📄 Sidebar: timing objections — Tuesday, May 16, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAY\16\SIDEBAR-TIMING-OBJECTIONS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 75 of 167

Sidebar: timing objections

Date: Tuesday, May 16, 1995 • Utterances: 25
Defense attorney Barry Scheck complained that prosecutor Rockne Harmon's question about 'time constraints' on evidence testing was opening the door to a previously agreed-upon off-limits topic: the Defense's repeated denied motions for early sample splits and access to evidence. Scheck argued this put the Defense in an impossible position, forcing them to either let damaging implications stand or explain to the jury the full history of limited evidence access. Judge Ito sided with Scheck, ruling the timing and access issues irrelevant and warning Harmon not to revisit them.
1 THE COURT:

All right. Back on the record. Mr. Scheck. The jury is not present.

2 MR. SCHECK:

Yes, your Honor. I made an objection maybe a beat late with respect to the answer that the witness gave on time constraints and asked to approach. Do you recall that question and answer?

3 THE COURT:

Yes.

4 MR. SCHECK:

And I didn't want to draw more attention to it than had already been done, but the problem I have here is that what Mr. Harmon has done is, he's--we--the Defense made a number of motions in this case both before Judge Kennedy and yourself for splits of the evidence and splits early before there was extensive processing by laboratories. Those motions were denied. Additional motions were made with respect to the pacing of the testing. By bringing out the questioning in the way that he's done and continually pushing with objections sustained, this whole issue of access and everything else, he puts us in the position now where we have to go into something that I thought we all agreed under 352 is really not for the jury--is a big problem for all of us, and that is to explain to the jury that the Defense asked for half the samples. The Defense on a number of occasions asked for portions of the samples early, that these requests were denied, that the testing process has gone in all the way through the trial, that there's been limited access, all kinds of things like that which I thought that we were going to keep out of bounds. And by asking that question about the time constraint in that fashion, he begins to open the door to this problem, puts us in a dilemma.

5 THE COURT:

Uh-huh. What do you propose?

6 MR. SCHECK:

Well, I'd have to give that my thought. My real proposal is, is probably some kind of an instruction from the Court with respect--some general instruction on this issue. But I would again urge that they not be allowed to go back into this whole issue of--I mean, how many times can we do it now, you know, scathing on the edge? I think enough is enough and I think--and he really went over the line there by implicating all these issues of time constraints and explaining all that to the jury.

7 THE COURT:

Well, it was one question and answer.

8 MR. SCHECK:

I understand that. And I tried not to bring undue attention to it and I did ask for a sidebar, but this is my concern. And I articulated it at the beginning and asked that before these kinds of things came up, that the Prosecutor indicate to us he was getting into this area, and I have a--this abiding concern.

9 THE COURT:

Mr. Harmon, any necessary response?

10 MR. HARMON:

Well, they're always necessary responses to Mr. Scheck. You know, how much longer do we have to pretend that those requests for splits were sincere when they never took advantage of them when we were done with it.

11 THE COURT:

No, no. Mr. Harmon, that's not the issue.

12 MR. HARMON:

Well, it is, because if we're going to instruct them on anything--

13 THE COURT:

Mr. Harmon, no. Mr. Harmon, thank you. That's enough. The only issue there was the issue of timing and what kind of time constraints were there. That's really irrelevant at this point. So let's avoid the topic in the future. All right. Let's have the jury.

14 MR. SCHECK:

It's not just that. It's this whole question of reanalysis and retesting and--

15 THE COURT:

I understand that, counsel. I understand. I've indicated to Mr. Harmon I think it's irrelevant, the timing issues, under 3--it's also undue consumption of the Court's time to get into who got to do what when.

16 MR. SCHECK:

Yes.

17 THE COURT:

And I indicated we're not going into that.

18 MR. SCHECK:

Well, if we go into this reanalysis issue again--

19 THE COURT:

All right. And I've given Mr. Harmon fair warning now, we're not going into that. Let's have the jurors.

20 MR. HARMON:

Your Honor, give me fair warning about what? He's talking about the potential for reanalysis.

21 THE COURT:

No. I'm talking about--no. I--we're not going into the timing of who had access to what when.

22 MR. HARMON:

We're done with that.

23 THE COURT:

Good.

24 MR. HARMON:

Yeah.

25 THE COURT:

Let's have the jurors.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Barry Scheck
by asking that question about the time constraint in that fashion, he begins to open the door to this problem, puts us in a dilemma.
Captures the core Defense concern — that a single prosecution question could unravel an agreed evidentiary boundary and force the Defense to expose its own prior requests for sample splits.
Rockne Harmon
how much longer do we have to pretend that those requests for splits were sincere when they never took advantage of them when we were done with it.
Harmon aggressively challenges the good faith of the Defense's prior motions, implying they were strategic posturing rather than genuine discovery requests.
Lance A. Ito
it's also undue consumption of the Court's time to get into who got to do what when.
Ito's ruling shutting down the entire timing/access line of inquiry, effectively protecting both sides from a messy evidentiary detour.

Evidence (1)

Informal
DNA/biological sample splits — Defense motions before Judge Kennedy and Ito requesting early access to portions of evidence samples before full lab processing
discussed procedurally; referenced as context for the sidebar dispute

Notable Exchanges (2)

Rockne HarmonLance A. Ito
Harmon attempted to justify re-opening the sample-split issue by questioning the sincerity of Defense motions; Ito cut him off twice and issued a clear warning to drop the topic.
judicial rebuke
Barry ScheckLance A. Ito
Scheck tried to extend the ruling beyond just 'timing' to cover the broader reanalysis and retesting topic; Ito acknowledged it but kept his ruling narrowly stated.
strategic

Objections

1 objections (1 sustained, 0 overruled)
Proceeding 6064 • 25 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 MAY 16, 1995 📄 Sidebar: timing objections
MAY 16, 1995 KRT DvH TD