📄 Sidebar: McKinny redirect — Wednesday, September 6, 1995
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\6\SIDEBAR-MCKINNY-REDIRECT.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 148 of 167

Sidebar: McKinny redirect

Date: Wednesday, September 6, 1995 • Utterances: 34
At a sidebar during redirect examination of Laura McKinny, Cochran sought permission to play additional tape excerpts related to 'Men Against Women' and police cover-ups, which McKinny had raised in a nonresponsive answer. Judge Ito ruled the answer was nonresponsive but offered a compromise: finish redirect, use lunch to find the excerpt, and potentially recall McKinny after. Darden argued the defense had violated prior orders and was introducing irrelevant, prejudicial material.
1 (The following proceedings were held at the bench:)
2 THE COURT:

All right. We are over at the side bar. Mr. Cochran.

3 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, your Honor. The reason I wanted to approach is I think we should be permitted to play--there are certain portions of the tape which I think are now open that deal with Men Against Women. My colleagues are telling me we can find it. That is fair, from the question, and what we have been talking about dealing with Men Against Women and cover-ups. And to the extent that is in there, I would like an opportunity to do that. I'm not trying to delay. I think we should be able to rule--that if you don't rule all of it, then that portion that relates to cover-ups, Men Against Women, and I would like an opportunity to do it.

4 THE COURT:

Do you want an opportunity to find it and review it and see if you want to do it?

5 MR. COCHRAN:

I want to try to do it. So we don't delay it, I could put Hodge on right after this, and it is going to be very limited, by the way, and then could I bring her back if I do find that, if you will permit us to do so. We can do it and have over the lunch hour to do that.

6 MR. DARDEN:

You issued an order related to McKinny, written order. You issued an order today regarding cover-ups. None of it has been followed, not one iota in no manner, no way, no how. Where are we going now? Where are we going now? You know, there is supposed to be rules followed by both sides so that counsel knows, you know how, to plan a case, how to examine witnesses. All these rules seem to be getting thrown out the door, Judge. You just limited him supposedly to a passage and a transcript, but now we have gone into Mark Fuhrman and cover-ups and how male officers--female officers won't cover-up for male officers and all this other nonsense. Okay. I mean, where is 352? Okay? None of this has any probative value. It is--shut this down and get this witness out of here. I mean, have you watched the jury? Have you watched their faces as all these epithets roll off of Mr. Bailey's tongue and Mr. Cochran's and everybody else's? At some point, you know, we get to the point where we are not getting a fair trial.

KEY QUOTE
7 MS. CLARK:

We are there.

8 MR. UELMEN:

Your Honor, if I could just interject?

9 THE COURT:

No. No, you may not.

10 MR. COCHRAN:

I would like that opportunity, your Honor. This is nothing we opened up. They opened it up.

11 THE COURT:

Well, no. Mr. Cochran, it is not an issue that you didn't open it up. That was a nonresponsive answer.

12 MR. COCHRAN:

Well, we will talk about that later.

13 THE COURT:

No. The question to Miss McKinny was did you stop him from using the "N" word? And then she goes on to say that she gratuitously tosses in this cover-up stuff.

KEY QUOTE
14 MR. COCHRAN:

Judge, when you have a "Why" question, why didn't you stop him, why didn't you do this, it opens up.

15 THE COURT:

It does.

16 MR. COCHRAN:

When you say why you do something, that person has a right to explain to it.

17 THE COURT:

Just because it is opened it doesn't mean I have to spend court time going into it.

18 MR. COCHRAN:

What we are talking about is misinforming the jury in some tiny passage.

19 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran, excuse me. Forgive me for interrupting you, but the reason I'm doing that, what I'm going to suggest we do is finish your redirect that you have now.

20 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay.

21 THE COURT:

We will hit the lunch hour shortly, in any event. Over the lunch hour you can find your excerpt.

22 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay.

23 THE COURT:

I don't recollect the particular excerpt we are talking about.

24 MR. COCHRAN:

What I want the opportunity to look at--

25 THE COURT:

We will look at it. If she is still available, if it is an appropriate section, you can recall her. If not, we will move on.

26 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. So we save some time, I will say something like when I finish "No further questions." If they have further questions, I would like to move to the next witness so we won't lose any time on that, but I will say "No further questions at this time" so I will have that opportunity.

27 MR. DARDEN:

If she returns after lunch I will impeach her with her love letters to Mark Fuhrman.

KEY QUOTE
28 MR. COCHRAN:

Your Honor, if they have got something else--

29 MR. DARDEN:

Let's keep on going with this. This is ridiculous.

30 MR. COCHRAN:

This is how we got into this problem, by attacking her.

31 MR. DARDEN:

We got into this problem because we are chasing down issues that have nothing to do with this trial. If Mr. Simpson is acquitted just because Mark Fuhrman uttered an epithet, well, then there is no justice, Judge.

32 MR. COCHRAN:

It won't be because of that because I would like to move ahead if I can.

33 THE COURT:

All right. Let's proceed.

34 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (5)

Christopher Darden
You issued an order related to McKinny, written order. You issued an order today regarding cover-ups. None of it has been followed, not one iota in no manner, no way, no how.
Darden's exasperation with the defense repeatedly violating court orders on scope of McKinny testimony
Christopher Darden
If Mr. Simpson is acquitted just because Mark Fuhrman uttered an epithet, well, then there is no justice, Judge.
Darden's most direct statement of the prosecution's fear that the Fuhrman tapes would overshadow the murder evidence
Christopher Darden
If she returns after lunch I will impeach her with her love letters to Mark Fuhrman.
Reveals the prosecution held back impeachment material — love letters between McKinny and Fuhrman — as a tactical threat
Lance A. Ito
The question to Miss McKinny was did you stop him from using the 'N' word? And then she goes on to say that she gratuitously tosses in this cover-up stuff.
Ito's characterization of the nonresponsive answer that triggered the sidebar — clarifies the evidentiary basis for his ruling
Marcia Clark
We are there.
Terse, devastating punctuation to Darden's argument that the trial had crossed into unfairness — unusually bleak even for Clark

Evidence (2)

Informal
McKinny tape excerpts related to 'Men Against Women' and police cover-ups
Cochran sought permission to play; Ito deferred ruling until after lunch
Informal
Love letters from Laura McKinny to Mark Fuhrman
Threatened by Darden as impeachment material if McKinny was recalled

Notable Exchanges (3)

Johnnie CochranLance A. Ito
Cochran argued that a 'why' question opens the door to a full explanation, including cover-up material; Ito acknowledged the legal point but declined to spend court time on it, offering the lunch-hour compromise instead.
strategic
Christopher DardenJohnnie Cochran
Darden accused the defense of ignoring court orders and inflaming the jury; Cochran retorted that the defense did not open the cover-up issue — Darden's cross-examination did. Darden then threatened to produce McKinny's love letters to Fuhrman.
heated
Gerald UelmenLance A. Ito
Uelmen attempted to interject during Darden's argument; Ito shut him down immediately with a flat 'No. No, you may not.'
procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Laura McKinny
prior relationship / bias
Darden threatened to impeach McKinny with love letters she wrote to Mark Fuhrman if she was recalled after lunch, suggesting a personal relationship that could bias her testimony

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 7533 • 34 utterances
Criminal Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 SEP 6, 1995 📄 Sidebar: McKinny redirect
SEP 6, 1995 KRT DvH TD