Pre-trial discussion: LAPD PCR

📄 Pre-trial discussion: LAPD PCR — Wednesday, May 24, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAY\24\PRE-TRIAL-DISCUSSION-LAPD-PCR.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 81 of 167

◀ Pre-trial discussion: socks examination Witness sworn ▶

Date: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 • Utterances: 32

A brief pre-trial discussion about the LAPD PCR board to be presented to the jury. Defense attorney Barry Scheck objected that photographs on the board depicting the PCR product gel electrophoresis lab at Piper Tech showed a later, cleaned-up configuration of the equipment room rather than the original setup used during the actual analysis in this case. Judge Ito ordered a recess to locate witness Yamauchi and have him verify which location was depicted.

# 1 (Brief pause.)

# 2 THE COURT:

I take it we won't get to that board before noontime?

# 3 MR. HARMON:

Oh, no, your Honor.

# 4 (Brief pause.)

# 5 MR. HARMON:

This is the LAPD PCR board? Is there an objection to that?

# 6 MR. SCHECK:

That is the only other board, yeah.

# 7 (Brief pause.)

# 8 MR. SCHECK:

Now, your Honor, just as a matter of simple courtesy, and in keeping with our past practice, I have been asking Mr. Harmon for a day and a half for a printout of this board which I have received and we have all received on all previous boards, and the photographs that went into this board, and previously we had received all photographs, the boards were made up from photographs that we had received prior to this. Now, I don't believe that we received these photographs, but most importantly, you see the--all of these photographs, I should say. My particular problem has to do with the bottom rung here and that is "Piper tech product gel electrophoresis." Just in our experience taking two tours of the lab, the DNA lab, is that the first time that we took a tour with Mr. Yamauchi and we were taken into the room where they did the product gel electrophoresis, which incidentally is back in the Parker Center--back in piper tech. They go to Parker Center and they take the amplified PCR out and they bring it back into piper tech into I think they call it an equipment room. They changed the set-up of where they did the PCR product gels in a different place, you know, looks different, all cleaned up. And I think these photographs are of that new area where they did it, not of the original area that we first saw which I take it is where the actual PCR product gel electrophoresis analysis was done in this case.

# 9 THE COURT:

Mr. Harmon.

# 10 (Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)

# 11 MR. HARMON:

I'm not sure what it is cleaned up with respect to, with respect to June 13th or 14th and 15th? I don't know how to address that. They have been there. They have taken their own pictures. They can put on their own pictures, if you allow Dr. Gerdes to testify, which I'm sure you won't. I don't know what to say, your Honor. Shall we have like amplicons marching around there?

# 12 THE COURT:

Mr. Harmon, you know, as much as I enjoy your style, I don't know if you were watching the jury, but when you asked the question about can amplicons suddenly turn left, did you see the look on the juror's faces when you said that?

KEY QUOTE

# 13 MR. HARMON:

You know, I'm old enough to appreciate what I do, and I appreciate your observation, your Honor, and I understand. I appreciate the--

# 14 THE COURT:

It has about the same effect sometimes.

# 15 MR. HARMON:

But sometimes I'm--I'm speechless.

# 16 THE COURT:

The objection is that it is not an accurate photo of the location where the testing took place. Any comments on that?

# 17 MR. HARMON:

That that is not where the testing in this case took place?

# 18 THE COURT:

That is how I understood the objection.

# 19 MR. HARMON:

We think that it is. If it is wrong, then--

# 20 MR. SCHECK:

It is wrong.

# 21 MR. HARMON:

--I would be happy--

# 22 MR. SCHECK:

He should talk to his witness.

# 23 MR. HARMON:

I make mistakes all the time, your Honor. If that is not the right photograph, umm, I would be happy to put the right one up there. But we have been there, we have walked through it.

KEY QUOTE

# 24 THE COURT:

Has your witness seen this and told you this is the same place?

# 25 MR. HARMON:

That is him in the photos.

# 26 MR. SCHECK:

No, no, bottom photos.

# 27 THE COURT:

Bottom one.

# 28 MR. HARMON:

We went around with him. I was with him that day.

# 29 THE COURT:

If you are offering that it is accurate--

# 30 MR. SCHECK:

Let me just try to help him out a little bit. The first time we went through it was in a different location in a different place in a different set-up within that room. The second time that we took the tour they said we have changed the area that they did it, they gave it a wider space, they cleaned it up, they put it in a different place. My strong suspicion is it is in the second location, not the first location where he actually did the product gel in this case. It is a simple enough matter to ask his own witness what that is a picture of. I'm fairly confident--and certainly I have never seen these pictures before. I was supposed to see them, right?

# 31 THE COURT:

Where is Mr. Yamauchi? All right. Well, I have to give the court reporter a break, so we will take a court reporter break and get him down here and have him take a look at the pictures, and hopefully we will get some time in in front of the jury this morning. All right. We will take 15.

# 32 (Recess.)

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Barry Scheck

My strong suspicion is it is in the second location, not the first location where he actually did the product gel in this case. It is a simple enough matter to ask his own witness what that is a picture of.

Encapsulates Scheck's core objection: the board's photo may misrepresent the actual conditions of the lab during the testing, potentially misleading the jury.

Lance A. Ito

Mr. Harmon, you know, as much as I enjoy your style, I don't know if you were watching the jury, but when you asked the question about can amplicons suddenly turn left, did you see the look on the juror's faces when you said that?

Ito gently rebukes Harmon's courtroom theatrics, noting the jury's confused reaction to overly technical or flippant language.

Rockne Harmon

I make mistakes all the time, your Honor. If that is not the right photograph, umm, I would be happy to put the right one up there.

Harmon concedes the possibility of error but had not verified the photo with his own witness before presenting the board.

Evidence (1)

Informal

LAPD PCR board — a demonstrative board with photographs of the Piper Tech DNA lab, including the PCR product gel electrophoresis area

disputed; recess called to verify photo accuracy with witness Yamauchi

Notable Exchanges (2)

Lance A. Ito•Rockne Harmon

Ito gently chided Harmon for his 'amplicons turning left' remark, noting jurors looked confused. Harmon acknowledged the critique with self-deprecating humor.

light

Barry Scheck•Rockne Harmon

Scheck argued the PCR board photograph showed the reconfigured, cleaned-up lab room rather than the original room where the actual testing occurred. Harmon was uncertain but stood by the photo, noting he had personally toured with Yamauchi.

strategic

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Ito told Harmon his 'amplicons suddenly turn left' question produced visible confusion on jurors' faces, likening its rhetorical effect to Harmon's general courtroom style. Harmon responded he was 'speechless.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ LAPD DNA lab / PCR process

challenge to demonstrative evidence accuracy

Scheck argued the board's photograph depicted a later, cleaner version of the Piper Tech lab room, not the original setup where PCR product gel electrophoresis was actually performed in this case, potentially giving the jury a misleading picture of the testing environment.

Witness Demeanor

(Brief pause.) x3

(Discussion held off the record between the Deputy District Attorneys.)

(Recess.)

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 6166 • 32 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103