Cross-examination of Pablo Fenjves

📄 Cross-examination of Pablo Fenjves — Friday, July 1, 1994

Address:

C:\DEPT103\PRELIMINARY\1994\JUL\1\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-PABLO-FEN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 2 of 6

◀ Direct examination of Pablo Fenjves Witness availability and morning recess ▶

Witness: Pablo Fenjves
Examiner: Gerald Uelmen
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Friday, July 1, 1994 • Lines: 81

The defense questioned Pablo Fenjves about when and how long he heard an unusually persistent dog barking, establishing that it may have continued past 11:30 p.m. Uelmen also confronted him with apparent discrepancies in a police-prepared statement about whether he stepped onto his porch and saw a Jeep; Fenjves denied both details and said the police misunderstood him.

# 1 THE COURT:

Mr. SHAPIRO.

# 2 MR. UELMEN:

I'll be conducting the cross-examination.

# 3 THE COURT:

Mr. Uelmen.

# 4

CROSS-EXAMINATION

# 5

BY MR. UELMEN:

# 6 Q:

Mr. Fenjves, you watch channel 5 news every evening?

# 7 A:

Generally, but sometimes I watch the 11:00 o'clock news.

# 8 Q:

Is that a one-hour news cast?

# 9 A:

Well, I don't know. I usually watch the first 20 minutes of the news, and then I sort of -- it gets into areas I'm not that interested in.

# 10 Q:

I see. So, you regularly stop watching after about 20 minutes?

# 11 A:

About 20, 25 minutes, yeah.

# 12 Q:

And it was about 20 or 25 minutes, then, into the news cast that you first heard the dog?

# 13 A:

No, I think --

# 14 MS. CLARK:

Objection.

# 15 PABLO FENJVES:

-- It was about 15 or 20 minutes into the news cast, that I first heard the dog.

# 16 THE COURT:

Excuse me for just one moment. If one of the attorneys does make an objection, I would ask that you wait for a moment, so the court can make a ruling. I assume you're withdrawing your objection?

# 17 MS. CLARK:

I am. Thank you, your Honor.

# 18

BY MR. UELMEN:

# 19 Q:

Did you hear the dog continue to bark as you were watching the news?

# 20 A:

Yes, I did.

# 21 Q:

For about how long?

# 22 A:

You know, five, seven minutes. And then I left.

# 23 Q:

Now, you did not look out the back of your condo to view the Simpson residence at that time; is that correct?

# 24 A:

At that point, I did not.

# 25 Q:

You went downstairs, did you say?

# 26 A:

Yes, two floors down, I have my office.

# 27 Q:

I see. Did you continue to hear the dog bark while you were in your office?

# 28 A:

Well, at that point I was sort of focused on my work, so I pretty much ignored the sound, if it was there.

# 29 Q:

And I believe you said at about 11:00, you came back upstairs?

# 30 A:

That's correct.

# 31 Q:

And that was the point at which you looked out the back?

# 32 A:

Yes, sir.

# 33 Q:

Did you say you looked out the back through the blinds?

# 34 A:

Well, we have wooden shutters, storm shutters. I opened them up and took a look out.

# 35 Q:

Did you, at any time, go outside onto the rear porch, to look at the premises?

# 36 A:

No, I don't believe I did.

# 37 Q:

Now, did you give a statement to the Los Angeles Police Department after this event took place?

# 38 A:

Yes, the following morning, Monday morning, they came to my house, and asked me a few questions.

# 39 Q:

you say this interview took place at your home?

# 40 A:

Yes, it did.

# 41 Q:

Did you tell the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, that you went outside on the rear porch, to look?

# 42 A:

No, I don't recall telling them that. I think they misunderstood what I was telling them at that point.

# 43 Q:

Have you had an opportunity to look at the statement that they prepared?

# 44 A:

No, I haven't.

# 45 MR. UELMEN:

May I approach?

# 46 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 47 PABLO FENJVES:

no, I think this -- there's a few mistakes.

# 48

BY MR. UELMEN:

# 49 Q:

There's a few mistakes there?

# 50 A:

Just a minor mistake, regarding the Jeep.

# 51 Q:

Okay. Are you saying you did not tell the officers that you went out onto the porch to look?

# 52 A:

I did not go out on the porch to look, no, sir. And I do not recall telling the officers that I went out on the porch. I said I looked out through the porch, you know, opened the shutters. There's a porch beyond the porch.

