Cross-examination of Bill Renken

📄 Cross-examination of Bill Renken — Monday, September 11, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\11\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-BILL-RENK.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 151 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Bill Renken (part 3) Witness excused ▶

Witness: Bill Renken
Examiner: Robert Blasier
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Monday, September 11, 1995 • Utterances: 101

Defense attorney Robert Blasier cross-examines Bill Renken, a photographer who took pictures of OJ Simpson wearing brown gloves at a January 1991 Cincinnati Bengals game. Blasier works to undermine the significance of the glove photos by establishing that gloves were common in cold weather, that heat packs could explain the fit, and that the 'bunching' at the wrist area visible in the photos was consistent across all images including pre-game footage. Blasier also catches Renken in a minor error about the timing of the video footage.

# 1 THE COURT:

Thank you, Mr. Fairtlough. Mr. Blasier.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. BLASIER

# 2 MR. BLASIER:

Mr. Renken, good afternoon.

# 3 MR. RENKEN:

Good afternoon, sir.

# 4 MR. BLASIER:

January `91 in Cincinnati, that's a pretty cold time of year there, isn't it?

# 5 MR. RENKEN:

Yes, it is.

# 6 MR. BLASIER:

And at this game, was it very cold?

# 7 MR. RENKEN:

It was cold, rainy, moist.

# 8 MR. BLASIER:

And it's not unusual--I take it there are a lot of other people in the stadium with gloves?

# 9 MR. RENKEN:

I imagine.

# 10 MR. BLASIER:

Brown gloves?

# 11 MR. RENKEN:

All different kinds of gloves.

# 12 MR. BLASIER:

It's not particularly unusual to have brown gloves in the cold in winter?

KEY QUOTE

# 13 MR. RENKEN:

I assume.

# 14 MR. BLASIER:

In fact, did you notice in the video that everybody that was walking around in the background behind Mr. Simpson was also wearing gloves?

# 15 MR. RENKEN:

I didn't really pay that much of attention, but I assume in that climate of weather, individuals wear gloves of any nature.

# 16 MR. BLASIER:

Now, just how cold was it that particular day?

# 17 MR. RENKEN:

Could have been in the 20's, early 30's.

# 18 MR. BLASIER:

Did you at any time get close enough to Mr. Simpson to determine whether or not he had a heat pack in the palm of his hand under the gloves?

KEY QUOTE

# 19 MR. RENKEN:

No, I couldn't tell.

# 20 MR. BLASIER:

You know what I mean by a heat pack?

# 21 MR. RENKEN:

Yes. I'm familiar.

# 22 MR. BLASIER:

Have you seen those used at football games to keep your hands warm?

# 23 MR. RENKEN:

Sort of.

# 24 MR. BLASIER:

Now, you said you notified the Prosecution that you had pictures when for the first time?

# 25 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Irrelevant, your Honor.

# 26 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 27 MR. RENKEN:

Do I need to answer that?

# 28 MR. BLASIER:

Yeah.

# 29 MR. RENKEN:

It was June around 26th.

# 30 MR. BLASIER:

That was while they were still presenting their case in chief?

# 31 MS. CLARK:

Objection, your Honor. That calls for speculation.

# 32 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 33 MR. BLASIER:

June 26th?

# 34 MR. RENKEN:

Around June 26th. Jack Webster, former employee of Euro Photo sent out a 20 by 30 poster print.

# 35 MR. BLASIER:

Okay. Now, I think you indicated that some of those pictures are at the beginning of the game and some are at the end of the game. Is that what you indicated?

# 36 MR. RENKEN:

Half time and at the end of the game, right.

# 37 MR. BLASIER:

Do you have any from the beginning?

# 38 MR. RENKEN:

No, I don't.

# 39 MR. BLASIER:

All right. Now, the ones up here, which one is from half time and which one is at the end of the game?

# 40 MR. RENKEN:

The ones from half time, sir, are the horizontal, him holding the blue umbrella.

# 41 MR. BLASIER:

All right. The first one of your pictures on the left?

# 42 MR. RENKEN:

Yes.

# 43 MR. BLASIER:

I don't know what the letters are, Judge.

# 44 MR. BLASIER:

And the one from after the game is the one on the right?

# 45 MR. RENKEN:

Yes.

# 46 MR. BLASIER:

All right. Now, was it raining during this whole game?

# 47 MR. RENKEN:

Pretty much.

# 48 MR. BLASIER:

Did Mr. Simpson have an umbrella most of the time when he wasn't on camera?

# 49 MR. RENKEN:

Uh, there were times I remember seeing him without it in the runway area, but then when they did the interviews, except for the postgame, there was no umbrella used. But the half time there was.

# 50 MR. BLASIER:

Okay. Now, you notice in the picture that you've indicated is from the half time--you can come down here and look at it a little more carefully if you'd like to--that around the wrist area of the gloves, they appear to be bunched up like there's extra leather?

# 51 MS. CLARK:

Objection. The photograph speaks for itself.

# 52 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 53 MR. BLASIER:

Do you notice that?

# 54 MR. RENKEN:

Sure.

# 55 MR. BLASIER:

And that's consistent with what you saw that day?

# 56 MR. RENKEN:

Well, I wasn't looking at his gloves. I wasn't looking at how they were bound up. I was just shooting the--

# 57 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Renken, you need to speak so the jurors can hear you.

# 58 MR. RENKEN:

I was not so much shooting the gloves. I was shooting the individual at the time.

KEY QUOTE

# 59 MR. BLASIER:

Now, take a look at the one from the postgame. Do you see also that it's bunched up around the wrist area, there's some extra leather?

# 60 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Objection. Assumes facts not in evidence. The photograph speaks for itself.

# 61 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 62 MR. BLASIER:

Would you take a look at after the game?

