Videotape review

📄 Videotape review — Thursday, March 2, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\2\VIDEOTAPE-REVIEW.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 29 of 167

◀ Cross-examination of Rosa Maria Lopez (part 4) Cross-examination of Rosa Maria Lopez (part 5) ▶

Date: Thursday, March 2, 1995 • Utterances: 56

The court removes witness Miss Lopez from the courtroom while counsel and Judge Ito review a videotape (aired January 3rd) showing Lopez apparently telling a reporter she heard voices coming from Simpson's home the night of June 12th — contradicting her trial testimony. Cochran argues the tape shows she said 'voices of little boys,' not just 'voices,' making it non-impeaching; Ito reads back the record to settle the dispute and rules it is an inconsistent statement.

# 1 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.)

# 2 THE COURT:

HAVE YOU SHOWN THAT TO COUNSEL?

# 3 MR. DARDEN:

I WAS JUST ABOUT TO DO THAT. CAN WE CUE UP A VIDEO FOR MR. COCHRAN AND I --

# 4 THE COURT:

CAN WE HAVE THE VIDEO ON THE MONITORS ON DEFENSE COUNSEL AND THE COURT?

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY WE SEE IT FIRST?

# 6 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 7 MR. DARDEN:

THIS IS A VIDEO APPARENTLY AIRED ON JANUARY 3RD.

# 8 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. DO YOU OBJECT TO THE WITNESS SEEING IT?

# 9 MR. DARDEN:

YES. MAY WE HAVE THE WITNESS STEP OUT BECAUSE THERE'S ALSO AUDIO.

# 10 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MISS HAMBURGER, WOULD YOU ESCORT YOUR CLIENT INTO THE JURY ROOM, PLEASE, FOR A FEW MOMENTS WHILE WE VIEW THE VIDEOTAPE?

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

WHAT'S THE DATE OF THIS VIDEO?

# 12 THE COURT:

I DON'T KNOW YET. WE'LL FIND OUT IN A -- THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO VIEW IT OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE WITNESS. ALL RIGHT. MISS LOPEZ, WE NEED TO LOOK AT A VIDEOTAPE. I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO STEP BACK WITH YOUR ATTORNEY INTO THE JURY ROOM, AND WE'LL BRING YOU OUT IN ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MINUTES.

# 13 THE WITNESS:

OKAY.

# 14 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MA'AM.

# 15 (THE WITNESS EXITS THE COURTROOM.)

# 16 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT THE WITNESS HAS WITHDRAWN WITH HER COUNSEL FROM THE COURTROOM. MR. DARDEN, IS THIS TAPE IN ENGLISH OR HAVE ANY SPANISH IN IT?

# 17 MR. DARDEN:

IT IS IN ENGLISH, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE ONE OR TWO WORDS SPOKEN IN SPANISH.

# 18 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THEN I'LL ASK OUR SPANISH INTERPRETERS TO REMAIN IN CASE THERE'S ANYTHING WE NEED INTERPRETED FOR THE RECORD. ALL RIGHT. PROCEED.

# 19 (AT 1:45 P.M., A VIDEOTAPE WAS PLAYED.)

# 20 (AT 1:45 P.M., THE PLAYING OF THE VIDEOTAPE ENDED.)

# 21 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.)

# 22 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. LET'S SEE THAT ONE MORE TIME.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT YOU SAID.

# 24 THE COURT:

I SAID I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT ONE MORE TIME.

# 25 THE INTERPRETER:

YOUR HONOR, IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD SEE THIS MONITOR SO WE CAN WATCH OUT FOR ANYTHING?

# 26 THE COURT:

THERE SHOULD BE A MONITOR RIGHT THERE. DO WE HAVE THAT ON THE -- WE CAN PUT THAT ON THE LARGE SCREEN, MISS FITZPATRICK. CAN WE START THE AUDIO FROM THE BEGINNING TOO?

# 27 MR. FAIRTLOUGH:

SURE.

# 28 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

# 29 (AT 1:47 P.M., A VIDEOTAPE WAS PLAYED.)

# 30 (AT 1:48 P.M., THE PLAYING OF THE VIDEOTAPE ENDED.)

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, SHE --

# 32 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MR. DARDEN, I TAKE IT YOU WANT TO CONFRONT MISS LOPEZ WITH WHAT ASPECT, WHAT STATEMENT THERE?

# 33 MR. DARDEN:

THAT SHE TOLD A REPORTER SHE HEARD VOICES. SHE JUST TOLD US SHE NEVER TOLD THE REPORTER SHE HEARD VOICES.

KEY QUOTE

# 34 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, I THOUGHT HE ALSO SAID SOMETHING ABOUT LITTLE BOYS. AND I HEARD HER SAY BOYS, NOT VOICE.

# 35 UNKNOWN VOICE FROM THE AUDIENCE:

RIGHT.

# 36 MR. DARDEN:

WELL, I ASKED HER ABOUT VOICES AND BOY JUST TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO AMBIGUITY.

# 37 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS ASKED BOTH WAY.

# 38 MR. COCHRAN:

I THOUGHT HE SAID BOYS AT SOME POINT.

# 39 THE COURT:

YES, HE DID. BUT THEN THE NEXT QUESTION WAS, "DID YOU EVER TELL A REPORTER YOU HEARD VOICES?" ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT TIME I HEAR SOMETHING OUT OF THE AUDIENCE, WE'RE GOING TO CLEAR THE AUDIENCE. THANK YOU.

