📄 Jury return and noon recess — Tuesday, September 5, 1995
📅 Sep 5 — Day 147
⚖️ Lance A. Ito🛡️ Johnnie Cochran
chain_of_custodyfuhrmanjury
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\5\JURY-RETURN-AND-NOON-RECESS.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 147 of 167

Jury return and noon recess

Date: Tuesday, September 5, 1995 • Utterances: 21
The jury returns from a brief delay caused by Ito awaiting delivery of documents related to an evidentiary ruling, then breaks for the noon recess. After lunch, back on record without the jury, Lewis informs the court she filed a response to the defense's motion for reconsideration on the Fuhrman tapes. Cochran outlines the afternoon witness order (Blasini, then Rokahr) and makes a targeted argument for allowing Roderic Hodge to testify, citing a specific transcript passage where Fuhrman denied under oath ever addressing a Black person as 'Nigger' — which Hodge can directly contradict.
1 (Brief pause.)
2 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury:)
3 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. All right. The record should reflect that we have been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for the delay for about twenty minutes just now was I had to wait delivery of certain document to the court. I have had the opportunity to review those documents, I have made a ruling as to a certain evidentiary issue, and we are ready to start with the next witness, although we have come up on the lunch hour. So we will be ready to proceed with the next witness after we come back from the lunch. Please remember all my admonitions to you. Do not discuss the case amongst yourselves, nor allow anyone to communicate with you with regard to the case. Remember, this is very important, do not allow anybody to communicate with you with regard to the facts and circumstances of the case. All right. We will see you back here after lunch, one o'clock. All right. We are in recess.

4 (At 11:59 A.M. the noon recess was taken until 1:00 P.M. of the same day.)
5 (Appearances as heretofore noted.)
6 (Janet M. Moxham, CSR no. 4855, official reporter.)
7 (Christine M. Olson, CSR no. 2378, official reporter.)
8 (The following proceedings were held in open court, out of the presence of the jury:)
9 THE COURT:

Back on the record in the Simpson matter. All parties are again present. Miss Lewis.

10 MS. LEWIS:

Your Honor, over the lunch hour, I prepared a response to the Defense motion for reconsideration with regard to the Fuhrman tapes and filed it just now and served it. So I want the court to be aware that is there so you'll have an opportunity to read it before hearing argument.

11 THE COURT:

All right.

12 MR. COCHRAN:

Your Honor, may I say something about scheduling?

13 THE COURT:

Yes. Scheduling?

14 MR. COCHRAN:

About scheduling, yes, so we're all on the same wave length. Two things. So the court is aware, we plan to call Mr. Blasini next, and I'm ready to proceed with him. He will be followed by Mr. Rokahr if the court pleases. And then, although Miss McKinny is here, I'd like to read to the court something and for the court to think about because I'd like to reiterate what I said about Roderic Hodge. This is very brief, and I'll ask the court to allow me to read this. It can be found on page 18899 of the transcript, your Honor.

"Question by Mr. Bailey: And you say under oath that you've not addressed any black person as a Nigger or spoken about black people as niggers in the past 10 years, Detective Fuhrman? "Answer: That's what I'm saying, sir." What I didn't articulate well enough this morning when I was talking to you was this. Hodge is the only witness on our Defense list who can testify that Fuhrman used the "N" word in addressing him as an African American. Everyone else talks about conversation. This is the only witness. And I think you read that--read the question, and that impeaches him directly on that point of addressing an African American. It's the only one we recall. I think it makes it a lot easier court's decision for your Honor. Because I'm going to ask, your Honor, when we get to that point to allow us to call Hodge for this limited area, and then we would like to argue the motions with regard to McKinny obviously because what you ruled on those motions as they're prepared will bear upon what we do and what we play for this jury, if anything. And so that's the order we would like to proceed in, your Honor.

15 THE COURT:

All right. Then I suggest we proceed with Blasini and with--

16 MR. COCHRAN:

Sure.

17 THE COURT:

--Rokahr.

18 MR. COCHRAN:

And we're ready to do that.

19 THE COURT:

And then we'll take up that issue.

20 MR. COCHRAN:

Sure. I just wanted to alert the court because you were talking about 5:00 o'clock and I thought at 5:30, I'd bring this to your attention. We're ready to proceed.

21 THE COURT:

All right. Deputy Magnera, let's have the jurors, please.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Johnnie Cochran
Hodge is the only witness on our Defense list who can testify that Fuhrman used the 'N' word in addressing him as an African American. Everyone else talks about conversation. This is the only witness.
Cochran precisely distinguishes Hodge's value: not general conversation about Fuhrman's language, but direct impeachment of Fuhrman's sworn denial that he ever addressed a Black person with the slur — a narrower and legally stronger basis for admission.
Johnnie Cochran
Question by Mr. Bailey: And you say under oath that you've not addressed any black person as a Nigger or spoken about black people as niggers in the past 10 years, Detective Fuhrman? Answer: That's what I'm saying, sir.
Cochran reads Fuhrman's sworn trial testimony into the record to set up the impeachment argument — the specific denial Hodge would rebut.
Lance A. Ito
The reason for the delay for about twenty minutes just now was I had to wait delivery of certain document to the court. I have had the opportunity to review those documents, I have made a ruling as to a certain evidentiary issue.
Ito signals an off-record evidentiary ruling was made during the delay, likely related to the Fuhrman tapes — though the ruling's content is not disclosed to the jury.

Evidence (2)

Informal
Fuhrman tapes — defense motion for reconsideration regarding admissibility
Lewis filed prosecution response over lunch; pending argument
Informal
Trial transcript page 18899 — Fuhrman's sworn denial of using racial slur directed at Black individuals in the past 10 years
Cochran reads aloud to support Hodge's relevance as impeachment witness

Notable Exchanges (1)

Johnnie CochranLance A. Ito
Cochran lays out the afternoon witness order and pivots to a careful legal argument for Roderic Hodge's limited testimony, framing it as direct impeachment of Fuhrman's sworn denial rather than general character evidence.
strategic

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Mark Fuhrman
prior inconsistent statement / impeachment by direct contradiction
Cochran argues Roderic Hodge can testify that Fuhrman directly addressed him, a Black man, with the 'N' word — directly contradicting Fuhrman's sworn trial testimony that he had not done so in the past 10 years.

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 7507 • 21 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
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