📄 Opening remarks — Friday, September 1, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\1\OPENING-REMARKS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 146 of 167

Opening remarks

Date: Friday, September 1, 1995 • Utterances: 17
Judge Ito opens the session and Cochran immediately launches into a multi-part agenda involving Mark Fuhrman: a discovery dispute, a motion to revisit suppression based on the Fuhrman tapes, a Brady motion, and offers of proof for witnesses Roderic Hodge and Natalie Singer. Darden protests that the defense handed him their moving papers less than three minutes before court and he has not had time to review them.
1 (Appearances as heretofore noted; also present, Darryl Mounger, Esquire, for Mark Fuhrman.)
2 (Janet M. Moxham, CSR no. 4855, official reporter.)
3 (Christine M. Olson, CSR no. 2378, official reporter.)
4 (The following proceedings were held in open court, out of the presence of the jury:)
5 THE COURT:

All right. Back on the record in the Simpson matter. The Defendant is again present with his counsel, Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Douglas, Mr. Blasier, Mr. Bailey and Mr. Spaulding, People represented by Mr. Hodgman, Mr. Darden and Miss Clark. Counsel, anything we need to take up before we resume with our next witness?

6 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes, your Honor.

7 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran.

8 MR. COCHRAN:

We need to take up several matters, and I'll try to lay them out for the court at this point. Based upon the court's ruling, which the court took two days to render or a little short of two days, we're not ready to proceed either with Laura McKinny or with Mark Fuhrman today. I've asked Mr. Fuhrman's lawyer, Mr. Mounger, to come today, and I plan to talk to him when we take a break this morning further. We have several other issues that we need to resolve. We have a discovery matter which has come up which we think is very urgent and it bears upon Mark Fuhrman and whether or not we've received discovery timely and it bears critically on this whole idea of planting evidence, and I would ask the court to hear from Barry Scheck on that. That's one. We have secondarily a--we filed a motion to suppress evidence based on newly discovered evidence, which I'm going to ask the court to listen to Professor Gerry Uelmen on.

9 THE COURT:

Motion to suppress newly discovered evidence?

10 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, it's a motion to the court to review the suppression motion based upon newly discovered evidence, to wit, Fuhrman, the Fuhrman tapes, ask the court to hear that matter because it ties to Fuhrman. The third thing that we have is a Brady motion which I indicated to the court we're filing, the Brady motion with declaration attached thereto. We're going to ask the court to hear that. And finally, we have--we'll be making an offer of proof regarding two witnesses that we would call today, Roderic Hodge and Natalie Singer, relating to this same general area. You've heard something about them before. Mr. Bailey will make an offer of proof in that regard. Those things we want to do and pretty much in that order if the court will allow us starting with--because they tie in together--hearing from Barry Scheck first. Then the court perhaps will hear from Professor Uelmen--Uelmen and the court can hear from me on the Brady motion and then lastly from Mr. Bailey on the offer of proof. And then we perhaps need a break to talk with Mr. Mounger with regard to Detective Fuhrman. He's on call also.

11 THE COURT:

All right.

12 MR. DARDEN:

Your Honor, if I can be heard.

13 THE COURT:

Yes. Mr. Darden.

14 MR. DARDEN:

We were just handed their moving papers on these issues less than three minutes ago. So we have not had an opportunity to review the documents. In addition, with regard to Hodge and Singer, as the court may recall, the court earlier ruled, after an argument by Cheri Lewis, that the court would wait to rule on Hodge and Singer until after the court heard testimony from Kathleen Bell and Andrea Terry. So we're not ready to proceed on Hodge or Singer. I'm not even ready to argue the 352 issue for the second time, for a second time.

KEY QUOTE
15 THE COURT:

All right. How about the discovery matter?

16 MR. DARDEN:

We just received a letter a few moments ago on the discovery matter and we have one copy and we're trying to read it, read over it right now.

17 THE COURT:

All right. Well, I'll hear from Mr. Scheck on the discovery issue and let's see how far we get.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran
it bears critically on this whole idea of planting evidence
Cochran signals that the discovery dispute is directly tied to the defense's core theory that Fuhrman planted evidence — framing the procedural fight as existential to the case.
Christopher Darden
We were just handed their moving papers on these issues less than three minutes ago.
Illustrates the prosecution's recurring complaint about last-minute defense filings, and puts Darden on record that he cannot meaningfully respond to the motions.
Johnnie Cochran
We're not ready to proceed either with Laura McKinny or with Mark Fuhrman today.
Reveals that despite the high-profile anticipation of both the Fuhrman tapes custodian and Fuhrman himself, the defense is not yet prepared to call either — buying time through the motion cascade.

Evidence (1)

Informal
The Fuhrman tapes — referenced as basis for renewed suppression motion and Brady motion
discussed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie CochranLance A. Ito
Cochran presents a four-part procedural agenda (discovery, suppression, Brady, offers of proof) and asks the court to hear each in sequence; Ito grants permission to begin with Scheck on discovery.
strategic
Christopher DardenLance A. Ito
Darden flags that moving papers were handed to the prosecution moments before court and argues the Hodge/Singer issue was already ruled on pending other witness testimony.
frustrated

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Mark Fuhrman
prior recorded statements / Brady / discovery violations
Cochran frames the entire morning's agenda around undermining Fuhrman — the Fuhrman tapes, a suppression motion based on newly discovered evidence from those tapes, a Brady motion alleging withheld discovery, and witness offers of proof (Hodge, Singer) all aimed at establishing Fuhrman's bias and potential misconduct.

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 7477 • 17 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 SEP 1, 1995 📄 Opening remarks
SEP 1, 1995 KRT DvH TD