# 40 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I APPROACH THE REPORTER, JUDGE -- THE INTERPRETER?

# 41 THE COURT:

CERTAINLY.

# 42 (A CONFERENCE WAS HELD BETWEEN MR. COCHRAN AND THE INTERPRETER, NOT REPORTED.)

# 43 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, MAY I --

# 44 THE COURT:

CERTAINLY.

# 45 MR. COCHRAN:

-- INDICATE TO THE COURT, THE INTERPRETER CORRECTLY, QUITE CORRECTLY HAS INDICATED TO ME THAT THE QUESTION SHE ASKED WAS, DID SHE EVER SAY SHE HEARD THE VOICES OF LITTLE BOYS, IS WHAT SHE REMEMBERS. AND SO THIS WOULD NOT BE IMPEACHING BECAUSE SHE SAID SHE HEARD VOICES AND NOTHING ABOUT LITTLE -- ABOUT BOYS. I THINK THAT'S WHAT SHE INDICATED TO ME.

# 46 THE COURT:

WELL, COUNSEL, LET ME READ YOU THE RECORD.

# 47 MR. COCHRAN:

OKAY.

# 48 THE COURT:

IT'S: "QUESTION: DID YOU TELL A REPORTER THAT YOU HEARD THE VOICES OF LITTLE BOYS COMING FROM MR. SIMPSON'S HOME THE NIGHT OF JUNE THE 12TH? "ANSWER: NO, SIR. "QUESTION: DID YOU EVER TELL A REPORTER THAT YOU HEARD THE SOUND OF VOICES COMING FROM MR. SIMPSON'S HOME THE NIGHT OF JUNE 12TH? "ANSWER: NO, SIR." SO IT WAS ASKED BOTH WAYS.

# 49 MR. COCHRAN:

ALL RIGHT.

# 50 THE COURT:

WHICH WAS MY RECOLLECTION. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT. MRS. ROBERTSON, WOULD YOU GET MISS LOPEZ FOR US AGAIN.

# 51 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT --

# 52 THE COURT:

YES, SIR.

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THAT IS IMPEACHING, IT IS IMPEACHING ON A COLLATERAL MATTER BECAUSE WHAT THIS DOES IS ACTUALLY REINFORCE WHAT SHE SAID IN COURT HERE UNDER OATH, THAT SHE HEARD VOICES THAT NIGHT, LATE IN THE NIGHT. THE OTHER PART WAS, SHE SAID, "I HEARD VOICES LATE IN THE NIGHT." SO I'LL SUBMIT IT, YOUR HONOR, BUT I THINK IF THE COURT RECALLED THE TESTIMONY, THAT'S ALSO THE TESTIMONY.

KEY QUOTE

# 54 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. IT IS AN INCONSISTENT STATEMENT THOUGH ABOUT EVENTS OF JUNE THE 12TH.

KEY QUOTE

# 55 MR. COCHRAN:

WELL --

# 56 (THE WITNESS IS AGAIN PRESENT.)

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Christopher Darden

THAT SHE TOLD A REPORTER SHE HEARD VOICES. SHE JUST TOLD US SHE NEVER TOLD THE REPORTER SHE HEARD VOICES.

Identifies the specific prior inconsistent statement Darden intends to use to impeach Lopez.

Lance A. Ito

"QUESTION: DID YOU EVER TELL A REPORTER THAT YOU HEARD THE SOUND OF VOICES COMING FROM MR. SIMPSON'S HOME THE NIGHT OF JUNE 12TH? "ANSWER: NO, SIR." SO IT WAS ASKED BOTH WAYS.

Ito reads the trial record verbatim to neutralize Cochran's semantic objection, confirming the impeachment covers both formulations.

Johnnie Cochran

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THAT IS IMPEACHING, IT IS IMPEACHING ON A COLLATERAL MATTER BECAUSE WHAT THIS DOES IS ACTUALLY REINFORCE WHAT SHE SAID IN COURT HERE UNDER OATH, THAT SHE HEARD VOICES THAT NIGHT.

Cochran pivots from the semantic argument to a collateral-matter objection, trying to limit the impeachment's impact.

Lance A. Ito

ALL RIGHT. IT IS AN INCONSISTENT STATEMENT THOUGH ABOUT EVENTS OF JUNE THE 12TH.

Ito's bottom-line ruling allowing the impeachment to proceed.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Videotape apparently aired January 3rd showing Lopez speaking to a reporter about hearing voices from Simpson's home the night of June 12th

reviewed by court and counsel outside witness's presence, admitted as prior inconsistent statement

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran argues the tape shows Lopez said 'voices of little boys' not just 'voices,' making it non-impeaching; Ito reads back both questions and answers from the trial record to show the impeachment was established both ways.

strategic

Unknown Voice From The Audience•Lance A. Ito

An audience member audibly agrees with Cochran's 'boys' argument; Ito warns that the next outburst will result in the audience being cleared.

tense

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Miss Lopez

prior inconsistent statement (videotaped media interview)

Darden introduces a videotape in which Lopez apparently told a reporter she heard voices coming from Simpson's home the night of June 12th, contradicting her trial testimony denying she made any such statement to a reporter.

Witness Demeanor

(THE WITNESS EXITS THE COURTROOM.)

(THE WITNESS IS AGAIN PRESENT.)

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 5108 • 56 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103