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 • Lines: 28

Cochran cross-examines Lange while physically examining People's 30, a Vons Pavilion bag containing clothes that Cochran says purport to be Ron Goldman's clothes worn sometime earlier that evening; Lange says they appear to be those items. 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 shopping list found in the bag and says he had not seen it before.

Tom Lange

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

Lange says Detectives Tippin and Carr recovered the clothes and that he was not there, so he could not answer the question about the bag's connection to them.

Evidence (1)

People's 30

A pair of pants and what appeared to be a shirt on a hanger in a Vons Pavilion bag—items Cochran said purported to be clothes Mr. Goldman wore earlier that evening and Lange said appeared to be—along with a green scrap of paper that appeared to be a shopping list; the transcript does not clearly establish whether the referenced date 2-18-95 applied to the paper itself or its packaging or notation.

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

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Tom Lange

Cochran has Lange open the bag, remove the clothes, and read aloud a shopping list that Lange says he had not seen before.

procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Tom Lange

knowledge gaps / chain of custody

Cochran highlights that Lange was not present when Detectives Tippin and Carr recovered the clothes and could not answer how the bag was connected with them.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 5156 • 28 lines • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103