Discovery and search-warrant return housekeeping

📄 Discovery and search-warrant return housekeeping — Tuesday, July 5, 1994

Address:

C:\DEPT103\PRELIMINARY\1994\JUL\5\DISCOVERY-AND-SEARCH-WARRANT-R.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 3 of 6

◀ In chambers: trial status and motion hearing Direct examination of Rachel Ferrara ▶

Date: Tuesday, July 5, 1994 • Lines: 21

The prosecution gave the court a search-warrant return and explained how its attached property inventory related to items at issue in a pending motion. When the defense reported missing discovery pages and unnumbered faxed reports, the judge directed the prosecution to provide copies, and Clark explained that the faxed material was advance discovery awaiting formal numbering.

# 1 THE COURT:

GOOD AFTERNOON. WE ARE ONCE AGAIN ON THE RECORD IN THE CASE OF THE PEOPLE VERSUS SIMPSON. THE DEFENDANT IS PRESENT WITH COUNSEL. THE PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTED. MISS CLARK?

# 2 MS. CLARK:

YES, YOUR HONOR. FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE A COPY OF THE RETURN TO SEARCH WARRANT. I WOULD INDICATE FOR COUNSEL THAT IT IS NUMBERED IN DISCOVERY THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED IN PAGES 00220 THROUGH 00225.

# 3 THE COURT:

DO YOU HAVE A COPY FOR THE COURT?

# 4 MS. CLARK:

THIS IS FOR THE COURT, YOUR HONOR.

# 5 THE COURT:

GIVE IT TO THE CLERK, PLEASE. I THINK MISS CLARK HAD MENTIONED SOME PAGE NUMBERS IN YOUR DISCOVERY. DO YOU HAVE THOSE PAGE NUMBERS AGAIN, MISS CLARK, FOR THE DEFENSE?

# 6 MS. CLARK:

I JUST HANDED IT TO THE COURT. I THINK IT IS 00220 THROUGH 00225.

# 7 THE COURT:

THOSE ARE THE NUMBERS THAT ARE STAMPED IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER OF THIS DOCUMENT.

# 8 MS. CLARK:

I WOULD INDICATE TO THE COURT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE MOTION, I DIRECT THE COURT'S ATTENTION TO THE NUMBERING ON THE ITEMS LISTED IN THE PROPERTY REPORT ATTACHED TO THE RETURN TO SEARCH WARRANT, THAT THE NUMBERING BEGINS WITH A 12. THAT'S BECAUSE ITEMS ONE THROUGH ELEVEN THAT ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE MOTION WERE NOT SEIZED PURSUANT TO WARRANT.

# 9 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. .SO THOSE ITEMS THAT YOU ARE SEEKING TO ADMIT IN THE COURSE OF THE PRELIMINARY HEARING ARE INCLUDED WITHIN ITEMS 1 THROUGH 11?

# 10 MS. CLARK:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 11 MR. UELMEN:

YOUR HONOR, WE HAVE A RETURN TO SEARCH WARRANT. AND REFERRING TO AN ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED INVENTORY, I DO NOT HAVE A COPY OF THE INVENTORY.

# 12 MS. CLARK:

WELL, IF COUNSEL SEPARATES THE PAGES, THEN -- IF COUNSEL HAS SEGREGATED THE PAGES SO THAT THEY HAVE PROPERTY REPORTS IN ONE SPOT AND SEARCH WARRANTS IN ANOTHER, THEN, OF COURSE, IT WON'T BE ATTACHED IN COUNSEL'S COPY. THAT'S WHY WE NUMBERED THE DISCOVERY, AND THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE CONSECUTIVE PAGES, 00220 THROUGH 00225 TO INDICATE WHAT ALL WENT TOGETHER.

# 13 MR. UELMEN:

WHAT I AM SAYING IS, WE DO NOT HAVE 00222, 00223 OR 00224 OR 00225.

KEY QUOTE

# 14 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. I ASSUME THAT YOU CAN FIND COPIES OF THAT. HAVE SOMEONE MAKE THEM SO THAT THEY CAN BE PROVIDED TO THEM.