KEY QUOTE

# 53 Q:

Now, when you looked through the shutters, did you observe a Jeep parked in the driveway?

# 54 A:

No, I think they misunderstood that. Because they asked me to take a look at the house from my house. And we went outside, and I said, "there," you know, "the Jeep was parked there a few days ago."

KEY QUOTE

# 55 Q:

I see. So, you did not tell the officers that on the evening of this occurrence, you observed the Jeep parked in the driveway?

# 56 A:

No, sir, I did not.

# 57 Q:

Now, you indicate you went to bed at about 11:30? \ \

# 58 Q:

Now you indicate you went to bed at about 11:30?

# 59 A:

I went to bed a little after 11:00.

# 60 Q:

All right.

# 61 A:

And I read for awhile.

# 62 Q:

And the dog continued to bark?

# 63 A:

Yes, sir.

# 64 Q:

How long did that barking continue?

# 65 A:

Until I fell asleep, which may have been 11:30, 11:40.

KEY QUOTE

# 66 Q:

So the dog may have continued barking for even later than that?

# 67 A:

That's correct.

# 68 Q:

Now, is it unusual for a dog to bark that long in the neighborhood?

# 69 A:

Yes, sir. You seldom hear -- I mean, you occasionally will hear a dog barking, but certainly not at that length and at that pitch.

KEY QUOTE

# 70 Q:

And did you at any time contemplate going out to see where the dog was or whether anything was wrong?

# 71 A:

No, I did not.

# 72 Q:

Why not?

# 73 A:

Well, it was a couple of hundred yards away, and I assumed that, you know, one of the neighbors -- it would probably be three times louder and they would be able to pinpoint the exact location. I'd have to say, you know, I was near Dorothy and Bundy and that was the area that the barking was coming from.

# 74 Q:

Thank you.

# 75 MR. UELMEN:

Nothing further.

# 76 THE COURT:

Ms. Clark.

# 77 MS. CLARK:

Thank you, Your Honor, no redirect.

# 78 THE COURT:

Thank you very much, sir.

# 79 PABLO FENJVES:

Thank you.

# 80 THE COURT:

You are free to leave. I do want to remind you that until you have been completely excused from this matter, you are not to discuss your testimony with anyone except the lawyers in this matter.

# 81 PABLO FENJVES:

Thank you very much.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (4)

Pablo Fenjves

I did not go out on the porch to look, no, sir. And I do not recall telling the officers that I went out on the porch.

Fenjves directly rejected a detail apparently attributed to him in the police report.

Pablo Fenjves

No, I think they misunderstood that. Because they asked me to take a look at the house from my house. And we went outside, and I said, "there," you know, "the Jeep was parked there a few days ago."

He explained that the police mistakenly connected his later identification of the Jeep's location with what he observed on the night in question.

Pablo Fenjves

Until I fell asleep, which may have been 11:30, 11:40.

This extended the unusual barking timeline well beyond when Fenjves first heard the dog during the evening news.

Pablo Fenjves

You seldom hear -- I mean, you occasionally will hear a dog barking, but certainly not at that length and at that pitch.

Fenjves emphasized that the dog's sustained barking was unusual for the neighborhood.

Evidence (2)

Informal

The Los Angeles Police Department's written account of its interview with Fenjves, which he said contained mistakes or misunderstandings about the porch and Jeep.

displayed, discussed, and challenged

Informal

A Jeep reportedly described in the police statement as being parked in the driveway; Fenjves testified that he had pointed out where it had been parked a few days earlier, not on the night of the killings.

discussed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Gerald Uelmen•Pablo Fenjves

Uelmen used the police interview record to question whether Fenjves had gone onto his porch and seen a Jeep. Fenjves firmly denied both propositions and attributed the discrepancies to police misunderstanding.

strategic

Marcia Clark•Kathleen Kennedy-Powell•Pablo Fenjves

After Clark objected, the judge instructed Fenjves to stop speaking until objections were resolved; Clark then withdrew the objection.

procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Pablo Fenjves

prior inconsistent statement

Uelmen confronted Fenjves with a police-prepared statement apparently reporting that he went onto the rear porch and saw a Jeep. Fenjves denied making those claims, said officers misunderstood him, and identified mistakes in the statement.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 9083 • 81 lines • Prosecution witness

Preliminary Trial

Department 103