Judge Bars Fuhrman Testimony
SANTA MONICA, Nov. 18 (Evening) -- Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki ruled Monday afternoon that the defense cannot introduce former Det. Mark Fuhrman's criminal trial testimony in O.J. Simpson's civil trial. Although the defense could still call Fuhrman as a witness, it's highly unlikely that he can be forced to testify because he does not live in California.
Domestic violence took center stage this afternoon in the O.J. Simpson civil trial, as jurors listened to Nicole Brown Simpson's quivering voice on a recording of a call she placed to police in 1993. On the stand, two Los Angeles Police Department officers and a former private security guard testified about domestic violence incidents between O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson.
Tuesday morning, the plaintiffs will play a tape recording -- clandestinely recorded by a police officer -- of a conversation Simpson had with two officers responding to a domestic violence call in 1993 at Nicole Brown Simpson's house. Robert Lerner, one of the officers who was at the house, will continue his examination.
Due after Lerner: Michael Stevens, an investigator who opened Nicole Brown Simpson's safety deposit box; Brian "Kato" Kaelin; and limousine driver Allan Park. FBI shoe expert William Bodziak is now scheduled to testify Wednesday. He will be followed by Simpson. Although the plaintiffs may be ready for Simpson on Thursday it is unclear whether he would be available to testify until Friday.
In issuing his ruling on Fuhrman, Judge Fujisaki noted that the defense only wanted to call the former detective to discredit him, not to have him offer evidence. The order, delivered from the bench, also prohibits the defense from telling the jury about the former detective's no contest plea to perjury charges. Judge Fujisaki also ruled Monday afternoon that the plaintiffs could not offer witness that would present the profile of a person who commits a domestic homicide. The jury, Judge Fujisaki said, could interpret the evidence on its own.
Jurors heard two tapes of 911 calls in the afternoon session. On the first recording, a 1989 New Year's day altercation, a woman could be heard screaming briefly in the background, but Nicole Brown Simpson never spoke on the tape. The 911 operator who took the call, Sharyn Gilbert, testified this afternoon that she heard a slap before the scream. O.J. Simpson ultimately pleaded no contest to spousal battery charges arising from that incident.
The other 911 recording played in the afternoon session was from a 1993 incident at Nicole Brown Simpson's house at Gretna Green. She begged the operator to hurry the police along. "He's back. He's O.J. Simpson. I think you know his record," she told the dispatcher. Later on the tape, O.J. Simpson could be heard yelling obscenities in the background.
Mark Day, a former private security guard who is now an LAPD officer, testified about another domestic violence episode between the Simpsons -- a 1985 altercation. Day told the jury that he arrived at the Rockingham estate and found a "very upset" Nicole Brown Simpson. The officer also saw a dented Mercedes coupe with the windshield smashed. A baseball bat was lying nearby. O.J. Simpson, Day said, admitted losing his temper and was "demure."
Day did not testify in the criminal trial -- a fact quickly brought up by defense attorney Daniel Leonard on cross-examination. Day handed over the reins as soon as the LAPD arrived. The responding officer, Leonard pointed out, was Mark Fuhrman.
"You're kind of a pinch hitter today, aren't you sir," Leonard asked.
Robert Schmidt
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