Cross-examination of Tom Lange (afternoon, part 5)

📄 Cross-examination of Tom Lange (afternoon, part 5) — Monday, March 6, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAR\6\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-TOM-LANGE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 31 of 167

◀ Sidebar: Goldman's clothing Sidebar (3) ▶

Witness: Det. Tom Lange
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Monday, March 6, 1995 • Utterances: 28

Cochran cross-examines Lange while physically examining People's 30, a Vons Pavilion bag containing Ron Goldman's clothes from the night of the murders. Inside the bag, they discover a handwritten grocery shopping list that Lange had never seen before; Lange notes the items were actually collected by Detectives Tippin and Carr, not himself.

# 1 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. MR. COCHRAN.

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU. MAY I APPROACH, YOUR HONOR?

# 3 THE COURT:

YOU MAY.

# 4 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: I'M GOING TO PLACE WHAT I THINK IS PEOPLE'S 30 FOR IDENTIFICATION BEFORE YOU AND ASK YOU TO OPEN THIS BAG AND TAKE THE CONTENTS OUT. THIS PURPORTS TO BE MR. GOLDMAN'S CLOTHES HE WAS WEARING SOMETIME EARLIER THAT EVENING; IS THAT CORRECT? IS THAT CORRECT, DETECTIVE LANGE?

# 5 A:

I'M CHECKING. THEY APPEAR TO BE, YES. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO REMOVE THEM?

# 6 Q:

YES, PLEASE.

# 7 A:

REMOVING A PAIR OF PANTS, APPEARS TO BE A SHIRT ON A HANGER.

# 8 Q:

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE IN THE BAG?

# 9 A:

THERE'S A NOTE, APPEARS TO BE.

# 10 Q:

WOULD YOU TAKE THAT OUT?

# 11 A:

"ONE PIECE GREEN PAPER WITH WRITING FROM BROWN PAPER BAG DATED 2-18-95."

# 12 Q:

ALL RIGHT. CAN YOU OPEN THAT?

# 13 A:

TEARING A PIECE OF TAPE THAT'S INITIALED ON THE BACK. IT'S A GREEN SCRAP OF PAPER.

# 14 Q:

ALL RIGHT. WHAT -- LET'S LOOK AT THAT PAPER. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BEFORE?

# 15 A:

NO.

# 16 Q:

WHAT IS THIS PAPER?

# 17 A:

APPEARS TO BE SOME KIND OF A SHOPPING LIST.

# 18 Q:

A LAUNDRY LIST? A SHOPPING LIST?

# 19 A:

YES.

# 20 Q:

ALL RIGHT. NOW, THIS -- WHAT IS -- WHY DON'T YOU READ WHAT THAT HAS ON IT.

# 21 A:

VEGETABLES, TURKEY, TOMATOES, LETTUCE, CHICKEN, ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI, SUGAR FREE ICE CREAM. I CAN'T MAKE OUT THIS ONE HERE (INDICATING). PRETZELS PERHAPS.

KEY QUOTE

# 22 Q:

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THAT LIST BEFORE?

# 23 A:

NO.

# 24 Q:

AND THIS BAG WITH REGARD TO -- THIS -- THIS IS A PAVILION'S BAG, VONS PAVILION BAG? HOW WERE THESE CLOTHES RECOVERED AND WHAT IS THE CONNECTION OF THE BAG WITH THE CLOTHES?

# 25 A:

ONCE AGAIN, THEY WERE RECOVERED BY DETECTIVES TIPPIN AND CARR. I WASN'T THERE. I COULDN'T ANSWER THAT.

KEY QUOTE

# 26 Q:

BUT IT WAS BOOKED IN THE VONS PAVILION BAG ALONG WITH THIS ENVELOPE; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 27 A:

APPARENTLY.

# 28 Q:

DID THEY -- DID THE DETECTIVES -- AND DO YOU SEE BANANA ON THERE ALSO?

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (2)

Tom Lange

VEGETABLES, TURKEY, TOMATOES, LETTUCE, CHICKEN, ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI, SUGAR FREE ICE CREAM. I CAN'T MAKE OUT THIS ONE HERE (INDICATING). PRETZELS PERHAPS.

Lange reads aloud a grocery list found inside the evidence bag with Goldman's clothing — an item he had never previously seen, raising questions about what was examined or catalogued.

Tom Lange

ONCE AGAIN, THEY WERE RECOVERED BY DETECTIVES TIPPIN AND CARR. I WASN'T THERE. I COULDN'T ANSWER THAT.

Lange distances himself from the collection of this evidence, limiting his ability to answer chain-of-custody questions — a recurring vulnerability Cochran is probing.

Evidence (1)

People's 30

Ron Goldman's clothes (pants and shirt on hanger) stored in a Vons Pavilion grocery bag, along with a handwritten grocery shopping list on green paper dated 2-18-95

physically opened and examined on the stand; contents itemized for the record

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Tom Lange

Cochran has Lange open the evidence bag and read aloud a grocery list found inside Goldman's clothing bag — an item Lange had never seen before. The list includes vegetables, chicken, sugar-free ice cream, and pretzels, potentially related to Goldman's errand to Nicole's house that night.

strategic

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Tom Lange

knowledge gaps / chain of custody

Cochran establishes that Lange was not present when Goldman's clothes were recovered and cannot explain the provenance of items found in the evidence bag, including a shopping list he had never seen.

Witness Demeanor

(INDICATING) — Lange points to an illegible item on the shopping list while reading it aloud

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 5156 • 28 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103