Direct examination of Mark Krueger

📄 Direct examination of Mark Krueger — Monday, September 11, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\11\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-MARK-KRU.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 151 of 167

◀ Jury returns to courtroom Cross-examination of Mark Krueger ▶

Witness: Mark Krueger
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Monday, September 11, 1995 • Utterances: 120

Marcia Clark calls Mark Krueger as a rebuttal witness to introduce a photograph he took of OJ Simpson at Soldier Field on December 29, 1990, during a Chicago Bears game. The photograph shows Simpson wearing black gloves, and Clark enters it as People's 605 along with two enlargements (605-A and 605-B) focused on the gloves. The examination is brief and purely foundational — establishing who Krueger is, how he took the photo, and its authenticity.

# 1 MS. CLARK:

Thank you, your Honor. People call Mr. Mark Krueger.

Mark Krueger, called as a witness by the People on rebuttal, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Krueger, would you stand right there, please, and face Mrs. Robertson, our clerk.

# 3 THE CLERK:

Raise your right hand, please. You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

# 4 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes.

# 5 THE CLERK:

Please have a seat in the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 6 MR. KRUEGER:

Mark Krueger.

# 7 THE CLERK:

Would you have a seat, please.

# 8 THE COURT:

Why don't you have a seat, please, and pull the microphone close to you, please. All right. Would you state and spell your name, Mr. Krueger.

# 9 MR. KRUEGER:

Mark Krueger, M-A-R-K K-R-U-E-G-E-R.

# 10 THE COURT:

Thank you, sir. Miss Clark.

# 11 MS. CLARK:

Thank you, your Honor. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY Ms. CLARK

# 12 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Krueger, can you tell us, sir, are you a professional photographer?

# 13 MR. KRUEGER:

No.

# 14 MS. CLARK:

And directing your attention, sir, to the date of December 29th, 1990, on that date, can you tell us where you were?

# 15 MR. KRUEGER:

Soldier field in Chicago, Illinois.

# 16 MS. CLARK:

And why were you in soldier field in Chicago?

# 17 MR. KRUEGER:

I was shooting photos for my stepfather's newspaper. He is the editor of the newspaper and I went in and took shots for the paper.

# 18 MS. CLARK:

And what kind of shots were you taking? What were you there for?

# 19 MR. KRUEGER:

Chicago bear shots. Just anything I could get that's interesting.

# 20 MS. CLARK:

And was that--that was a football game?

# 21 MR. KRUEGER:

Yeah.

# 22 MS. CLARK:

The bears versus who?

# 23 MR. KRUEGER:

Kansas City Chiefs.

# 24 MS. CLARK:

And where exactly were you, sir?

# 25 MR. KRUEGER:

Uh, all over.

# 26 MS. CLARK:

Where on the field?

# 27 MR. KRUEGER:

I was on the sidelines, in the end zone. Probably every spot on the field.

# 28 MS. CLARK:

But you were in the field--on the field--

# 29 MR. KRUEGER:

I was--right.

# 30 MS. CLARK:

--that is not on the bleachers?

# 31 THE COURT:

Excuse me just a second. Mr. Krueger, take your time. Take a breath. Let Miss Clark finish asking you the question before you begin to answer. The court reporter has difficulty taking down two people at the same time.

# 32 MR. KRUEGER:

Okay.

# 33 THE COURT:

Thank you. Miss Clark.

# 34 MS. CLARK:

At some point during this trial, sir, did you send to the Prosecution a photograph that you took during that Bears versus Chiefs game on December 29th, 1990?

# 35 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes, I did.

# 36 THE COURT:

Mrs. Robertson.

# 37 MS. CLARK:

People's next in order, your Honor?

# 38 THE COURT:

605.

# 39 (Peo's 605 for id = photograph)

# 40 MS. CLARK:

Showing you People's 605, sir, can you please tell me if you recognize the photograph I'm showing you?

# 41 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes, I do.

# 42 MS. CLARK:

And what is that?

# 43 MR. KRUEGER:

It's a picture of O.J. Simpson at a football game, at the game I was at.

KEY QUOTE

# 44 MS. CLARK:

And was that the photograph that you took, sir?

# 45 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes, it is.

# 46 MS. CLARK:

Now, does this photograph show him wearing any gloves?

# 47 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes.

# 48 MS. CLARK:

What does it show him wearing?

# 49 MR. KRUEGER:

Does it show him wearing gloves?

# 50 MS. CLARK:

Yes. Is he wearing gloves in this picture?

# 51 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes, he is.

# 52 MS. CLARK:

May I show it to the jury, your Honor, on the elmo?

# 53 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 54 MS. CLARK:

After that, I'm going to ask leave of the court, if I may, to tape it up to the blank board that you see on the easel with a label for the date underneath, if I may, your Honor.

# 55 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Fairtlough, do you have your glare--thank you.

# 56 MS. CLARK:

This is the photograph that you took, sir?

# 57 MR. KRUEGER:

Did you want me to look at this or up there?

# 58 MS. CLARK:

Yes. You can look--do you have it on your monitor?

# 59 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes, it's on my monitor. Yeah, I can see it.

# 60 MS. CLARK:

Is that the photograph you took on December 29th, 1990?

# 61 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes.

# 62 MS. CLARK:

I have two other enlargements, your Honor. May I ask that they be marked 605-A and B?

# 63 THE COURT:

605-A and B. Have you shown those to Mr. Blasier?

# 64 MS. CLARK:

Yeah. Yes.

# 65 (Peo's 605-A and B for id = photographs)

# 66 MS. CLARK:

For the record, 605-A will be the smaller enlargement. 605-B will be the enlargement that focuses on the glove.

