Petrocelli Leads Simpson Through The Bronco Chase
SANTA MONICA, Nov. 25 (Evening) -- O.J. Simpson again denied killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman Monday afternoon in the civil trial, as plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Petrocelli took Simpson through his suicide note, his low-speed chase with police, and ended his examination with a rhetorical flourish.
After court was let out for the day, a sitting juror, not an alternate, was dismissed. An attorney close to the case said it was woman juror, but would provide no other information. Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki is expected to make the announcement of the dismissal Tuesday morning, when Simpson's testimony resumes.
While many of the plaintiffs' questions focused on Nicole Brown Simpson, Petrocelli, who represents Fredric Goldman, finished up talking about his client's son.
"Ron Goldman came upon you when you were there with Nicole, and you did not expect him that night, correct?" Petrocelli asked.
"I did not know Ron Goldman . . . " Simpson replied.
"And you left him there to die, Mr. Simpson, with his eyes open looking right at you, true or untrue?" Petrocelli continued.
"That is untrue," Simpson replied.
"I have no further questions for you," Petrocelli said.
Earlier in the afternoon, Fujisaki allowed Petrocelli to introduce evidence about a lie detector test Simpson took shortly after the murders. While lie detector tests are not admissible in criminal cases, California civil law is ambiguous on the subject. Although Fujisaki did not explain his ruling in open court, in a ten-minute sidebar he agreed with Petrocelli's argument that defense attorney Robert Baker opened the door for the plaintiffs when he mentioned in his opening statement Simpson's offer to take a lie detector test after the murders.
When testimony resumed, Petrocelli asked, "You went to the office of some person on Wilshire Blvd., and you were wired up for a lie detector test, true?"
"Not true in totality," Simpson replied. "We didn't take a lie detector test, he was explaining it . . . "
"And they asked you questions about Nicole's death and whether you were responsible for it?" Petrocelli asked.
"I don't know if it went that far," Simpson replied after a pause.
"And at the end of that process you scored a minus 22?" Petrocelli asked.
"I don't know what the end result was," Simpson said, later adding: "I understood that once I finished and I understood it, I was willing to do one for the police."
Petrocelli, several questions later said: "And minus 22, by the way, is a score indicating extreme deception, true?" The judge sustained a defense objection to the question.
The plaintiffs took Simpson through much of the physical evidence in the case -- the gloves; the hat; the blood drops at Bundy and Rockingham; the blood in the Bronco and on the socks; and the cuts on his hands.
Simpson told jurors that he did not know why his blood was at the crime scene or why the victims' blood was in his Bronco. He said he owned similar gloves, but noted that he owned many pairs of gloves.
The slow-speed Bronco chase also figured prominently in Petrocelli's questioning Monday afternoon.
"You decided that rather than submit to arrest, you would flee, correct?" Petrocelli asked.
"I decided to go to Nicole's grave, correct," Simpson replied.
The plaintiffs' attorney also had Simpson verify what he took with him in his black bag when he fled arrest, including, Petrocelli said, a gun, a passport, a goatee and mustache, and keys to his ex-wife's condominium.
"You also had a key to Nicole's condominium, is that correct?" Petrocelli asked.
"I'm not aware of that," Simpson testified, although he said he had key rings in the bag.
"It had the disguise in there, right?" Petrocelli asked.
"It had the mustache and goatee, yes," Simpson said.
Petrocelli used the chase to present evidence of Simpson's consciousness of guilt. While Simpson was in the Bronco, Petrocelli pointed out, he was on the phone with Det. Tom Lange, whom the defense contends planted evidence in the case. Lange was trying to talk Simpson out of killing himself.
In the heat of the chase, Petrocielli noted that Simpson thanks Lange over the cellular phone -- saying "I know you are doing your job" Never in that conversation did Simpson accuse Lange of misconduct. "At no time were you saying, 'Why have you planted all this evidence against me?'" Petrocelli asked.
"I had no idea what the evidence was," Simpson said.
Several questions later, Petrocelli asked, "And the reason you didn't do so is because you knew you committed those murders, correct?"
"That is not correct," Simpson replied.
"And that is why you were going to kill yourself, because you knew you were going to spend the rest of your life in jail, correct?" Petrocelli asked.
"That is not correct," Simpson said.
Simpson also testified that he was feeling suicidal that evening. His letter, read on national television the day he fled, provided fodder for Petrocelli.
"There isn't a single word in those pages you wrote contemplating killing yourself where you express sorrow for Nicole's death, isn't that true," Petrocelli asked?
"Probably not, but I feel the whole letter went to my sorrow," Simpson said.
"Your sorrow?" Petrocelli retorted.
"Yes," Simpson said.
Tuesday, plaintiffs' attorneys Michael Brewer and John Kelly are expected to have a short examination of Simpson, before turning him over to the defense.
-Robert Schmidt
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