Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250089
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
A police scientist blurted out on the witness stand Wednesday that he initially thought O.J. Simpson had ``an airtight alibi,'' sparking defense demands to unseal Simpson's statement to police the day after his ex-wife and her friend were murdered.
The comment by criminalist Collin Yamauchi set off one of the most explosive legal arguments in the murder trial in weeks.
The defense leaped upon what it said was an opening to present Simpson's statement without having to call the former football star to the witness stand.
After jurors were hustled out of the courtroom, prosecutor Marcia Clark, her voice rising to a shout, said there was no way Simpson's self-serving statement to police should be presented to jurors.
She maintained that Yamauchi's comment wasn't based on Simpson's police interview, and that Yamauchi didn't know at the time that it had been given.
Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr., accusing Clark of being ``hysterical'' in her response, insisted the prosecution had opened the door ``with a Mack truck.''
``The people have brought this out and now we think we have a right to put on Mr. Simpson's entire statement,'' he said.
Yamauchi was being asked if he had expectations about what his DNA tests would show on evidence, including a bloody glove found at Simpson's estate the morning after the murders.
``Based on what you've heard in the media before you did the test in this case, did you have an expectation what the outcome of these tests would be?'' prosecutor Rockne Harmon asked.
After defense objections, Yamauchi answered, ``Yes.''
``I heard on the news that he's got an airtight alibi, he's in Chicago and, you know, it's his ex-wife and this and that, and he's probably not related to this thing,'' Yamauchi testified.
The remark sent attorneys rushing to the judge's bench for a private conference. Judge Lance Ito then ordered questioning to proceed, but at a recess a few moments later the fireworks began.
Harmon asked the question of Yamauchi to debunk a defense theory that he and other DNA experts had an ``examiner bias,'' a desire to have their test results incriminate Simpson.
But the defense, which has been waiting for weeks to bring in Simpson's statement, heard Yamauchi's response differently. Apparently, so did Ito.
``A party has brought in part, the alibi,'' Ito told Clark as she fought to keep the statement out. ``I think you have a 356 problem.''
Section 356 of the evidence code, as explained outside court by defense attorney Robert Shapiro, says if part of a statement is brought into evidence, an adverse party has the right to demand that the entire statement be admitted.
Clark insisted the use of the word ``alibi'' reflected Yamauchi's conclusion based on news reports. She said he didn't know about Simpson's statement, given to police shortly after Simpson returned from Chicago. Simpson had taken a red-eye flight from Los Angeles the night of the June 12 murders on a planned business trip.
by CNB