Direct examination of Stephen Oppler (part 1)

📄 Direct examination of Stephen Oppler (part 1) — Wednesday, September 13, 1995

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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\13\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-STEPHEN-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 153 of 167

◀ Administrative matters Sidebar: video evidence foundation ▶

Witness: Stephen Oppler
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, September 13, 1995 • Utterances: 116

DA investigator Stephen Oppler testified about a videotaped interview of Thano Peratis — the nurse who drew OJ Simpson's blood — conducted at Peratis' home on July 27, 1995, because Peratis had recently undergone heart surgery. People's exhibit 615, the videotape of that interview, was played for the jury in segments, with Oppler identifying voices and confirming the tape's authenticity.

# 1 THE COURT:

When we get to the videotape.

# 2 MS. CLARK:

Thank you. People call Mr. Oppler.

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

# 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. OPPLER:

I do.

# 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. OPPLER:

Stephen, S-T-E-P-H-E-N, Oppler, O-P-P-L-E-R.

# 7 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Oppler, would you pull the microphone closer, please.

# 8 MR. OPPLER:

Closer?

# 9 THE COURT:

Thank you.

# 10 MS. CLARK:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CLARK

# 11 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Oppler, can you tell us what you do for a living?

# 12 MR. OPPLER:

I'm a senior investigator for the District Attorney's office.

# 13 MS. CLARK:

Okay. Would you pull that mike a little closer so we can hear you?

# 14 MR. OPPLER:

Want me to repeat it? Do you need me to repeat it?

# 15 MS. CLARK:

I think everybody heard that. All right. Sir, directing your attention to the date of July 27th, 1995, on that date, did you conduct an interview of a person by the name of Thano Peratis?

# 16 MR. OPPLER:

Yeah. Actually District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney Hank Goldberg did. I was with him assisting him.

# 17 MS. CLARK:

You were present?

# 18 MR. OPPLER:

Yes.

# 19 MS. CLARK:

And was that interview videotaped in your presence, sir?

# 20 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, it was.

# 21 MS. CLARK:

Now, do you know why--where did this take place, this videotape?

# 22 MR. OPPLER:

At his home.

# 23 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Peratis' home?

# 24 MR. OPPLER:

Mr. Peratis' home.

# 25 MS. CLARK:

And why was it done there?

# 26 MR. OPPLER:

It was my understanding that he had just had an operation concerning his heart. I don't know the specifics of it, but he had a heart operation.

# 27 MS. CLARK:

So you were there at his home taping due to a medical condition of his?

# 28 MR. OPPLER:

Right.

# 29 MS. CLARK:

Now, was the--was there any rehearsal prior to beginning the videotaping of that interview?

# 30 MR. OPPLER:

No.

# 31 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection as to the term "Rehearsal."

# 32 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 33 MR. OPPLER:

No. None.

# 34 MS. CLARK:

In other words, as soon as you got there, the questioning began and the videotape started running?

# 35 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection. Leading.

# 36 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 37 MS. CLARK:

I'm sorry. It is.

# 38 MS. CLARK:

When you began video--did you begin questioning at the same time you began videotaping?

# 39 MR. OPPLER:

Yes.

# 40 MS. CLARK:

So the interview, was it--would you characterize it as spontaneous?

# 41 MR. OPPLER:

Yes.

# 42 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection. Calls for a conclusion.

# 43 THE COURT:

Yes. Answer is stricken.

# 44 MS. CLARK:

How would you characterize the interview, sir?

# 45 MR. OPPLER:

Spontaneous.

# 46 MS. CLARK:

What a coincidence. Let me ask you something else, sir. With respect to this tape, did Mr. Peratis explain to you over the course of the tape something that caused him to re-examine his testimony given at the preliminary hearing and the grand jury?

KEY QUOTE

# 47 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection, your Honor. The tape speaks for itself.

# 48 THE COURT:

That objection is overruled.

# 49 MR. NEUFELD:

It's hearsay also.

# 50 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 51 MR. OPPLER:

You want--can you repeat it?

# 52 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 53 MR. OPPLER:

Oh, I'm sorry.

# 54 MS. CLARK:

Sir, were you present during a hearing just now that took place in the court?

# 55 MR. OPPLER:

For most of it.

# 56 MS. CLARK:

And did you hear the Defense request the excision of portions--

# 57 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection, your Honor.

# 58 THE COURT:

Sustained. Sustained. That's not appropriate.

# 59 MS. CLARK:

Did--was Mr. Peratis asked any question by Mr. Goldberg concerning what prompted him to do--to reevaluate his testimony at the preliminary hearing?

# 60 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection. Hearsay.

# 61 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 62 MS. CLARK:

Question.

# 63 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 64 MS. CLARK:

Do you recall the subject matter of Mr. Peratis'--of what prompted Mr. Peratis' review of his preliminary hearing testimony coming up?

# 65 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection. Hearsay.

# 66 THE COURT:

Sustained.

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

# 68 MS. CLARK:

Sir, have you observed the videotape that's about to be shown to the jury?

# 69 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, I have.

# 70 MS. CLARK:

Okay. And has that jury--and has that videotape been edited at the court's request?

# 71 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection, your Honor.

# 72 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 73 MS. CLARK:

Does that videotape contain everything that was conducted--every part of the interview that was conducted on July 27th, 1995?

# 74 MR. OPPLER:

No.

# 75 MS. CLARK:

Thank you. I'm going to show you a portion of the beginning of that tape and ask you to identify it, indicate whether or not that is the taping that you recall being conducted in your presence on July 27th, 1995 of Thano Peratis.

