Day 1 — Thursday, June 30, 1994

Forensic Battles Open as Knife and Timeline Testimony Begins

Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell • Preliminary Trial • 32 proceedings • 2408 lines

Appearing:

🛡️ Robert Shapiro 🗣️ Michele Kestler 🏛️ Marcia Clark ⚖️ Kathleen Kennedy-Powell 🏛️ William Hodgman 🗣️ Allen Wattenberg 🗣️ Jose Camacho 🗣️ John De Bello 🛡️ Gerald Uelmen

tense

The opening day combined an extended forensic-evidence dispute with the first civilian testimony of the preliminary hearing. Judge Kennedy-Powell sought to preserve blood and hair evidence for independent defense review while permitting prosecution testing under defined limits. Knife-store witnesses linked Simpson to the purchase and sharpening of a large knife, but defense questioning highlighted weak sales documentation and lucrative media payments. Restaurant testimony began establishing Ronald Goldman’s final-evening timeline as the court scheduled a later challenge to the Simpson search warrant.

Judge Kennedy-Powell ordered defense access to testing, addressed preservation of blood evidence, and authorized collection of 40–100 hairs from five areas of Simpson’s scalp.
Ross Cutlery witnesses testified that Simpson purchased and sharpened a large knife on May 3, though missing itemized records and paid media deals complicated their credibility.
Mezzaluna manager John De Bello placed Ronald Goldman at the restaurant until roughly 9:45–9:50 p.m., while cross-examination exposed limits and inconsistencies in his recollection.
The court scheduled Simpson’s motion to suppress evidence and challenge the search warrant for Tuesday, allowing unrelated civilian testimony to proceed first.

administrative Opening and counsel appearances 🎞️ 11 lines
motion hearing Motion: hair sample limitation 🎞️ 28 lines
administrative Evidence items and blood splits 🎞️ 6 lines
witness examination Direct examination of Michele Kestler 🎞️ 225 lines
administrative Cross-examination preparation 🎞️ 18 lines
sidebar Sidebar: scheduling 🎞️ 7 lines
in chambers In-chambers: trial scheduling 113 lines
witness examination Cross-examination of Michele Kestler 🎞️ 611 lines
administrative Afternoon session opening, discovery exchange, and witness recall 16 lines
witness examination Continued cross-examination of Michele Kestler 95 lines
witness examination Redirect examination of Michele Kestler 81 lines
motion hearing Discovery dispute concerning expert reference materials 9 lines
witness examination Recross-examination of Michele Kestler and questions from the court 48 lines
motion hearing Arguments and ruling on preservation and independent testing of forensic evidence 11 lines
administrative Preliminary-hearing stipulation placed on the record 4 lines
motion hearing Scheduling of defense motion to suppress and traverse the search warrant 12 lines
administrative Civilian-witness scheduling and afternoon recess 9 lines
administrative Preliminary hearing called and complaint reading waived 3 lines
witness examination Direct examination of Allen Wattenberg 🎞️ 295 lines
witness examination Cross-examination of Allen Wattenberg 🎞️ 57 lines
administrative Allen Wattenberg excused and next witness requested 🎞️ 5 lines
witness examination Direct examination of Jose Camacho 🎞️ 233 lines
witness examination Cross-examination of Jose Camacho 🎞️ 101 lines
witness examination Redirect examination of Jose Camacho 🎞️ 13 lines
administrative Jose Camacho admonished and excused 🎞️ 5 lines
witness examination Direct examination of John De Bello 🎞️ 157 lines
witness examination Cross-examination of John De Bello 🎞️ 70 lines
witness examination Redirect examination of John De Bello 🎞️ 34 lines
witness examination Recross-examination of John De Bello 🎞️ 6 lines
witness examination Further redirect examination of John De Bello 🎞️ 9 lines
administrative Adjournment and scheduling for the next hearing day 🎞️ 1 lines
in chambers In-chambers conference regarding courtroom logistics, records, witnesses, motions, and scheduling 113 lines

Day 1 • 32 proceedings • 2408 lines

Preliminary Trial

Department 103