At a bench conference, Ito proposed striking Yamauchi's answer about hearing that Simpson had an alibi. Scheck argued that the prosecution's elicitation of alibi testimony opened the door to Simpson's entire statement, rather than Yamauchi's own statement. Ito recognized a possible statement-completeness issue, and the parties continued to dispute its application pending review.
#1(The following proceedings were held at the bench:)
We've got a huge problem. We just brought in a statement. I'm going to strike the answer.
Judge signals an evidentiary problem serious enough to require immediate correction mid-testimony.
Barry Scheck
I'm not against it. It opens the door to his entire statement.
Scheck flips the motion — he welcomes the ruling because striking would paradoxically let in more, not less.
Lance A. Ito
It does.
Terse judicial acknowledgment that Scheck's door-opening argument is correct.
Evidence (1)
Informal
An unspecified statement just introduced into the record
discussed, proposed to be stricken
Notable Exchanges (1)
Lance A. Ito•Barry Scheck•Marcia Clark
Judge moves to strike an answer; Scheck agrees but warns it will open the door to the full statement; Clark tries to interject but is cut off when the judge proceeds.