Redirect examination of Collin Yamauchi (morning, part 2)

📄 Redirect examination of Collin Yamauchi (morning, part 2) — Wednesday, May 31, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\MAY\31\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-COLLIN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 85 of 167

◀ Sidebar: phenolphthalein test Recross-examination of Collin Yamauchi (morning) ▶

Witness: Collin Yamauchi
Examiner: Rockne Harmon
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, May 31, 1995 • Utterances: 45

Rockne Harmon conducts a brief redirect examination of criminalist Collin Yamauchi, focusing on two things: his observation of the socks with Gary Sims that morning (where he saw the same substance as in the lab), and rehabilitating his June 14th DQ-Alpha testing work. The judge sustained several objections forcing Harmon to find indirect ways to elicit that the substance on the socks resembled blood.

# 1 MR. HARMON:

Mr. Yamauchi, did you then bring the socks and the stereomicroscope to Court, to this building, this morning?

# 2 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes.

# 3 MR. HARMON:

And did you assist Gary Sims in setting up and looking at the socks upstairs in our office?

# 4 MR. SCHECK:

Objection, your Honor, beyond the scope.

# 5 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 6 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes.

# 7 MR. HARMON:

Okay. And did you actually look at the stereomicroscope and look at the socks after Mr. Sims had manipulated the socks?

# 8 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes.

# 9 MR. HARMON:

And will you describe what you saw.

# 10 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Again he focused in on another area than Mr. Matheson--than Mr. Matheson did, and the same stuff or substance adhering to the fibers of the sock were noted.

# 11 MR. HARMON:

Okay. Did you say Mr. Matheson or Mr. Sims upstairs?

# 12 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Upstairs was Mr. Sims and back at the lab was Mr. Matheson.

# 13 MR. HARMON:

And were these--will you describe what you observed upstairs with Mr. Sims after he manipulated the socks.

# 14 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes. Once again, it was the same appearing substance adhering to the fibers of the--of the socks.

# 15 MR. HARMON:

What did it look like?

# 16 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Well, it looked like it could possibly be blood.

# 17 MR. SCHECK:

Objection, move to strike.

# 18 THE COURT:

Sustained. The answer is stricken. The jury is to disregard.

# 19 MR. HARMON:

Did it resemble blood?

# 20 MR. SCHECK:

Same objection.

# 21 THE COURT:

You can have him describe with particularity what he saw, without the conclusion.

# 22 MR. HARMON:

Will you describe with particularity what you saw, and if you can compare it with something that you already know, that would be helpful, too.

# 23 MR. YAMAUCHI:

It was a substance, kind of subtle, reddish, somewhat crystalline, adhering to the fibers of the socks.

KEY QUOTE

# 24 MR. HARMON:

Have you ever seen blood that looks like that?

# 25 MR. SCHECK:

Objection.

# 26 THE COURT:

It is leading.

# 27 MR. HARMON:

Did it resemble blood?

# 28 MR. SCHECK:

Objection.

# 29 THE COURT:

Sustained. Have you ever seen anything that is similar to what you saw?

# 30 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes.

# 31 MR. HARMON:

What was that?

# 32 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Blood.

# 33 MR. HARMON:

Now, was this a different spot than Mr. Matheson looked at and showed you in the lab this morning?

# 34 MR. YAMAUCHI:

With Gary Sims?

# 35 MR. HARMON:

Yes.

# 36 MR. YAMAUCHI:

Yes.

# 37 MR. HARMON:

Mr. Yamauchi, in trying to get results from start to finish on June 14th, did you do anything that would have caused Mr. Simpson to be falsely implicated by the results that you produced?

# 38 MR. SCHECK:

Objection. The same question as before.

# 39 THE COURT:

Rephrase the question.

# 40 MR. HARMON:

Sure.

# 41 MR. HARMON:

Mr. Yamauchi, in working overtime and going from start to finish on the first set of DQ-Alpha tests that you performed on June 14th, did you do anything that undermines your confidence in the results that you've described to this jury?

# 42 MR. SCHECK:

Object to leading, speculative and asked and answered.

# 43 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 44 MR. YAMAUCHI:

No.

# 45 MR. HARMON:

Thanks, Mr. Yamauchi. No further questions.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Collin Yamauchi

It was a substance, kind of subtle, reddish, somewhat crystalline, adhering to the fibers of the socks.

The description Ito allowed after striking the direct 'blood' conclusion — the jury still hears a vivid characterization that strongly implies blood.

Collin Yamauchi

Yes. [When asked if he had ever seen anything similar to what he saw.] ... Blood.

Harmon's workaround to Ito's ruling: get the witness to confirm he had seen something similar, then ask what — netting 'blood' anyway.

Collin Yamauchi

No. [When asked if he did anything that undermines his confidence in the results he described to the jury.]

Direct rehabilitation of the June 14th testing process, countering defense contamination/incompetence theories.

Evidence (1)

Informal

The socks from the crime scene, examined under stereomicroscope

discussed — Yamauchi describes observing them with Gary Sims that morning in the prosecution's office

Notable Exchanges (2)

Rockne Harmon•Lance A. Ito•Barry Scheck

Three-round battle over whether Yamauchi could say the substance 'looked like blood.' Ito sustained the objection twice but then guided Harmon to a roundabout question ('Have you ever seen anything similar?') that produced the same answer.

strategic

Rockne Harmon•Barry Scheck

Scheck objected to the rehabilitation question about June 14th testing as 'the same question as before'; Ito only asked for a rephrase, and the rephrased version was overruled, letting Yamauchi deny any undermining of his results.

procedural

Objections

7 objections (3 sustained, 2 overruled)

Proceeding 6228 • 45 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103