# 63 MR. RENKEN:

Uh-huh.

# 64 MR. BLASIER:

Would you agree that in all the pictures that you took that you reviewed, it also shows that there's extra folds of leather in the wrist area?

# 65 MS. CLARK:

Objection to the characterization "Extra folds," your Honor.

# 66 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 67 MR. BLASIER:

Now, would you like to look at your other pictures and tell me if they appear to be consistent with the ones you've just talked about on the board?

# 68 MR. RENKEN:

Yes, they are, sir.

# 69 MR. BLASIER:

Okay. And those are all consistent with what you've told us about?

# 70 MR. RENKEN:

Yes.

# 71 MR. BLASIER:

Now, I think you indicated that the video was--the first part of the video was half time?

# 72 MR. RENKEN:

Yes.

# 73 MR. BLASIER:

About 2:45 I think you said.

# 74 MR. RENKEN:

About that time.

# 75 MR. BLASIER:

Could we have the video started from the beginning, please.

# 76 (At 2:50 P.M., People's exhibit 607, a videotape, was played.)

# 77 MR. BLASIER:

Stop, please. Back it up. Stop there, please.

# 78 THE COURT:

This is frame 0544.

# 79 MR. BLASIER:

See the time on the tape, Mr. Renken?

# 80 MR. RENKEN:

Yes, sir.

# 81 MR. BLASIER:

That's not half time, is it?

# 82 MR. RENKEN:

That's not half time?

# 83 MR. BLASIER:

That's the beginning of the game, isn't it, before the game?

# 84 MR. RENKEN:

Uh, could be. It's--uh, oh, I see. Okay. The 5--I'm sorry. I didn't understand what--the 544. Okay. That's the actual time of footage, right?

# 85 MR. BLASIER:

You're the one that identified the videotape. You tell me.

KEY QUOTE

# 86 MR. RENKEN:

That's correct.

# 87 MR. BLASIER:

What?

# 88 MR. RENKEN:

I--that was--that was quite a while--

# 89 MR. BLASIER:

The video indicates it was 12:03, doesn't it?

# 90 MR. RENKEN:

Excuse me?

# 91 MR. BLASIER:

The video indicates 12:03, doesn't it?

# 92 MR. RENKEN:

Yes.

# 93 MR. BLASIER:

And that's the pre-game, isn't it?

# 94 MR. RENKEN:

Oh, okay. Excuse me. That was the pre-game interview.

# 95 MR. BLASIER:

And can you see down on the right hand by the wrist area, do you see that same bunching up?

# 96 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Characterization, your Honor.

# 97 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 98 MR. BLASIER:

Does the video here, the right hand area, the wrist, look the same as your pictures?

# 99 MR. RENKEN:

Yes, they do.

# 100 (At 2:51 P.M., the playing of the videotape was concluded.)

# 101 MR. BLASIER:

That's all I have.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Robert Blasier

Did you at any time get close enough to Mr. Simpson to determine whether or not he had a heat pack in the palm of his hand under the gloves?

Introduces an alternative explanation for why the gloves may have appeared to fit or look a certain way, planting doubt about the glove evidence.

Robert Blasier

You're the one that identified the videotape. You tell me.

Catches Renken confused about his own testimony — a credibility hit showing the witness was not as observant or reliable as presented on direct.

Bill Renken

I was not so much shooting the gloves. I was shooting the individual at the time.

Undermines the precision of his observations — he wasn't specifically documenting the gloves, limiting what he can credibly testify about them.

Robert Blasier

It's not particularly unusual to have brown gloves in the cold in winter?

Establishes that brown gloves were entirely ordinary at a cold-weather January football game, reducing the significance of Simpson wearing them.

Evidence (3)

People's 607

Videotape of OJ Simpson at the January 1991 Cincinnati Bengals game, showing him wearing brown gloves

played in court, specific frames examined — Blasier uses it to challenge Renken's timeline characterization and point out consistent wrist bunching

Informal

Photographs taken by Renken at the game, including horizontal half-time shots with blue umbrella and post-game shots, displayed on a board in court

discussed and examined; Blasier uses them to highlight wrist bunching consistent across all images

Informal

20x30 poster print sent by Jack Webster of Euro Photo

referenced to establish timeline of when prosecution was notified

Notable Exchanges (3)

Robert Blasier•Bill Renken

Blasier challenges Renken on whether the video footage was from half-time or pre-game. Renken initially seems confused, then concedes it was pre-game (12:03) not half-time as he had implied — a small but telling moment of witness disorientation.

strategic

Robert Blasier•Bill Renken

Blasier introduces the heat pack concept — asking whether Renken ever got close enough to determine if Simpson had a hand warmer under the gloves. Renken admits he could not tell.

strategic

Robert Blasier•Marcia Clark•Lance A. Ito

Clark repeatedly objects to Blasier's characterization of the wrist area as 'bunched up' or showing 'extra folds of leather.' Ito sustains one objection on characterization but overrules others.

procedural

Credibility Attacks (2)

⚔ Bill Renken

prior inconsistent statement / witness confusion

Blasier catches Renken having incorrectly characterized the video footage as starting at half-time when the timestamp clearly shows 12:03, which is pre-game. Renken eventually concedes the error.

⚔ Bill Renken

limiting scope of observation

Blasier elicits that Renken was photographing Simpson generally, not specifically observing the gloves, undermining his ability to testify with precision about glove details.

Witness Demeanor

Renken appears momentarily confused when confronted with the video timestamp (12:03), initially not understanding what Blasier was pointing to before conceding it was pre-game footage.

Renken asks 'Do I need to answer that?' when asked about notifying the prosecution — suggesting mild discomfort with the question.

Objections

8 objections (3 sustained, 4 overruled)

Proceeding 7596 • 101 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103