Direct examination of Rachel Ferrara (part 3)

📄 Direct examination of Rachel Ferrara (part 3) — Tuesday, March 28, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\28\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-RACHEL-F.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 46 of 167

◀ Sidebar: statement objections Cross-examination of Rachel Ferrara ▶

Witness: Rachel Ferrara
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 • Utterances: 22

The final segment of Rachel Ferrara's direct examination covers the duration and timing of her phone calls with O.J. Simpson on the night of the murders. She testifies that after a brief exchange of a couple minutes, he went outside, then called her back a third time and spoke with her for approximately an hour and a half, hanging up around 12:30 or 1:00 AM.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT:)

# 2 THE COURT:

THANK YOU, COUNSEL. MISS CLARK, PROCEED.

# 3 MS. CLARK:

THANK YOU.

# 4 Q:

AND AFTER HE CLICKED BACK ON, YOU HAD SOME FURTHER CONVERSATION WITH HIM, DID YOU?

# 5 A:

YES.

# 6 Q:

AND FOR HOW LONG DID YOU SPEAK TO HIM AFTER HE CLICKED BACK ON?

# 7 A:

AFTER HE CLICKED BACK OVER?

# 8 Q:

YES.

# 9 A:

UMM, NOT VERY LONG. HE --

# 10 MR. COCHRAN:

SHE HAS ANSWERED. THE QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED AND ANSWERED, YOUR HONOR.

# 11 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 12 Q:

BY MS. CLARK: COMPLETE YOUR ANSWER.

# 13 A:

JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND THEN HE WENT OUTSIDE.

# 14 Q:

AND THEN DID HE CALL YOU BACK AGAIN AFTER HE CAME BACK INSIDE?

# 15 A:

YES.

# 16 Q:

ABOUT HOW LONG WAS IT THAT YOU SPOKE AFTER HE CALLED YOU BACK THE THIRD TIME?

# 17 A:

THE THIRD TIME?

# 18 Q:

RIGHT.

# 19 A:

UMM, IT WAS FOR A LONG TIME. AN HOUR AND A HALF.

KEY QUOTE

# 20 Q:

OKAY. ABOUT WHAT TIME DID YOU HANG UP WITH HIM?

# 21 A:

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME. I WOULD HAVE TO CALCULATE IT AND FIGURE IT OUT. I GUESS -- LET'S SEE. 12:30, 1:00.

KEY QUOTE

# 22 MS. CLARK:

OKAY. I HAVE NOTHING FURTHER.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (2)

Rachel Ferrara

IT WAS FOR A LONG TIME. AN HOUR AND A HALF.

Establishes the duration of the third and final call, anchoring Simpson's whereabouts or phone activity to a specific window before the estimated time of the murders.

Rachel Ferrara

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME. I WOULD HAVE TO CALCULATE IT AND FIGURE IT OUT. I GUESS -- LET'S SEE. 12:30, 1:00.

The witness's uncertainty about the exact hang-up time is notable — the estimated 12:30–1:00 AM range is directly relevant to the prosecution's timeline.

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran objected that the question about call duration had already been answered; Ito overruled and Clark was permitted to have the witness complete her answer.

strategic

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 5458 • 22 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103