Direct examination of Laura Hart McKinny (part 2)

📄 Direct examination of Laura Hart McKinny (part 2) — Tuesday, September 5, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\5\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-LAURA-HA.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 147 of 167

◀ Sidebar: audio evidence Jury instructions ▶

Witness: Laura Hart McKinny
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, September 5, 1995 • Utterances: 29

Cochran concludes the day's direct examination of Laura Hart McKinny by playing audio and video recordings of Mark Fuhrman using racial slurs during their 1985 screenwriting research sessions. McKinny confirms the voice on the recordings is definitively Fuhrman's and dates the statements to April or early May 1985.

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

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Be seated. Mr. Cochran, you may conclude for the day.

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes, your Honor. Thank you very much. May I ask a couple of foundational questions and we will play it?

# 4 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

Miss McKinny, the--Mr. Fuhrman said, "We have no niggers where I grew up." I think you have indicated that was in the early part of 1985?

# 6 MS. MCKINNY:

Yes.

# 7 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And the statement about prison and six-foot-five-inch people, when was that?

# 8 MS. MCKINNY:

That was approximately the same time, later in that month of April or possibly in the beginning of May.

# 9 MR. COCHRAN:

Of 1985?

# 10 MS. MCKINNY:

Of 1985, yes.

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Mr. Harris, are we ready? Let's start with the one that does not have a tape.

# 12 (An excerpt on a videotape was played.)

# 13 MR. COCHRAN:

Hold that there.

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

In the course of the time that you interviewed this man, did you find out where he had grown-up?

# 15 MS. MCKINNY:

In Washington state.

# 16 MR. COCHRAN:

Did this discussion come about during a discussion about where he actually grew up and lived?

# 17 MS. MCKINNY:

Yes.

# 18 MR. COCHRAN:

Is that an accurate statement, ma'am?

# 19 MS. MCKINNY:

Yes.

# 20 (A videotape and audiotape were played.)

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

Do you recognize the voice of the person who was saying, "They don't do anything. They don't go out there and initiate a contact with some six-foot-five-inch Nigger that has been in prison for seven years pumping weights"? Who said that?

# 22 MS. MCKINNY:

Officer Mark Fuhrman.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

When did he say that?

# 24 MS. MCKINNY:

In April or early May of 1985.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

And that was his voice; is that right?

# 26 MS. MCKINNY:

Yes.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

No doubt about it?

# 28 MS. MCKINNY:

No doubt about it.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

Perhaps this would be a good point today, your Honor.

Temperature

devastating

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran

Mr. Fuhrman said, 'We have no niggers where I grew up.'

Cochran reads Fuhrman's recorded statement into the record, establishing context before playing the tape — ensuring the jury hears it clearly even before the audio.

Johnnie Cochran

They don't go out there and initiate a contact with some six-foot-five-inch Nigger that has been in prison for seven years pumping weights.

Direct quotation from the Fuhrman tapes, played for the jury in open court — the heart of the defense's effort to destroy Fuhrman's credibility as the key prosecution witness.

Laura Hart McKinny

No doubt about it.

McKinny's unequivocal confirmation that the voice on the recording is Mark Fuhrman, sealing the authentication of the tapes.

Evidence (2)

Informal

Videotape excerpt of Fuhrman stating 'We have no niggers where I grew up' — no corresponding audio tape mentioned

played for jury

Informal

Combined videotape and audiotape of Fuhrman making derogatory statement about a 'six-foot-five-inch Nigger' who had been in prison

played for jury

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie Cochran•Laura Hart McKinny

Cochran methodically establishes the date and context of each Fuhrman statement before playing the recordings, then has McKinny authenticate each one. The pacing is deliberate — each confirmation lands separately.

strategic

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Mark Fuhrman

prior recorded statements

Defense plays audio and video recordings of Fuhrman using racial slurs from 1985, directly contradicting his trial testimony that he had not used the word 'nigger' in ten years. McKinny authenticates both recordings as Fuhrman's voice with no uncertainty.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 7488 • 29 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103