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103