Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9411180043
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Superior Court Judge Lance Ito said he was inclined to bar any test results that arrive after opening statements to the jury, which could begin in mid-November. He didn't specify the evidence but defense lawyer Barry Scheck said it included tests on the bloody glove.
``If it's not here by the date of opening statements, maybe you don't get to use it,'' Ito told prosecutors. ``We're talking about sending things out the second week in September for a crime that occurred in June. It doesn't take a genius to see which of these items should be examined closely.''
He said he would rule Friday.
The defense contends the delay was intended to rob them of time needed to do their own independent tests.
Simpson, 47, is charged with murder in the June 12 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend Ronald Goldman, 25.
With a case based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution is relying heavily on scientific tests to connect Simpson to the crime, including sophisticated DNA analysis of blood and hair found at the crime scene and at Simpson's estate.
The defense hired two of the nation's leading DNA legal experts, who have pounded away at the issue of prosecution delays.
``There is no excuse for not starting DNA testing in a timely fashion,'' Scheck told the judge.
``There's a huge number of items on which testing began only in September. Think of it. The glove. Everyone knows the glove is important evidence.''
Defense documents show the glove was sent Sept. 7 to the state Department of Justice.
by CNB