Redirect examination of Rosa Lopez (part 2)

📄 Redirect examination of Rosa Lopez (part 2) — Friday, March 3, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\3\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-ROSA-L.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 30 of 167

◀ Sidebar (1) Recross-examination of Rosa Lopez (part 1) ▶

Witness: Rosa Lopez
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Friday, March 3, 1995 • Utterances: 91

Cochran conducts redirect of Rosa Lopez, rehabilitating her on three fronts: her familiarity with the Kaplan household (establishing credibility as a neighbor), her denial that she or Sylvia Guerra were promised $5,000 for testifying, and the revelation that defense investigator Bill Pavelic does not speak Spanish — undermining the reliability of a tape-recorded interview played earlier. The session closes with Lopez stating she prefers Spanish because 'that is my true language.'

# 1 THE COURT:

THANK YOU, COUNSEL. MR. COCHRAN.

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU.

# 3 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: MISS LOPEZ, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE INTERIOR OF THE KAPLAN'S HOME FOR US?

# 4 THE INTERPRETER:

I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY.

# 5 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: CAN YOU DESCRIBE --

# 6 THE INTERPRETER:

INTERPRETER ERROR. INTERPRETER ERROR.

# 7 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: LET ME REPHRASE IT. MISS LOPEZ, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE INSIDE OF THE KAPLAN'S HOME FOR THE COURT?

# 8 A:

A LITTLE, SIR.

# 9 Q:

WOULD YOU PLEASE DO THAT?

# 10 A:

GLADLY. GLADLY.

# 11 Q:

GLADLY, WOULD YOU, PLEASE? PLEASE PROCEED.

# 12 A:

AT THE ENTRANCE PAST THE GARAGE, THERE'S THE LAUNDRY ROOM. AFTER THAT, THERE'S SYLVIA'S ROOM. IN FRONT OF HER ROOM, THERE IS HER BATHROOM. AFTER THAT, THERE'S THE KITCHEN. AND AFTER THE KITCHEN, THERE IS THE DINING ROOM LET'S SAY AND THERE'S ALSO A ROOM THERE WHERE THEY PLAY POOL AND THEN THERE'S A ROOM FOR EXERCISE, AND NEXT TO THAT ROOM, THERE IS THE ROOM OF ONE OF THEIR CHILDREN, AND FROM THERE YOU CAN GO TO THE BIG LIVING ROOM WHERE THEY HAVE A TELEVISION SET.

# 13 Q:

ALL RIGHT. IS THIS A ONE-STORY OR TWO-STORY HOUSE, IF YOU RECALL?

# 14 A:

ONE FLOOR, SIR.

# 15 Q:

AND DO YOU RECALL ANYTHING ABOUT THE FLOORING IN THE HOUSE? WHAT KIND OF FLOORS DOES THE HOUSE HAVE?

# 16 A:

AROUND THE KITCHEN AND THE DINING ROOM, IT IS WOOD, SIR.

# 17 Q:

NOW, YOU'VE TOLD US YOU'VE BEEN TO THE KAPLAN'S HOUSE ON SOME OCCASIONS. HAVE YOU EVER HAD OCCASION TO MEET ANY OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS?

# 18 MR. DARDEN:

YOUR HONOR, I WOULD OBJECT. HOW IS THIS RELEVANT?

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

I'LL LINK IT UP, YOUR HONOR.

# 20 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 21 ROSA LOPEZ:

YES, SIR.

# 22 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: AND WHICH FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE YOU MET?

# 23 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECT TO DISCLOSING THE NAMES OF THE KAPLAN CHILDREN.

# 24 MR. COCHRAN:

I DON'T -- I DON'T -- I DON'T --

# 25 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE THE NAMES. SHE DOES NOT HAVE TO GIVE THE NAMES.

# 26 THE COURT:

HOW DO WE DO THIS WITHOUT GIVING THEIR NAMES?

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

WELL, LET ME ASK ANOTHER QUESTION, YOUR HONOR.

# 28 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: DO THE KAPLAN'S HAVE CHILDREN?

# 29 A:

YES, SIR.

