Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120048
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Using statistical estimates of the rarity of Simpson's blood type, biochemist Robin Cotton told jurors that only 1 in 170 million people share the genetic markers found in Simpson's blood and in a blood drop recovered near the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.
Moreover, Cotton testified, Nicole Simpson's genetic type is virtually unique - common to just 1 in 6.8 billion people - making her the only person on the planet who could have shed the blood found on a pair of socks recovered from Simpson's bedroom the day after the June 12 murders.
In all, the 12 jurors and five alternates spent seven minutes studying the display, lining up twice for two separate exhibits. Several jurors seemed affected by what they had seen, returning somberly to the jury box with downcast eyes. Four panel members whipped their heads toward prosecutor George ``Woody'' Clarke as if expecting him to correct the witness.
Instead, Clarke drove home the point, asking Cotton: ``How many people are there on Earth?''
``I don't know, but the figure I've been quoted is about 5 billion,'' Cotton said.
``What does that mean?'' Clarke asked, alluding to the statistics matching Nicole Simpson to the blood found in her ex-husband's bedroom.
Judge Lance Ito did not allow Cotton to answer. But jurors' gaping mouths left little doubt that Clarke had made his point.
The morning belonged to prosecutors, who presented their most damaging evidence yet linking Simpson to the murders.
After lunch, defense lawyer Peter Neufeld fought desperately to undo the damage, arguing that any odds of a DNA match would be ``irrelevant'' if the blood linking Simpson to the murders had been ``inadvertently contaminated'' by sloppy handling or ``planted'' by police as part of a frame-up.
Neufeld also suggested that five blood drops matching Simpson's type that were found outside his ex-wife's condominium could have been ``old blood,'' spilled by the defendant sometime before the murders.
And he pointedly challenged the statistics used to characterize DNA matches in the case, noting that the use of such astronomical numbers in criminal cases had created ``substantial controversy in the scientific community.''
As the high-stakes battle over blood came to a boil, Ito struggled to control repeated flare-ups between opposing lawyers.
Twice the judge was forced to abruptly halt testimony and order jurors from the courtroom. The second time, Ito angrily fined Clarke and Neufeld $250 apiece for making improper comments.
``Wait, both of you!'' the judge barked as bewildered jurors filed silently into a holding room. Then came the scolding.
``Both counsel are sanctioned $250,'' Ito said. ``Get your checkbooks out - right now. I'm not going to tolerate that stuff anymore.''
As the lawyers wrote out their checks, grinning like chastened schoolboys, Ito added, ``The attorneys may not bill their clients for this. This is a personal sanction.''
by CNB