Exhibit preparation and clarification

📄 Exhibit preparation and clarification — Thursday, May 18, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAY\18\EXHIBIT-PREPARATION-AND-CLARIF.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 77 of 167

◀ Sidebar: exhibit presentation objections Administrative matters: jury reconvening ▶

Date: Thursday, May 18, 1995 • Utterances: 32

A brief post-recess administrative session where counsel addressed exhibit substitutions (replacing a bursting thermometer with a test tube), marked an electrophoretogram as People's 273, and clarified testimony about tissue sampling. Scheck also previewed an upcoming sensitive line of questioning about cross-crime-scene sample handling, asking Judge Ito for guidance on how to approach it.

# 1 THE COURT:

All right, counsel. Mr. Scheck.

# 2 MR. SCHECK:

I'm sorry. We have substituted the--a test tube for the exploding blood vial.

KEY QUOTE

# 3 THE COURT:

No. The thermometer, bursting thermometer.

# 4 MR. SCHECK:

Thermometer.

# 5 THE COURT:

Mr. Harris, do you have that?

# 6 MR. HARRIS:

Yes, your Honor.

# 7 THE COURT:

Let me see it. Let's have it quiet in the courtroom, please.

# 8 (Brief pause.)

# 9 THE COURT:

All right. Any other comment?

# 10 MR. HARMON:

Other than the ones that we made before, that they're argumentative in total, your Honor, none.

# 11 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, counsel. All right. Objection's overruled given the modification.

# 12 MR. HARMON:

Mr. Harris has agreed to give us a copy of that on disk so that we can use it too.

# 13 THE COURT:

Yes. All right. Anything else?

# 14 MR. HARMON:

A couple points, your Honor. I'd like--it appears that the electrophoretogram that we showed is a similar photograph taken at a different time than the one that Mr. Sims looked at. So I would like to mark the one that he presented as the one he reviewed. They're photos of the same thing, but they're different photos. And just to--because this is what he viewed, I'd like to have that marked.

# 15 THE COURT:

All right. That would be 273.

# 16 (Peo's 273 for id = electrophoretogram)

# 17 MR. HARMON:

And then the only other point that I have, your Honor--I don't want to reask the question, but depending on cross-examination, I have to. In fact, Mr. Matheson said he didn't see any tissue when he sampled it on page 25403 and 25404. So I think the point was made in my question to Mr. Sims, but--

# 18 THE COURT:

I think you got the point there was--he tested only for blood or tested only blood particles there. I'll look at that over the recess if you'll give me the--

# 19 MR. HARMON:

I have a copy of those pages.

# 20 THE COURT:

All right. I think we've cleared it up, but I don't think--

# 21 MR. HARMON:

I think the question, approximately had the same material, but--

# 22 THE COURT:

Is that a pun? Never mind.

KEY QUOTE

# 23 MR. SCHECK:

There's one question that I know I'm going to ask that--maybe pretty soon where I'll need some guidance from the Court about how to ask it.

# 24 THE COURT:

And what might that question be?

# 25 MR. SCHECK:

Well, the--when I get to the issues of discussing--well, can I approach and do that without the--

# 26 THE COURT:

What's the general topic?

# 27 MR. SCHECK:

General topic is handling samples from two different crime scenes, and I want to find a way--the police and the crime laboratory personnel or certainly police, probably the crime laboratory personnel, had certain knowledge in this case with respect to what Mr. Sims said about the blood at Rockingham prior to handling and conducting an analysis of samples. And I know that I want to ask this question--

# 28 THE COURT:

Sounds like a touchy area.

KEY QUOTE

# 29 MR. SCHECK:

That's why I'm bringing it to your attention.

# 30 THE COURT:

Why don't you ask to approach when you get to that point then.

# 31 MR. SCHECK:

All right. It will be pretty soon, but--

# 32 THE COURT:

All right. Let's have the jurors, please.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Barry Scheck

We have substituted the--a test tube for the exploding blood vial.

Reveals that a demonstrative exhibit had a malfunction risk; the correction was accepted by the court.

Lance A. Ito

Is that a pun? Never mind.

A rare light moment from Ito, reacting to Harmon's inadvertent wordplay about blood 'material.'

Barry Scheck

The police and the crime laboratory personnel or certainly police, probably the crime laboratory personnel, had certain knowledge in this case with respect to what Mr. Sims said about the blood at Rockingham prior to handling and conducting an analysis of samples.

Telegraphs a potentially explosive line of cross-examination about whether lab personnel were improperly influenced before testing.

Lance A. Ito

Sounds like a touchy area.

The judge's understatement signals awareness of how sensitive the cross-contamination/foreknowledge issue is.

Evidence (2)

People's 273

Electrophoretogram — a photograph of gel electrophoresis results, noted as a different photo than previously shown but of the same subject matter

marked for identification

Informal

Bursting thermometer / exploding blood vial — replaced with a test tube for demonstrative use

substituted

Notable Exchanges (2)

Barry Scheck•Lance A. Ito

Scheck previewed a sensitive upcoming question about whether law enforcement and lab personnel had prior knowledge of Rockingham blood evidence before analyzing samples — flagging it to get the court's guidance before asking.

strategic

Rockne Harmon•Lance A. Ito

Harmon sought to mark the specific electrophoretogram Sims actually reviewed, distinguishing it from a similar photo shown in court — a precision move to lock in the evidentiary record.

meticulous

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Harmon used the word 'material' in the context of blood samples; Ito caught a possible double meaning and quipped 'Is that a pun? Never mind.'

Witness Demeanor

(Brief pause.)

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 6114 • 32 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103