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Wednesday, January 25,1995 Page 2
- -
Simpson
trial update
► Judge Lance Ito threatened to
end TV coverage after an
alternate juror leaned
forward, into the camera
range of Court TV. Ito will rule
Wednesday morning.
► Prosecutors Marcia Clark and
Christopher Darden gave
opening remarks, showing
graphic photos of the victims.
They also detailed physical
evidence and alleged abuse.
► Ito said Simpson may not
address jurors to declare his
innocence, but may show
scars on his knee.
—
I Ito threatens to end TV coverage
LOS ANGELES — Of the thou
sands of hours of television coverage
generated by the O.J. Simpson mur
der case, it was a shot that lasted less
than a second Tuesday that threat
ened to end it all.
A glimpse of an alternate juror
during opening statements so angered
Superior Court Judge Lance Ito that
he cut short the court session, prompt
ing cries of foul from the defense.
The shot in question came as
Deputy District Attorney Marcia
Clark spoke. As she walked toward
the counsel table, the camera fol
lowed her and caught a side view of
a female alternate juror leaning for
ward in her chair. The woman’s face
was clearly seen for eight-tenths of a
second before the camera jerked
away.
A producer for Court TV, which
operates the remote control pool cam
era that provides the court feed, said
the shot was a mistake.
“We were the first to notify the
judge,” said Cynthia Glozier, the su
pervising producer. “We regret it.
We will do everything in the future to
make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Ito himself supervised the instal
lation of the camera system after an
earlier dispute over allegations that
TV stations had broadcast hallway
shots of jurors in other cases. Ito
threatened then to yank the court
camera but left it in after hearing
from media lawyers.
The earlier threat was also related
to a TV news report about DNA evi
dence that the judge deemed inaccu
rate. However, prosecutors confirmed
in their opening statements Tuesday
that the results of the blood tests were
reported correctly.
Ito told attorneys outside the jury’s
presence he was not only upset at the
camera operator for violating the of
ten-repeated court order that forbids
showing jurors on TV. But he said he
was doubly mad because a producer
sitting at a “kill” switch missed die
shot and didn’t black it out.
“Both (the) camera operator and
the person on the delay box made an
error, and I indicated to all parties
that if this would occur, then I would
then terminate the television,” Ito
said, according to a transcript of the
proceeding.
With that, the judge ordered the
sequestered jurors back into the court
room. He told them a problem had
arisen “that involves directly your
welfare” and he sent them back to
their hotel early to give him time to
figure out what to do.
The abrupt end of the court ses
sion came just as defense attorney
Johnnie Cochran Jr. was about to
deliver his opening statement to an
swer numerous allegations made by
Clark and fellow prosecutor Christo
pher Darden in their televised pre
sentation.
After the defense objected to the
camera being ousted, Ito asked for
the prosecution’s position. Clark sup
ported the move.
“The important people to hear from
both sides are the jury,” she said.
“They are the ones who will vote on
guilt or innocence. ... We are not
playing to the world, we are playing
to the jury.”
Outside court, defense attorneys
were as angry as Ito. “What we
saw today was an interference with
his rights to due process,” Robert
Shapiro said. “We were not allowed
to proceed to opening statements ...
because of the media.”
Shapiro said that for Simpson’s
sake, the defense presentation should
be televised when jurors return
Wednesday.
Father and son survive blizzard
ANKARA, Turkey — A U.S. Air
Force pilot and his young son were
found alive Tuesday after disappear
ing nine days ago in a blizzard, hav
ing survival the freezing wilderness
by holing up in a cave and eating
snow.
Lt. Col. Michael Ronald Couillard,
37, and his son, Matthew, 10, were
conscious but their feet were swollen
from frostbite.
In a release from the U.S. Air
Force, Couillard said he and his son
lost their way in snow fog while on a
ski trip at the northern Turkish resort
of Kartalkaya, 70 miles north of An
kara. When they realized they didn’t
know where they were, they found a
road and skied down it before taking
shelter under some trees for the night.
The next morning, they took shel
ter in a cave and remained there for
five or six days. On Sunday, the colo
nel, a graduate of an Air Force sur
vival course, decided the weather
was good enough to try to find help.
He left his son in the cave and skied
for an hour and a half to a village.
There, he met some woodcutters
who went back for his son and took
them both to the state-owned forestry
administration near Kartalkaya.
Couillard was “very weak” when
found but managed in broken Turk
ish to describe the location of the
cave, Yuksel Gul, a forestry official,
told Anatolia.
“Their reunion was a touching
scene,” Gul said. “Although the colo
nel had difficulty moving, he
struggled to his feet and hugged his
son in tears.”
The survivors’ first meal in nine
days was a typical Turkish breakfast
- tea, bread, butter and jam. “The
little boy kept repeating, 'Thank
you,”’ Gul said.
The father and son were taken to
the hospital in Bolu, near the ski
resort, and later were flown by U.S.
military plane to the Turkish air base
at Incirlik.
As they got into the ambulance
bound for Ankara, Couillard was
overheard saying they ate snow to
survive. The boy was smiling and
when asked if now he was famous,
replied: “Yes, I am.”
The pilot’s wife, Mary, was in
Ankara and she will be reunited with
her husband and son. The couple also
have a 13-year-old son.
“We are overjoyed by this good
news,” said a statement from the U.S.
Embassy in Ankara, where Couillard
works in the Office of Defense Coop
eration. The Embassy thanked Turk
ish authorities for help in the search.