# 67 THE COURT:

All right. A and B as noted.

# 68 MS. CLARK:

Thank you, your Honor.

# 69 MS. CLARK:

Showing you 605-A and B, sir, can you tell us if these are accurate enlargements of the photograph that we previously marked 605 that you took on December 29th, 1990?

# 70 MR. KRUEGER:

Yeah. They look like the same ones to me.

# 71 MS. CLARK:

If I may, your Honor, I'm going to put these up on the blank board.

# 72 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 73 MR. KRUEGER:

Your Honor, is this water for me?

# 74 THE COURT:

No, it's not. Mrs. Robertson, the water is fresh?

# 75 THE BAILIFF:

It's fresh.

# 76 THE COURT:

It's fresh. All right.

# 77 MR. KRUEGER:

Thanks.

# 78 MS. CLARK:

I'm going to let Mr. Fairtlough do it if that's all right.

# 79 (Brief pause.)

# 80 MR. BLASIER:

May I see those just for a minute?

# 81 THE COURT:

Sure.

# 82 (Brief pause.)

# 83 MS. CLARK:

Now, what color are these gloves, sir?

# 84 MR. KRUEGER:

They appear to be black to me.

KEY QUOTE

# 85 MS. CLARK:

Do you recall what time it was that you took this photograph?

# 86 MR. KRUEGER:

Not exactly. I knew it was at the end of the bears game and I would assume it was probably about 2:00 to 2:30 in the afternoon Chicago time.

# 87 MS. CLARK:

And do you recall where you were, how far away from him you were when you took this picture?

# 88 MR. KRUEGER:

Probably 10 to 15 feet.

# 89 MS. CLARK:

Can you describe the weather?

# 90 MR. KRUEGER:

It was rainy, just a dark cloudy day, you know. It wasn't like pouring rain, but it was constantly a drizzle all day.

KEY QUOTE

# 91 MS. CLARK:

Do you recall what kind of camera you used?

# 92 MR. KRUEGER:

Canon 81.

# 93 MS. CLARK:

And do you recall the film speed?

# 94 MR. KRUEGER:

It was 1600 I believe.

# 95 MS. CLARK:

Can you tell us whether you used a zoom lens for this picture?

# 96 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes.

# 97 MS. CLARK:

What kind is that?

# 98 MR. KRUEGER:

It was--the model or the zoom--

# 99 MS. CLARK:

Both.

# 100 MR. KRUEGER:

Actually it was a sears 70 to 210 millimeter zoom lens.

# 101 MS. CLARK:

All right. Now, when you had these developed, did you develop them yourself or send them out to a lab?

# 102 MR. KRUEGER:

I sent them to a photo shop, one-hour photo shop.

# 103 MS. CLARK:

Any special processing, sir?

# 104 MR. KRUEGER:

No.

# 105 MS. CLARK:

Did you use a flash for this?

# 106 MR. KRUEGER:

No.

# 107 MS. CLARK:

Were there any lights on in the area during--when you took the photograph?

# 108 MR. KRUEGER:

Actually I don't think they did put the lights on that day.

# 109 MS. CLARK:

And did you send the negatives to the Prosecution for us to verify the authenticity of this photograph?

# 110 MR. KRUEGER:

Yes.

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

# 112 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, if I may, I would like to label these photographs with the date and the witness' name.

# 113 THE COURT:

All right. Why don't you show the label to Mr. Blasier.

# 114 MS. CLARK:

December 29th, 1990, Mark Krueger.

# 115 THE COURT:

All right.

# 116 MS. CLARK:

Actually, Mr. Blasier, do you need this for the elmo? Do you want to question him on it or shall I put it on the board? You don't need it? Do you want one for the elmo?

# 117 MR. BLASIER:

Yeah. I'll take one of those.

# 118 MS. CLARK:

Okay. I'm going to ask leave of the court to place that with tape on the board when we've concluded all the testimony so Mr. Blasier can use it during cross.

# 119 THE COURT:

Certainly. Thank you. Miss Clark, any further questions of Mr. Krueger?

# 120 MS. CLARK:

Nothing further, your Honor.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Mark Krueger

It's a picture of O.J. Simpson at a football game, at the game I was at.

Foundational identification of the photograph by the person who took it.

Mark Krueger

They appear to be black to me.

Direct characterization of the glove color — the core evidentiary point of the rebuttal.

Mark Krueger

It was rainy, just a dark cloudy day, you know. It wasn't like pouring rain, but it was constantly a drizzle all day.

Weather context matters for why Simpson would be wearing gloves, and anticipates cross-examination about photo conditions or color accuracy.

Evidence (3)

People's 605

Original photograph taken by Krueger of OJ Simpson wearing black gloves at Soldier Field, December 29, 1990

introduced and displayed on ELMO

People's 605-A

Smaller enlargement of the same photograph

introduced and posted on evidence board

People's 605-B

Enlargement focused specifically on the glove

introduced and posted on evidence board

Notable Exchanges (2)

Lance A. Ito•Mark Krueger

Judge pauses examination to instruct Krueger not to answer before Clark finishes her question, as both were talking over each other.

corrective but gentle

Marcia Clark•Robert Blasier

Brief off-record coordination between Clark and Blasier about whether Blasier needs the enlargement for cross-examination on the ELMO.

collegial, procedural

Light Moments (1)

Mark Krueger

Krueger spots water on the witness stand and asks the judge if it's for him. Ito checks with the bailiff, confirms it's fresh, and Krueger thanks him.

Witness Demeanor

(Brief pause.) — during exhibit handling

Witness spoke quickly, overlapping with Clark's questions, requiring judicial correction

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 7586 • 120 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103