Week 13

April 17 - 21, 1995

The allegations came from Jeanette Harris, a black juror who was dismissed April 5 because she failed to report a past experience with domestic violence. In a television interview, Harris said that sheriff's deputies favored whites and that she was kicked by a white female juror. She gave several other examples of black jurors suffering verbal and physical abuse.

Robert Shapiro began the day with an apology in open court to criminalist Dennis Fung, a prosecution witness, and any other minority who was offended last Thursday when he handed out fortune cookies from the "Hang Fung Restaurant" to court observers.

Shapiro said the cookies were at the counsel tables when he arrived. He offered some to two members of the press and "made a remark which was meant to be facetious and was taken by those who received it as being facetious."

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Shapiro said he regretted that those remarks could have been misconstrued and told Judge Ito that he personally apologized to Fung outside the court.

Fung returned to the witness stand for the eight day to explain how he collected evidence at Simpson's home and the crime scene. Prosecutor Hank Goldberg spent most of the day trying to debunk the defense theory that Fung lied when he received a vial of Simpson's blood as part of a police cover-up.

APRIL 18 - After nine grueling days of testimony, Dennis Fung, an LAPD criminalist testifying for the prosecution, surprised the court by shaking hands with O.J. Simpson and his lawyers.

This unusual move, coming after several days of blistering cross-examination from defense lawyer Barry Scheck, occurred as jurors were preparing to leave the courtroom and it is unclear how many of them saw it happen.

It is also unclear whether Fung did this as a way of accepting defense lawyer Robert Shapiro's apology for his fortune cookie joke last week. Fung also shook hands with lawyers for the prosecution.

In testimony, Fung again denied covering up mistakes made by police at the crime scene. Under a barrage of questioning by defense attorney Barry Scheck, Fung denied that he was saying what the prosecution told him to say, rather than the truth. He also denied using a selective memory.

Judge Lance Ito told lawyers on both sides that he would recess court until Thursday and speak individually with each juror over statements by Jeanette Harris, who was bounced off the panel. Harris said that the jury was wracked by racial strife.

Lawyers will attend the interviews, but Simpson will not, Judge Ito ruled.

The possibility was raised that Kato Kaelin, Simpson's houseguest, will be called back to testify after author Michael Elliot said in a television interview that he interviewed Kaelin with the intention of collaborating on a book.

Elliot said Kaelin told a completely different story than the one he told in court. Prosecutor Christopher Darden handed copies of Elliot's taped interview to the defense Monday.

APRIL 19 - With court in recess, Judge Lance Ito spent the day interviewing jurors over allegations made by former juror Jeanette Harris.

Lawyers from both sides were present. The trial is set to resume Thursday.

"I believe we'll be able to finish this case," said defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran. "Some of the things [the jurors said] concerned me, but they're not irreconcilable."

Harris, who was bounced from the jury April 5 because she failed to report a past experience of domestic violence, said in a television interview that sheriff's deputies favored white jurors and that the jury was divided by racial animosity.

She also said jurors were discussing the case with one another and that phone calls and family visits were not properly supervised.

Judge Ito's investigation is expected to continue with the questioning of sheriff's deputies.

Following the disclosure of taped interviews of Simpson houseguest Kato Kaelin, District Attorney Gil Garcetti said he was considering recalling Kaelin to the witness stand.

In the interviews, conducted by author Mark Elliot, Kaelin described Simpson's relationship with Nicole Simpson Brown far differently than he did in his testimony, the author said.

"If you listen to the tapes and you listen to his testimony, you will hear two completely different versions of events," Elliot said.

Elliot said that he was writing a book in cooperation with Kaelin based on 17 hours of interviews conducted between December and February. Kaelin said under testimony that he had no plans to write a book.

Michael Plotkin, Kaelin's agent and lawyer, said Kaelin never signed a book contract and that his client's testimony was truthful.

APRIL 20 - Judge Lance Ito replaced three deputies following accusations from a former juror that some deputies were fomenting racial discord among the panel.

Judge Ito made no statement, but this action came a day after he recessed court to investigate the charges by Jeanette Harris, who was dismissed from the jury April 5 because she failed to report a past experience of domestic violence.

On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, all twelve jurors and six alternates met individually with the judge.

The deputies looked extremely agitated Thursday as they were seen escorted from court, said Dan Abrams, a Court TV reporter.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block denounced Judge Ito's decision, complaining that the judge released the deputies without interviewing them.

"I understand the judge is trying to retain the jury numbers he now has," Block said Thursday at a press conference. "I am offended because that effort is being made on the backs of my deputies."

In court, LAPD criminalist Andrea Mazzola, 34, took the stand and described her role collecting evidence at the Rockingham crime scene and at O.J. Simpson's house. Prosecutor Hank Goldberg asked about her credentials in response to attacks from defense lawyers that she lacked the experience to collect sensitive DNA evidence.

Though Mazzola is referred to as a trainee, she worked for 18 months at the Kern County District Attorney's office as a criminalist in toxicology. She has additional experience working at a private lab and studied criminology in college, according to her testimony.

Goldberg attempted to prove that Dennis Fung, Mazzola's supervisor, received a vial of Simpson's blood on June 13 at Simpson's house. During cross-examination of Fung, defense lawyer Barry Scheck had shown a videotape in which Fung's hands were empty as he was leaving the house that day. Fung then said the blood was in a garbage bag that Mazzola was carrying.

To rehabilitate Fung's testimony, Goldberg showed Mazzola the videotape of her walking with Fung and carrying a trash bag. Although she could not definitively say she remembered carrying the blood vial in the bag, she ruled out any other explanation.

In cross-examination, defense lawyer Peter Neufeld accused Mazzola of altering crime scene reports to make it look as though Fung had collected key evidence. Neufeld attempted to belittle Mazzola's education and experience. He pointed out that she was still on employment probation June 13, when she reported to the crime scene.

APRIL 21 - A jury protest over the dismissal of three deputies caused Judge Lance Ito to recess the court Friday and Monday.

Thirteen of the 12 jurors and six alternates refused to board the bus to take them to court Friday morning. In a note to Judge Ito, they requested he come speak with them at the hotel where they are sequestered.

The jury later agreed to be taken to the courthouse but refused to enter the jury box without speaking with the judge. The 13 jurors were dressed in dark clothing -- some all in black -- in apparent protest.

Judge Ito met Friday with seven jurors and will resume interviews Monday. Afterwards, he is scheduled to meet with the three dismissed deputies. The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday.

Judge Ito will speak with jurors in his chambers. Lawyers from both sides will be present and may suggest questions for the judge to ask. The sessions are on the record.

Coming nearly three months after opening statements, the protest raises concern of a mistrial. The recess interrupted the testimony of criminalist Andrea Mazzola, the 41st witness in the case.

WEEK 14