Anatolia reported that Couillard
and his son saw helicopters flying
overhead but failed to draw their
attention.
A previously unknown group, the
Lebanon Freedom Fighters, claimed
that the Americans were kidnapped
to secure the release of a Shiite Mus
lim leader held by Israel. Authorities
had cast doubts on that claim.
Couillard, assigned to the U.S.
Embassy in Ankara, commands the
Office of Defense Cooperation. He
went to the resort with an embassy
group.
---
Japan’s government criticized
for slow response to quake
KOBE, Japan — A week after
an earthquake devastated Kobe,
the Cabinet shouldered huge re
building costs Tuesday by declar
ing the once-vibrant city a disaster
zone.
Opposition lawmakers assailed
the government of Prime Minister
Tomiichi Murayama for its slow
response to the Jan. 17 quake,
which killed more than 5,000
people.
“What were you thinking of?”
opposition delegate Akira
Kuroyanagi screamed at the prime
minister in an emotional parlia
ment session. He demanded
Murayama apologize to the nation
“for the suffering of the people.”
Murayama did not apologize
but said the government would
spare no effort to improve disaster
preparedness. The Finance Minis
try unveiled a series of tax breaks
for quake victims based on their
income and property losses.
As the government came under
attack for its response to the earth
quake, a newspaper reported a lack
of communication and coordina
tion in the key early hours follow
ing the quake.
Aftershocks jolted Kobe Tues
day, including one measuring 3.6.
Buildings, swayed and glass shat
tered, but there were no reports of
major damage or injuries.
The aftershocks gave new ur
gency to the task of demolishing
heavily damaged structures, some
apparently on the verge of col
lapse. Pol ice roped off areas around
precarious buildings to keep pe
destrians away.
Japan’s Kyodo News Service
reported that nearly half of the
3,936 dead who have been identi
fied were more than 60 years old.
They included two men aged 103
and 100, the agency said.
City officials said the dead in
cluded at least 142 foreigners, most
of them Koreans and Chinese.
One week after the quake, the
death toll stood at 5,063 with 68
still missing. The government said
26,500 people were injured and at
least 56,000 buildings damaged or
destroyed in the Jan. 17 earthquake,
which had a magnitude of 7.2.
The Health Ministry today re
laxed restrictions on foreign doc
tors who have volunteered to help
in Kobe, allowing them to treat
quake victims even though they
lack Japanese medical licenses.
Fallout from the quake contin
ued to shake Japan’s political and
financial establishments.
Share prices on the Tokyo stock
exchange rallied somewhat today,
after plunging 1,054.73 points, or
5.60 percent, on Monday in the
steepest single-day slide since Sept.
26, 1990.
Analysts blamed the market’s
troubles on investor concern about
rebuilding costs and the inpact on
the nation’s economy. The quake
has virtually shut down Kobe har
bor, which had been Japan’s busi
est container port.
Kosaku Inaba, head of the Ja
pan Chamber of Commerce, said
the overall cost of the quake to the
nation’s economy would amount
to more than $100 billion.
“In addition to the direct dam
age, you have shipping problems,”
he said in a telephone interview.
“Things aren’t delivered, sched
ules are out of whack. Vehicles
can’t pass. That means industries
can’t ship their products, and those
companies will suffer.”
News...
in a Minute
Twins Joined at head separated
TORONTO — Two-year-old Siamese twins joined at the head were
in stable condition Tuesday after being separated by doctors in a
marathon operation.
Hira and Nida Jamal were separated Monday evening after 11 hours
of surgery at Toronto’s Hospital For Sick Children. The girls were still
in surgery today, as plastic surgeons performed reconstructive work to
cover large wounds exposing their brains.
Blood loss “was greater than we expected,” said neurosurgeon
Harold Hoffman, who headed the team of more than 20 nurses and
doctors.
“We are concerned about the blood supply to Nida’s brain. It’s too
early to say what this will mean for her,” he said in a statement.
Only about 30 similar operations have been performed on children
joined at the head. In two-thirds of them, one or both children died.
Most Siamese twins are joined at the abdomen or hip, not at the
head, Hoffman said. The Jamal girls also shared the same circulatory
system, which further complicated the operation.
One of Hira’s arteries passed into Nida’s brain and several veins
crossed from Nida into Hira’s brain. The artery and veins were closed
in an earlier operation. The operation was originally scheduled for
Feb. 3, but doctors decided to do it sooner because Hira’s heart had
started to deteriorate.
Girl Scout cookies won’t be taxed
AUGUSTA, Maine—Maine won’t get a single crumb of taxes from
the Girl Scouts.
Judge Donald Alexander ruled Monday that the state can’t slap a 6
percent tax on the cookies the scouts sell each year to raise money. He
also chastised state officials as “arbitrary and capricious” in applying
the snack tax.
In 1991 the state imposed the tax on cookies, chips and candy bars.
Initially, the Bureau of Taxation taxed Girl Scout cookies on the
wholesale level, but backed down when challenged and returned
$100,000 to the organization.
In its latest action, the state argued that the Girl Scouts must pay
taxes at the retail level because they’re running a major retail enter
prise.
The state has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.
Alexander said the scouts should not be treated differently from
other non-profit groups that hold fund-raisers, and should not be
penalized simply because their sales are successful.
About 16,000 Maine Girl Scouts are selling cookies this year for
$2.50 to $3 a box, depending on where they are sold.
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