Plaintiffs On The Fast Track
SANTA MONICA, Oct. 25 (Noon) -- The morning session here in the O.J. Simpson civil trial ended after 95 minutes because the plaintiffs ran out of witnesses. Both sides sped through their questioning of Mezzaluna employees Karen Crawford and Stewart Tanner; dog walker Robert Heidstra; and Nicole Brown Simpson neighbor Louis Karpf -- in contrast to the criminal trial where their testimony took about twice as long. Only two other witnesses are scheduled for today and they were told to arrive in court after the lunch break.
The morning's most important witness was Heidstra, who was called by Simpson in the criminal trial, but today testified for the plaintiffs. Heidstra said he started on his nightly dog walk at 10:15 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, he heard Nicole's Akita barking and wanting to avoid a confrontation with his dogs, Heidstra changed direction. It was a "confused, panicky bark, not an attack bark," Heidstra told the jury. Crossing the alley behind Nicole's house at about 10:35 p.m., Heidstra heard a young, clear, male voice say "hey, hey, hey" and then an older, deeper, male voice talking very quickly. Fifteen seconds later, Heidstra heard a gate clang. At 10:40 or 10:45 p.m., Heidstra testified that he saw a white, Jeep-like vehicle speed away, heading South.
On cross-examination, defense lawyer Robert Baker asked Heidstra, who works as a car detailer near O.J. Simpson's Rockingham home, if the fastest way to get there would be to head South. No, Heidstra replied, but going that way the driver could take a different route that has no traffic lights. Baker also pointed out several small inconsistencies in Heidstra's criminal testimony. Heidstra was on the stand for slightly less than an hour today, in the criminal trial he testified for two and a half hours.
Karen Crawford, the Sunday manager at Mezzaluna testified that she took calls from Juditha Brown and Nicole about Juditha's glasses that were left at the restaurant. Stewart Tanner told the jury that he and Ron Goldman had plans to go out that night after work, although they did not because Tanner was tired. Both testified that Ron and Nicole were not dating. Louis Karpf took the stand for eight minutes today, testifying that he arrived home from the airport and saw the Akita coming down the street when he went to check his mail at 10:45, or 10:50 p.m. at the latest. On cross-examination, Daniel Leonard pointed out that Karpf told police her arrived home at 10:55 or 11:00 p.m., and would have seen the dog later.
Only one protester greeted Simpson as he arrived at the courthouse today. Several other protesters are at the courthouse, but their protests are not Simpson-related. Celebrity author Dominik Dunne is in court for the first time today. The witnesses walking into court today have been greeted by hordes of cameras as television journalists try to get pictures for their stories. Karen Crawford's boyfriend, apparently unhappy with the attention, spit at the camera crews.
This afternoon scheduled witnesses are: Steven Schwab and Sukru Boztepe, both neighbors of Nicole.
Find out about Court TV's coverage of the civil trial, and take a look at the witness lists provided by both sides.
Rob Schmidt's Reporter's Notebook
Court TV Reports and Trial Coverage
Documents and Depositions from the Pre-Trial Civil Proceedings
A Look Back at the Criminal Case
Discuss the Case
Register for our message boards and trade your insights and opinions with other trial watchers.
