Witness excused and recess

📄 Witness excused and recess — Wednesday, September 20, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\20\WITNESS-EXCUSED-AND-RECESS.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 158 of 167

◀ Recross-examination of Comm. Keith Bushey (part 2) Scheduling and witness availability ▶

Date: Wednesday, September 20, 1995 • Utterances: 32

Commander Keith Bushey was excused after cross-examination, and Judge Ito attempted to enter a stipulation about a syringe (Defense exhibit 1382) before the mid-morning recess. The proceeding devolved into a squabble between Marcia Clark and Peter Neufeld over whether the stipulation had been agreed to in writing, prompting Ito to send the jury out and scold both sides for petty bickering.

# 1 MS. CLARK:

Nothing further.

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Commander, thank you very much, sir. You are excused.

# 3 COMMANDER BUSHEY:

Thank you.

# 4 THE COURT:

All right. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take our mid-morning recess at this time. I'm sorry, we had a stipulation.

# 5 MR. NEUFELD:

Do that now?

# 6 THE COURT:

Mr. Neufeld, you had a stipulation to offer?

# 7 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, could we--could we take our break before we enter into that stipulation, please?

# 8 THE COURT:

Is there a problem with the stipulation?

# 9 MS. CLARK:

No, but there is a problem procedurally with what case we are in, rebuttal, surrebuttal, Defense. I don't know where we are.

# 10 THE COURT:

No. Offer the stipulation.

# 11 MR. NEUFELD:

Thank you. Your Honor, if I may--good morning.

THE JURY: Good morning.

# 12 MR. NEUFELD:

The Prosecution and the attorneys for Mr. Simpson have entered into a stipulation--by the way, we need to have this marked. What is the next in order, your Honor?

# 13 THE COURT:

1382.

# 14 MR. NEUFELD:

Okay.

# 15 (Deft's 1382 for id = syringe)

# 16 MR. NEUFELD:

This should be marked 1382.

# 17 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, I don't have a written stipulation. I don't know what he is going into. I asked for it in writing.

# 18 MR. NEUFELD:

No, she didn't.

# 19 THE COURT:

Ladies and gentlemen, would you step back into the jury room, please.

# 20 (The following proceedings were held in open court, out of the presence of the jury:)

# 21 (Discussion held off the record between Deputy District Attorney and Defense counsel.)

# 22 THE COURT:

Counsel, stop it, both of you.

# 23 (Brief pause.)

# 24 THE COURT:

Now, counsel, I realize that we are all tired and we wish this were over sooner than later, but this kind of petty bickering is not appropriate, and if you heard the snickering of the jurors as they were going out, they thought it was pretty silly, too. Now, there is a problem with the stipulation?

KEY QUOTE

# 25 MS. CLARK:

I don't even know exactly what it is, your Honor. How can I say there is no problem?

KEY QUOTE

# 26 THE COURT:

Well, counsel, this morning--wait. This morning I was told on the record here in front of all of us there was a stipulation. There was no objection from the Prosecution side. It is reasonable for the court to assume that that offer of the stipulation had been made and had been accepted.

# 27 MS. CLARK:

That is reasonable, your Honor, and there was a stipulation. There is one. I just need to make sure that counsel is going to frame it in the way that we agreed. That means I need to see it in writing. Counsel has been told this innumerable times by Mr. Goldberg, that that is the way we proceed in this jurisdiction.

# 28 THE COURT:

You know, it is amazing to me--

# 29 MS. CLARK:

I can't enter into a stipulation without knowing what it is going to say, your Honor.

# 30 THE COURT:

It is amazing to me that we have to bicker over a stipulation that this is a syringe used by the LAPD infirmary. It is astonishing what we have sunk to here, that we have to argue over waxing and waning and the waxing and waning goes to this side; the syringe goes to this side. I mean, this is incredible. This is just incredible for both sides.

KEY QUOTE

# 31 MS. CLARK:

You know--

# 32 THE COURT:

We will take a recess for fifteen minutes. If there is not a stipulation, then we will have some more testimony I guess. Thank you.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Lance A. Ito

It is amazing to me that we have to bicker over a stipulation that this is a syringe used by the LAPD infirmary. It is astonishing what we have sunk to here, that we have to argue over waxing and waning and the waxing and waning goes to this side; the syringe goes to this side.

Ito's exasperated summary of how low the proceedings had sunk — a rare moment of judicial candor about the trial's dysfunction.

Lance A. Ito

Now, counsel, I realize that we are all tired and we wish this were over sooner than later, but this kind of petty bickering is not appropriate, and if you heard the snickering of the jurors as they were going out, they thought it was pretty silly, too.

Ito reveals the jury was visibly amused by the attorneys' bickering — a damaging observation about courtroom decorum near the trial's end.

Marcia Clark

I don't even know exactly what it is, your Honor. How can I say there is no problem?

Clark's explanation for her resistance — she had not seen the stipulation in writing and couldn't agree to unknown language.

Evidence (1)

Defense 1382

A syringe used by the LAPD infirmary, subject of a proposed stipulation between prosecution and defense

marked for identification, stipulation disputed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Marcia Clark•Peter Neufeld•Lance A. Ito

Clark insisted she needed the stipulation in writing before agreeing; Neufeld disputed she had ever asked for that; Ito sent the jury out and rebuked both attorneys for bickering in front of them.

heated

Lance A. Ito•Marcia Clark

Ito argued the court had reasonably assumed the stipulation was already agreed to since no prosecution objection was raised when it was announced; Clark maintained she needed to verify the exact wording.

tense

Light Moments (1)

The jury (noted by Ito)

Jurors were heard snickering as they were ushered out of the courtroom during the attorneys' bickering.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 7794 • 32 utterances

Criminal Trial

Department 103