Sidebar: prior testimony

📄 Sidebar: prior testimony — Tuesday, March 28, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\28\SIDEBAR-PRIOR-TESTIMONY.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 46 of 167

◀ Cross-examination of Allan Park (part 1) Cross-examination of Allan Park (part 2) ▶

Date: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 • Utterances: 16

A brief sidebar in which Cochran seeks to impeach a witness using prior preliminary hearing testimony about what the witness saw parked to his left and whether there was an obstruction to his right. Clark argues Cochran is merely corroborating her own witness rather than impeaching him. Ito allows the question.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD AT THE BENCH:)

# 2 THE COURT:

WANT TO SHOW ME THE TRANSCRIPT? WHAT LINE?

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

BEGINNING LINE 15. SHE'LL AGREE SHE JUST WANTED TO COME OVER HERE TO STAND CLOSE TO ME.

# 4 MS. CLARK:

TRUE. YOU'RE SO HARD TO RESIST.

KEY QUOTE

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

COUNSEL, TO LINE 25.

# 6 MS. CLARK:

SERIOUSLY, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? CORROBORATE ANOTHER ONE OF MY WITNESSES, BOLSTER HIS CREDIBILITY? THAT'S WHAT HE TESTIFIED TO HERE.

KEY QUOTE

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

A LITTLE DIFFERENT. HE SAID HE LOOKED AND SAW --

# 8 THE COURT:

HE TESTIFIED HE SAW SOMETHING PARKED TO HIS LEFT AND THAT THERE WAS AN OBSTRUCTION TO HIS RIGHT.

KEY QUOTE

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

IT SHOULDN'T TAKE VERY LONG.

# 10 MS. CLARK:

BUT HE ALSO TESTIFIED AT THE PRELIMINARY HEARING HE SAW SOMETHING PARKED TO HIS LEFT.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

NO, HE DOES NOT -- TO HIS LEFT, BUT NOT TO HIS RIGHT.

# 12 MS. CLARK:

HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING WAS PARKED TO HIS RIGHT.

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

HE SAID THERE WAS AN OBSTRUCTION.

# 14 MS. CLARK:

SOMETHING WAS OBSTRUCTING HIS VIEW.

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

THAT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. I CAN GO INTO THIS, YOUR HONOR.

# 16 THE COURT:

I WILL ALLOW THE QUESTION.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Marcia Clark

TRUE. YOU'RE SO HARD TO RESIST.

Rare moment of genuine courtroom banter — Clark plays along with Cochran's joke about the witness wanting to stand close to him.

Marcia Clark

SERIOUSLY, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? CORROBORATE ANOTHER ONE OF MY WITNESSES, BOLSTER HIS CREDIBILITY? THAT'S WHAT HE TESTIFIED TO HERE.

Clark's strategic objection — she argues the prior testimony Cochran wants to use actually supports rather than undermines her witness.

Lance A. Ito

HE TESTIFIED HE SAW SOMETHING PARKED TO HIS LEFT AND THAT THERE WAS AN OBSTRUCTION TO HIS RIGHT.

The judge summarizes the disputed testimony himself, showing he has a command of the record.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Preliminary hearing transcript, lines 15-25, regarding what a witness saw parked to his left and an obstruction to his right

discussed as potential impeachment

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Marcia Clark

Cochran and Clark spar over whether the prior preliminary hearing testimony is meaningfully different from the current testimony on the question of a vehicle parked left and an obstruction right. Clark argues the distinction is immaterial; Cochran argues it is 'slightly different.'

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Marcia Clark

Cochran jokes a witness wanted to stand close to him; Clark quips 'You're so hard to resist.'

light

Light Moments (1)

Marcia Clark

Cochran jokes the witness 'just wanted to come over here to stand close to me'; Clark fires back 'You're so hard to resist.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ unidentified witness

prior inconsistent statement (preliminary hearing testimony)

Cochran attempts to use the witness's preliminary hearing testimony to show a discrepancy between what the witness said was parked to his left versus what obstructed his view to the right.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 5444 • 16 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103