# 76 MR. OPPLER:

Okay.

# 77 (At 2:17 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, was played.)

# 78 MS. CLARK:

Okay. Have you seen that, Mr. Oppler?

# 79 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, I have.

# 80 MS. CLARK:

Do you recognize the voice that introduces the video?

# 81 MR. OPPLER:

Yes. That's mine.

# 82 MS. CLARK:

And the person that is shown on the videotape, who is that?

# 83 MR. OPPLER:

That's Mr. Peratis.

# 84 MS. CLARK:

And do you know what his role is in this case?

# 85 MR. OPPLER:

As I understand it, he took the blood of--he withdrew blood from Mr. Simpson for testing purposes.

KEY QUOTE

# 86 MS. CLARK:

Okay. And the other voice that you heard just before the tape was stopped, do you recognize that voice?

# 87 MR. OPPLER:

Deputy District Attorney Hank Goldberg.

# 88 MS. CLARK:

Was that the videotape that was conducted--videotape interview that was conducted in your presence on July 27th, 1995 of Thano Peratis?

# 89 MR. OPPLER:

Yes.

# 90 (At 2:19 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

# 91 MS. CLARK:

Excuse me, Mr. Oppler. After Mr. Peratis said, "Not that day," did he go on to give some further explanation of that topic?

# 92 MR. NEUFELD:

Objection, your Honor.

# 93 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 94 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, he did.

# 95 MS. CLARK:

And was that previously on the tape?

# 96 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, it was.

# 97 (At 2:22 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

# 98 MS. CLARK:

Excuse me, your Honor. It appears the monitor is slivering in the jury box. All the monitors in the courtroom.

# 99 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Ormond, apparently everything but the big screen is jumping.

# 100 MR. ORMOND:

I think it has to do with the quality of the video. It appears to be more sensitive than the direct video.

# 101 THE COURT:

All right. Juror no. 1, juror no. 7 and 8, is that watchable for you?

# 102 JUROR NO. 1:

Well, yes. It stopped when she walked up there.

# 103 THE COURT:

Would any of you--those of you who are watching the small monitor in front, want to take a seat further in the jury box so you can see the big screen or stay where you are?

# 104 JUROR NO. 1:

It's fine.

# 105 THE COURT:

All right. Let's proceed. Thank you.

# 106 (At 2:27 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

# 107 MS. CLARK:

Excuse me, your Honor. It jumped a little bit. We're going to rewind. I think it skipped some--

# 108 (At 2:27 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

# 109 (At 2:32 P.M., the playing of the videotape was concluded.)

# 110 MS. CLARK:

Mr. Oppler, the entire tape, that is not the edited version that you see here, but the entire tape was given over to the Defense, correct?

# 111 MR. OPPLER:

Yes, as far as I know.

# 112 MS. CLARK:

And when Mr. Peratis referred to, "I could just go bing on you, I don't need a tourniquet," who was he referring to?

# 113 MR. OPPLER:

He was referring to me.

KEY QUOTE

# 114 MS. CLARK:

Were you wearing short sleeves that day?

# 115 MR. OPPLER:

Yes.

# 116 MS. CLARK:

I have one request of the court, if I could make it at sidebar.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Stephen Oppler

As I understand it, he took the blood of--he withdrew blood from Mr. Simpson for testing purposes.

Establishes Peratis' role in the case and why his videotaped testimony about the blood volume drawn is critical to the prosecution's blood evidence narrative.

Stephen Oppler

He was referring to me.

Oppler confirms that Peratis' casual remark 'I could just go bing on you, I don't need a tourniquet' was directed at him — humanizing Peratis and lending a relaxed, unscripted quality to the taped interview.

Marcia Clark

What a coincidence.

Dry humor after Clark got the word 'spontaneous' from Oppler despite the judge striking his first use of it — a rare moment of levity amid procedural friction.

Evidence (1)

People's 615

Videotaped interview of Thano Peratis conducted at his home on July 27, 1995, by Deputy DA Hank Goldberg in Oppler's presence; an edited version was shown to the jury

played in multiple segments from 2:17 PM to 2:32 PM; Oppler authenticated voices and identified Peratis on screen

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia Clark•Peter Neufeld•Lance A. Ito

Clark made repeated attempts to elicit what prompted Peratis to reevaluate his preliminary hearing testimony; Neufeld blocked every attempt on hearsay grounds, all sustained — Clark effectively failed to get that context before the jury through this witness.

strategic

Lance A. Ito•Juror No. 1

The monitors in the jury box began flickering during videotape playback; Ito checked in directly with jurors no. 1, 7, and 8 and offered to let them move to see the large screen.

routine

Light Moments (2)

Marcia Clark

Clark quipped 'What a coincidence' after Oppler answered 'spontaneous' a second time — having already had his first identical answer stricken by the judge.

Thano Peratis (on videotape)

Peratis' off-hand remark on the tape — 'I could just go bing on you, I don't need a tourniquet' — directed at the short-sleeved Oppler, suggesting Peratis offered to demonstrate a blood draw on him.

Witness Demeanor

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

(At 2:17 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, was played.)

(At 2:19 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

(At 2:22 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

(At 2:27 P.M., People's exhibit 615, a videotape, continues playing.)

(At 2:32 P.M., the playing of the videotape was concluded.)

Objections

10 objections (7 sustained, 3 overruled)

Proceeding 7661 • 116 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103