Plaintiffs in the O.J. Simpson trial want the glove that Detective Mark Fuhrman said he found but not the baggage he carries, so they turned to a surrogate witness: Fuhrman's boss.
Ron Phillips, a supervising detective, on Tuesday spelled out many of Fuhrman's words and actions the day after the June 12, 1994, slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.Phillips described Fuhrman's arrival at the bloody crime scene, the early walk-through to see evidence, the trip to Simpson's house, the hop over the wall, the interview of Brian "Kato" Kaelin and the discovery of the bloody glove.
At virtually all times, Phillips noted, Fuhrman was with somebody, usually Phillips himself. Only when Fuhrman went inside Nicole Simpson's condo to write notes and when he went to the side of Simpson's house and found the glove below an air conditioner was the detective alone, Phillips said.
In eliciting so much Fuhrman-related material from Phillips, the plaintiffs hope to get the glove into evidence without getting Fuhrman on the witness stand.
Fuhrman, for the plaintiffs, is damaged goods since he pleaded no contest to lying during the criminal trial about using a racial slur. The plaintiffs are expected to go to great lengths to keep him off the stand.
Simpson's lawyers have subpoenaed Fuhrman, but they may face legal obstacles since the law frowns on lawyers beating up on their own witnesses.
The Phillips testimony also was intended to blunt one of the defense's main contentions: Fuhrman had the motive and opportunity to plant evidence - the glove - in a racist plot to frame Simpson.
Simpson, 49, was not in the courtroom Tuesday, and his lawyers - who are under a gag order - wouldn't disclose his where-abouts.
Simpson was acquitted of murder charges last October. His ex-wife's estate and Goldman's family are suing him for unspecified damages, claiming he is the killer.
Phillips' testimony consumed most of the court day but went much faster than his questioning during the criminal trial, when he spent three days on the stand.
Indeed, the pace of the trial appears to be quickening. The plaintiffs dumped five police witnesses originally scheduled for Wednesday, and the judge called off the court session.
Testimony will resume Thursday with one of the most crucial witnesses of the trial, now-retired Detective Tom Lange, who was one of the lead investigators and who may be used to introduce the first major piece of new evidence: Simpson's taped interview with police conducted the day after the slayings.
Lange and partner Philip Vannatter, also since retired, questioned Simpson after he arrived home from an overnight trip to Chicago.