FBI Expert Authenticates Photo
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Jan. 14, Evening) -- Photographic evidence expert Gerald Richards told jurors Tuesday afternoon in the O.J. Simpson civil trial that a photograph showing Simpson in Bruno Magli shoes was not a phony. Leslie Gardner, who provided the wardrobe for an exercise video Simpson starred in weeks before the murders, testified that he never returned a dark sweatsuit she obtained for him.
Richards will continue to testify on direct examination Wednesday, when he is expected to answer questions about the authenticity of the 30 newly discovered Bruno Magli photos. The plaintiffs are also scheduled to call three police photographers: George Cormany, Michael Wilson, and John Taggart. Cormany and Wilson are expected to testify about the presence of blood in Simpson's Bronco. Taggart is being called to talk about the Bundy glove, which the defense suggested last week may have been planted. Earlier in the day, the defense rested.
Photo expert Richards, a former FBI supervisor who specialized in authenticating documents and photographic evidence, was steadfast in declaring freelance photographer Harry Scull's photograph genuine.
"There is no doubt in my mind regarding the shoes in this particular photograph, that they have not been altered in any way," Richards said.
Plaintiffs attorney Peter Gelblum did not hesitate to play Richards' solid credentials off those of the defense expert Robert Groden, a John F. Kennedy assassination buff who never took a course in photography. Gelblum almost gleefully took Richards through his long resume, which included an advanced degree in photography, years of FBI training, and membership in scores of professional organizations. At one point, Richards noted that he was very familiar with the type of camera Scull used to take the picture -- because the FBI division he headed had 1,500 of them.
Richards painstakingly went through the testimony of the defense expert Groden, and took issue with each of the dozen flaws Groden claimed to have found in the picture. Asked about a blue line on the contact sheet that Groden saw as evidence of fraud, Richards said it was actually a "quite common" scratch that came from the film being advanced through the camera.
Though Groden said the negative of Simpson wearing the shoes was slightly larger than the rest of the negatives on the contact sheet, Richards testified that his measurement -- using a scale that measures to one-tenth of a centimeter -- showed the negative was exactly the same size as the one next to it. Richards also scoffed at Groden's description of airbrush marks on Simpson's pants. He acknowledging that the pants did have different coloration in certain areas, but said it was "nothing inconsistent with the pants blowing in the breeze."
Gardner's testimony was quick and to the point. She told the jury that she purchased a dark, blue-black cotton fleece sweatsuit for Simpson when he made the video and that he never returned it. The plaintiffs contend that blue-black cotton fibers found at the Bundy crime scene came from Simpson's sweatsuit. On the stand Monday, Simpson said that the only clothing he kept from the video shoot was a sweat top, but it was made of cashmere.
On cross-examination, Gardner admitted that the sweatsuit may have been a cotton-polyester blend.
"Do you think it's possible if someone is wearing a fabric that is half cotton, half polyester, they would only shed the cotton fibers?" asked defense attorney Daniel Leonard.
Replied Gardner: "I know nothing about shedding fibers."
-Robert Schmidt
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