# 30 Q:

ARE THEY OF THE SAME SEX OR DIFFERENT SEX?

# 31 A:

DIFFERENT SEX, SIR.

# 32 Q:

HAVE YOU HAD OCCASION TO MEET THE FEMALE CHILD?

# 33 A:

YES, SIR.

# 34 Q:

AND HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN THAT CHILD?

# 35 A:

SEVERAL TIMES.

# 36 Q:

HAVE YOU HAD OCCASION TO MEET THE MALE CHILD?

# 37 A:

THEY'RE BIG. THEY'RE ALREADY MEN.

# 38 Q:

ALL RIGHT. HAVE YOU MET THEM THOUGH?

# 39 A:

YES. I HAVE SEEN THEM.

# 40 Q:

AND HAVE YOU MET MR. AND MRS. KAPLAN?

# 41 A:

YES. THEY ARE VERY KIND PEOPLE. THEY ARE VERY KIND PEOPLE.

# 42 Q:

NOW, DURING THE TWO-YEAR PERIOD OF TIME THAT YOU'VE KNOWN SYLVIA, WOULD THE TWO OF YOU TALK ON THE PHONE?

# 43 A:

EVERY DAY.

# 44 Q:

AND WERE THERE OCCASIONS WHEN SHE, WHEN SYLVIA WOULD COME OVER TO YOUR PLACE, THE SALINGER'S PLACE?

# 45 A:

YES, SIR.

# 46 Q:

DID YOU HAVE AN OCCASION TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SYLVIA GUERRA SOMETIME TOWARD THE END OF JANUARY ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT SHE WANTED TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THIS CASE AT ALL?

# 47 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECTION. IT'S LEADING.

# 48 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 49 MR. DARDEN:

CALLS FOR HEARSAY.

# 50 ROSA LOPEZ:

YES, SIR.

# 51 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: AND WHAT WAS THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT?

# 52 MR. DARDEN:

HEARSAY. OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR.

# 53 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 54 MR. COCHRAN:

I COULDN'T HEAR YOUR HONOR.

# 55 THE COURT:

SUSTAINED.

# 56 MR. COCHRAN:

CAN I ASK THIS QUESTION?

# 57 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: DID YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION AT THAT TIME?

# 58 THE COURT:

SHE INDICATED SHE DID. SHE SAID SHE DID HAVE A CONVERSATION.

# 59 MR. COCHRAN:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 60 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: NOW, HAVE YOU EVER AT ANY TIME SAID TO SYLVIA THAT YOU WERE GOING TO RECEIVE $5,000 FOR YOUR TESTIMONY IN THIS CASE?

# 61 A:

I HAVE NEVER SAID THAT TO HER, SIR.

KEY QUOTE

# 62 Q:

HAVE YOU EVER AT ANY TIME SAID TO SYLVIA THAT IF SHE WOULD TESTIFY IN THIS CASE, SHE WOULD RECEIVE $5,000?

# 63 A:

NO, SIR.

# 64 Q:

DID YOU AND SYLVIA EXCHANGE CHRISTMAS GIFTS THIS PAST CHRISTMAS IN 1994?

# 65 A:

YES, SIR.

# 66 Q:

AND WHAT COUNTRY IS SYLVIA FROM?

# 67 A:

FROM GUATEMALA.

# 68 Q:

DOES SHE HAVE ANY CHILDREN?

# 69 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECTION. IRRELEVANT, YOUR HONOR.

# 70 MR. COCHRAN:

AGAIN, IT WILL BE RELEVANT, YOUR HONOR.

# 71 THE COURT:

VAGUELY. YES, YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION.

# 72 ROSA LOPEZ:

SHE HAS TWO.

# 73 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: AND DOES SHE HAVE ANY PARENTS HERE --

# 74 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECTION. IRRELEVANT.

# 75 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: DOES SHE HAVE PARENTS IN THE UNITED STATES?

# 76 THE COURT:

THAT'S IRRELEVANT. THAT'S IRRELEVANT.

