Redirect examination of Steven Schwab

📄 Redirect examination of Steven Schwab — Friday, July 1, 1994

Address:

C:\DEPT103\PRELIMINARY\1994\JUL\1\REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-STEVEN.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 2 of 6

◀ Continued cross-examination of Steven Schwab Court guidance on sidebar conferences and witness scheduling ▶

Witness: Steven Schwab
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Friday, July 1, 1994 • Lines: 39

Marcia Clark used redirect to explain why Steven Schwab's first account to detectives contained inaccurate time estimates. Schwab said he was exhausted, frightened, and confused during a brief 5:00 A.M. group interview, and that he was still reconstructing the timing when his wife corrected his initial estimate.

# 1 THE COURT:

Miss Clark, do you have any questions on redirect?

# 2 MS. CLARK:

Very briefly, your Honor.

# 3

REDIRECT EXAMINATION

# 4

BY MS. CLARK:

# 5 Q:

The detectives that you spoke to, sir, do you see them here in court?

# 6 A:

I -- I don't. Again, it was 5:00 A.M., so I don't recall who they were, I'm sorry.

# 7 Q:

Were you pretty tired at the time you spoke to them?

# 8 A:

I was very tired when I spoke to them. it was -- it was quite a -- it was scary to find out that this was connected to a homicide in some way. So I was quite agitated, my wife was very upset, Sukru and Bettina were very upset. and it was 5:00 A.M., it was relatively dark out.

# 9 Q:

Do you think that that agitation and that confusion as being confronted with a traumatic event at 5:00 in the morning, had something to do with the accuracy of the statement you may have given them at the time?

# 10 A:

Absolutely. I was very confused at the time, and I know that the things especially relative to time that I said to the officer, was completely inaccurate. I -- I was trying very hard to remember at that time, and it was still coming to me. I was trying to fix in my head when the time was. It wasn't like I had a minute to think, or try to remember what I did, or even what day of the week it was. Again, as I told the court, I have a routine with my dog that is -- that differs from on the weekends than it does during the week days. And I was trying to remember at what time I left the house, and just -- at that point I wasn't even unsure whether I had left the house at 11:30 or 11:00 o'clock or 10:30. I wasn't sure at that point at what time I left the house.

KEY QUOTE

# 11 Q:

Were you even sure of what day of the week it was at the time you were talking to them?

# 12 A:

I was not clear. Again, having been woken up in the middle of the night, I wasn't sure whether it was a week day or a weekend. Especially in this case, it was Sunday leading into Monday. So, it was a week day, but the previous night was still weekend.

# 13 Q:

And you didn't remember that at the time they spoke to you?

# 14 A:

No, no.

# 15 Q:

Was this a real lengthy interview you had with them at 5:00 in the morning, or --

# 16 A:

It was incredibly brief.

# 17 Q:

Incredibly brief?

# 18 A:

Yeah. Again, the biggest thing I remember is that it was connected to a homicide, you know. And at first I was going to invite -- have them come into the house, then I saw they were there with Bettina and Sukru, and my wife wasn't dressed yet. So I said, "okay, let's go down to the court pool area of our building, and discuss it there."

# 19 Q:

and Did they speak to you separately?

# 20 A:

No.

# 21 Q:

Who was with you?

# 22 A:

My wife was with me, Bettina and Sukru were there, and there was the two detectives.

# 23 Q:

and Did they speak to you first, or Bettina and Sukru?

# 24 A:

Bettina and Sukru were already there. They were with the detectives, and --

# 25 Q:

Well, at the time that you went down to speak to the detectives, were they speaking also, or was it just you?

# 26 A:

They -- there was -- there was some discussion. actually, My wife was asking questions, I was asking questions. Because, you know, we didn't know what was -- what was going on.

# 27 Q:

You were asking questions of the police?

# 28 A:

Yes.

# 29 Q:

But when they were asking questions of you, were you the only one speaking?

# 30 A:

No, I was not.

# 31 Q:

Who else was speaking?

# 32 A:

And this is difficult for me, because it was 5:00 o'clock in the morning. I just -- I just remember that my wife had asked the police officers some questions. And I had started to reconstruct what time it was. And the first -- at first I said I started at 11:30. And then my wife said -- said, "no, you were home by then." And that was correct. And so then I was saying, "well, maybe it was 11:15." I wasn't sure, I was still at that point trying to reconstruct what had happened. But by the time -- but then the police officers moved on to some other questions, other matters.

# 33 Q:

How long -- I'm sorry. How long was the conversation you had with the police officers?

# 34 A:

I would say between five and ten minutes, tops.

KEY QUOTE

# 35 MS. CLARK:

I have nothing further.

# 36 THE COURT:

Mr. Uelmen?

# 37 MR. UELMEN:

Nothing further, your honor.

# 38 THE COURT:

Thank you very much, sir. I'm going to remind you, please, do not discuss your testimony with anyone but the lawyers in this matter, until you've been completely excused. But you're free to step down.

# 39 STEVEN SCHWAB:

Thank you.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (4)

Steven Schwab

Absolutely. I was very confused at the time, and I know that the things especially relative to time that I said to the officer, was completely inaccurate.

Schwab directly acknowledged that his initial statement to police contained inaccurate timing information.

Steven Schwab

It was -- it was quite a -- it was scary to find out that this was connected to a homicide in some way.

This explained the agitation that Schwab said affected his ability to give an accurate account.

Steven Schwab

And the first -- at first I said I started at 11:30. And then my wife said -- said, "no, you were home by then." And that was correct.

Schwab described how his original time estimate changed during the police interview, identifying his wife as the source of the correction.

Steven Schwab

I would say between five and ten minutes, tops.

The brief duration supported the prosecution's effort to portray the initial interview as hurried and unreliable for precise timing.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Schwab's informal oral statement to detectives during a five-to-ten-minute interview around 5:00 A.M., including his inaccurate and changing estimates of when he left home.

discussed and clarified

Notable Exchanges (3)

Marcia Clark•Steven Schwab

Clark elicited that Schwab could not identify the detectives because he had been awakened at 5:00 A.M. and was exhausted and distressed.

rehabilitative

Marcia Clark•Steven Schwab

Schwab explained that his wife corrected his initial 11:30 estimate while several people spoke during the short, informal police interview.

revealing

Kathleen Kennedy-Powell•Gerald Uelmen•Steven Schwab

After Clark finished, Uelmen declined further questioning and the judge excused Schwab with the standard instruction not to discuss his testimony.

procedural

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Steven Schwab

prior inconsistent statement addressed through rehabilitation

The accuracy of Schwab's initial time estimate was in question because he first told police he began at 11:30, then reconsidered after his wife said he was already home. Redirect sought to rehabilitate him by emphasizing his fatigue, agitation, confusion, and the interview's brevity.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 9089 • 39 lines • Prosecution witness

Preliminary Trial

Department 103