📄 Sidebar (1) — Wednesday, March 22, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\22\SIDEBAR-1-.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 43 of 167

Sidebar (1)

Date: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 • Utterances: 12
Defense attorney Shapiro requested an offer of proof before the prosecution's witness testified, citing a prior day where six consecutive sustained objections still allowed damaging inferences to reach the jury. Clark responded by describing the expected testimony: OJ's statements that Nicole was trying to keep Sydney from him, that he managed to see Sydney briefly, and that he made comments about Nicole wearing tight dresses. Judge Ito overruled the hearsay objection.
1 MR. SHAPIRO:

YOUR HONOR, MAY WE APPROACH?

2 THE COURT:

WITH THE COURT REPORTER,

3 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD AT THE BENCH:)
4 THE COURT:

SIDE BAR. WHAT IS THE OBJECTION, MR. SHAPIRO?

5 MR. SHAPIRO:

YES, YOUR HONOR. WE WOULD LIKE TO GET AN OFFER OF PROOF. YESTERDAY WITH MR. DARDEN WE GOT INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE HAD SIX OBJECTIONS SUSTAINED IN A ROW, YET THE INFERENCE OF THE QUESTIONS WE FELT HAD AN IMPACT ON THE CASE, AND I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THE SAME SITUATION HERE, SO WE WOULD LIKE AN OFFER OF PROOF IN ADVANCE AS TO WHERE THEY ARE GOING WITH THIS WITNESS ON THESE HEARSAY QUESTIONS.

6 MS. CLARK:

THEY ARE NOT HEARSAY QUESTIONS. THESE ARE ADMISSIONS BY A DEFENDANT AND THIS WAS A SUBJECT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. SHAPIRO. HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE GOING. HE HAS GOT THE TRANSCRIPT. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS. THIS WITNESS IS GOING TO TESTIFY, AND MR. SHAPIRO KNOWS IT, OR SHOULD KNOW IT VERY WELL IF HE HAS READ HIS MATERIAL, THAT THE DEFENDANT FELT THAT NICOLE WAS TRYING TO KEEP SYDNEY FROM BEING WITH HIM, BUT THAT HE MANAGED TO SEE SYDNEY FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THIS IS -- AND THEN MAKES A COMMENT ABOUT NICOLE AND THE TIGHT DRESSES SHE WORE. THIS WAS TESTIFIED TO AT THE PRELIM, AT THE GRAND JURY AND AT SHAPIRO'S INTERVIEWS, PLURAL, SO COUNSEL IS NOT IN THE DARK ABOUT ANYTHING WITH THIS WITNESS.

7 THE COURT:

MISS CLARK, ALL HE ASKED FOR WAS AN OFFER OF PROOF, SO WE DON'T NEED TO DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT HE HAS ALREADY GOT IT OR IT IS HIS INTERVIEWS AND THAT SORT OF THING.

8 MS. CLARK:

THIS IS A WITNESS, YOUR HONOR -- I THINK THE COURT DOESN'T KNOW -- THIS IS A WITNESS THAT HAS SPOKEN MORE TO MR. SHAPIRO THAN HE HAS TO US.

9 THE COURT:

THAT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.

10 MR. SHAPIRO:

YOUR HONOR, THE OBJECTION WOULD BE THAT IT IS HEARSAY AND THAT THERE IS NO VALID EXCEPTION FOR THIS TO COME IN.

11 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THE OBJECTION IS NOTED AND IT IS OVERRULED.

12 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT:)

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Robert Shapiro
YESTERDAY WITH MR. DARDEN WE GOT INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE HAD SIX OBJECTIONS SUSTAINED IN A ROW, YET THE INFERENCE OF THE QUESTIONS WE FELT HAD AN IMPACT ON THE CASE
Shapiro articulates the 'speaking objection' problem — sustained objections don't undo jury exposure to damaging implications in the questions themselves.
Marcia Clark
THE DEFENDANT FELT THAT NICOLE WAS TRYING TO KEEP SYDNEY FROM BEING WITH HIM, BUT THAT HE MANAGED TO SEE SYDNEY FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THIS IS -- AND THEN MAKES A COMMENT ABOUT NICOLE AND THE TIGHT DRESSES SHE WORE.
Previews OJ's statements about Nicole — jealousy over Sydney access and a sexualized comment about Nicole, both supporting a possessive/controlling dynamic.
Marcia Clark
THIS IS A WITNESS THAT HAS SPOKEN MORE TO MR. SHAPIRO THAN HE HAS TO US.
Clark implies Shapiro's offer-of-proof request is tactical delay — he already knows what this witness will say from his own prior interviews.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia ClarkRobert Shapiro
Clark pushes back hard on the offer-of-proof request, arguing Shapiro knows exactly what this witness will say because he interviewed the witness himself — more than the prosecution did.
pointed
Lance A. ItoMarcia Clark
Ito cuts Clark off mid-argument, telling her that whether Shapiro already has the information is beside the point — the request for an offer of proof is legitimate regardless.
firm/neutral

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)
Proceeding 5377 • 12 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 MAR 22, 1995 📄 Sidebar (1)
MAR 22, 1995 KRT DvH TD