# 15 MS. CLARK:

YES, YOUR HONOR, I WILL PROVIDE IT TO COUNSEL AGAIN. BUT I WOULD URGE COUNSEL TO ADVISE ME IF EVER THERE SEEMS TO BE NUMBERS COMING OUT OF SEQUENCE, BECAUSE WE ARE NUMBERING THE DISCOVERY CONSECUTIVELY, SO THAT IF THERE ARE NUMBERS MISSING, COUNSEL IS MADE IMMEDIATELY AWARE OF THE FACT THAT SOMETHING IS NOT IN PLACE.

KEY QUOTE

# 16 THE COURT:

MR. SHAPIRO, DID YOU FIND THOSE PAGES THAT ARE MENTIONED AGAIN?

# 17 MR. SHAPIRO:

I AM NOT SURE, YOUR HONOR. BUT JUST BY WAY OF CLARIFICATION, WE JUST RECEIVED TODAY, VIA FAX, THREE PAGES OF DISCOVERY. THE COPIES THAT I HAVE DO NOT HAVE ANY PAGE NUMBERS ON IT. SO IF MISS CLARK IS CORRECT, THERE IS SOME ERROR IN HER OFFICE ON NUMBERING.

# 18 MS. CLARK:

MAY I ASK THAT COUNSEL SHOW ME?

# 19 MR. SHAPIRO:

YES.

# 20 MS. CLARK:

YOUR HONOR, THESE REPORTS WERE VERY RECENTLY GENERATED. AND WE ARE GOING TO BE TURNING THEM OVER, AGAIN IN A LARGER PACKAGE THAT WILL BE NUMBERED. THESE WERE FAXED TO COUNSEL SIMPLY TO GIVE HIM ADVANCE DISCOVERY BEFORE THE ENTIRE PACKAGE WAS ASSEMBLED AND SENT TO HIM, WHICH WILL HAVE THE NUMBERING ON IT. SO THAT WAS JUST A COURTESY COPY TO COUNSEL IN ADVANCE OF THE OFFICIAL COPY THAT WILL BE COMING WITH NUMBERS..

# 21 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. I BELIEVE THAT YOU INDICATED YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL WITNESS THAT YOU WISH TO CALL BEFORE WE GOT TO THE MOTION?

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Marcia Clark

THAT'S BECAUSE ITEMS ONE THROUGH ELEVEN THAT ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE MOTION WERE NOT SEIZED PURSUANT TO WARRANT.

Clark clarified why the inventory began with item 12 and distinguished the evidence at issue in the motion from property seized under the warrant.

Gerald Uelmen

WHAT I AM SAYING IS, WE DO NOT HAVE 00222, 00223 OR 00224 OR 00225.

Uelmen identified four specific discovery pages missing from the defense's materials.

Marcia Clark

I WILL PROVIDE IT TO COUNSEL AGAIN.

Clark agreed to cure the discovery gap by supplying the missing materials again.

Marcia Clark

SO THAT WAS JUST A COURTESY COPY TO COUNSEL IN ADVANCE OF THE OFFICIAL COPY THAT WILL BE COMING WITH NUMBERS.

Clark explained that the three unnumbered faxed reports were advance copies, not the final numbered discovery production.

Evidence (4)

Informal

The return to the search warrant, identified in discovery as pages 00220 through 00225.

provided to the court and discussed

Informal

The property report or inventory listing seized items; its numbering begins with item 12 because items 1 through 11 were not seized pursuant to the warrant.

discussed as an attachment to the search-warrant return

Informal

Discovery pages 00222 through 00225, which the defense said it had not received; the court directed the prosecution to provide copies.

discussed as missing discovery

Informal

Three recently generated, unnumbered reports faxed to the defense before the complete numbered discovery package was assembled.

discussed as advance discovery

Notable Exchanges (2)

Gerald Uelmen•Marcia Clark•Kathleen Kennedy-Powell

Uelmen said the defense lacked the inventory pages incorporated into the search-warrant return. Clark attributed the problem to how the discovery pages may have been separated, and the judge directed her to provide replacement copies.

procedural

Robert Shapiro•Marcia Clark•Kathleen Kennedy-Powell

Shapiro noted that three reports faxed that day had no page numbers and suggested a numbering error in the prosecution's office. After reviewing them, Clark explained that they were courtesy copies sent before the official numbered package.

clarifying

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 9102 • 21 lines

Preliminary Trial

Department 103