# 77 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 78 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: YOU WERE ASKED A QUESTION OF WHETHER YOU'VE RIDDEN IN A LIMOUSINE LAST NIGHT WHEN YOU LEFT COURT. HAVE YOU RIDDEN IN ANY LIMOUSINES AT ALL SINCE YOU FIRST CAME DOWN HERE AND STARTED WITH US ON LAST FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH?

# 79 A:

NO, SIR.

# 80 Q:

AND FINALLY, WITH REGARD TO THE TAPE THAT YOU HEARD THIS MORNING WITH REGARD TO YOUR CONVERSATION WITH MR. PAVELIC -- DO YOU RECALL THAT?

# 81 A:

YES, SIR.

# 82 Q:

IF YOU KNOW, DOES BILL PAVELIC SPEAK SPANISH?

# 83 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECTION. CALLS FOR SPECULATION.

# 84 MR. COCHRAN:

IF SHE KNOWS.

# 85 THE COURT:

OVERRULED. YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION.

# 86 ROSA LOPEZ:

BILL PAVELIC? NO, SIR.

KEY QUOTE

# 87 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: WITH REGARD TO BEING INTERVIEWED AND TALKING, WOULD YOU PREFER TO SPEAK IN SPANISH OR ENGLISH?

# 88 A:

IN SPANISH, SIR.

# 89 Q:

AND WHY IS THAT?

# 90 A:

BECAUSE THAT IS MY TRUE LANGUAGE, SIR.

KEY QUOTE

# 91 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU VERY KINDLY. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Rosa Lopez

I HAVE NEVER SAID THAT TO HER, SIR.

Direct denial that she told Sylvia Guerra she would receive $5,000 for testifying — rebutting a key impeachment point from cross-examination.

Rosa Lopez

BILL PAVELIC? NO, SIR.

Lopez confirms Pavelic does not speak Spanish, casting doubt on the accuracy or reliability of the recorded conversation used against her.

Rosa Lopez

BECAUSE THAT IS MY TRUE LANGUAGE, SIR.

Lopez explains her preference for Spanish, implicitly explaining why an English-language interview with a non-Spanish-speaking investigator may have been miscommunicated.

Rosa Lopez

YES, THEY ARE VERY KIND PEOPLE. THEY ARE VERY KIND PEOPLE.

Unsolicited warmth toward the Kaplans; humanizes Lopez and suggests genuine, long-standing familiarity with the neighborhood rather than a coached witness.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Audio tape of Rosa Lopez's conversation with defense investigator Bill Pavelic

discussed — Cochran uses it to establish Pavelic does not speak Spanish, undermining its evidentiary weight

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Darden objects to disclosing the names of the Kaplan children; Ito asks how to proceed without names; Cochran pivots to asking about sex and ages of the children instead.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Rosa Lopez

Cochran elicits that Pavelic does not speak Spanish before asking Lopez whether she prefers Spanish or English, tying the tape's unreliability to a language barrier.

strategic

Light Moments (3)

The Interpreter

Interpreter breaks in twice mid-question with 'INTERPRETER ERROR. INTERPRETER ERROR.' before Cochran can finish his first question.

Rosa Lopez

Lopez responds to whether she's met the male Kaplan children with 'THEY'RE BIG. THEY'RE ALREADY MEN.' — an unexpectedly candid aside.

Lance A. Ito

Ito's dry interjection when Cochran seeks to establish Sylvia's family situation as relevant: 'VAGUELY. YES, YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION.'

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Rosa Lopez

prior inconsistent statement / alleged financial motive

Prosecution had apparently elicited during cross that Lopez told Sylvia Guerra both of them would receive $5,000 for their testimony; Cochran uses redirect to have Lopez flatly deny this on both counts.

⚔ Pavelic tape (defense investigation)

foundation challenge — language barrier

Cochran establishes that Pavelic does not speak Spanish and that Lopez prefers Spanish as her 'true language,' suggesting the recorded English-language interview was a poor vehicle for capturing her actual statements.

Objections

7 objections (2 sustained, 5 overruled)

Proceeding 5133 • 91 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103