Criminalist Taken Off Simpson’s List of Witnesses

Lawyers pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against O.J. Simpson won the latest round of legal skirmishing Monday when a Santa Monica judge tentatively dropped criminalist Henry Lee--whose testimony helped acquit Simpson of criminal charges--from the defense team’s expert witness list.

But defense attorneys sought to keep Lee on board--either by using his testimony from Simpson’s criminal trial or by videotaping a sworn deposition in Connecticut, where Lee heads that state’s Forensic Science Laboratory.

Lee’s testimony in Simpson’s criminal trial last year proved pivotal for the defense. The soft-spoken forensic expert described errors in police handling of blood evidence and stated that there could be imprints from a second killer’s shoe at the crime scene. At one point in his testimony, he declared about the blood evidence, “Something’s wrong.”

Simpson was acquitted last October in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. He now faces wrongful death lawsuits brought by the victims’ families.

Simpson’s lawyers had included Lee on their list of expert witnesses, but plaintiffs’ attorneys sought to have Lee removed because he had not given his consent, as required by state law.

Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber ruled Monday that the defense failed to file a declaration stating that Lee agreed to testify.

Goldman family attorneys suggested that Lee might not be able to back up his original testimony.

“Maybe he’s embarrassed by his opinions at this time,” Goldman attorney Edward M. Medvene said.

In the aftermath of Simpson’s criminal trial, Lee blamed the media for distorting his careful assessments and expressed reservations about taking the stand again.

Lead Simpson attorney Robert C. Baker said that Lee could be questioned by attorneys on videotape in Connecticut and that the deposition could then be shown to jurors at trial.

But plaintiffs’ attorneys said any use of Lee’s testimony would require his agreement.

Judge Haber said the defense may still develop a legal reason that would allow Lee to testify, and he set an Aug. 2 hearing to discuss the matter. Among other issues, the judge will have to consider whether Lee must agree to testify as a defense witness.

Attorneys spent much of Monday’s hearing sniping at one another, with each side complaining that the other had withheld information. Haber set a July 26 hearing to resolve the issue.

Simpson’s attorneys also accused the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office of giving documents to the plaintiffs but withholding others requested by the defense.

Pointing at Simpson prosecutor Bill Hodgman during the hearing, Baker said: “The Goldmans were locked hand in hand with his office. . . . They were in cahoots with the D.A. the whole time.”

Another defense attorney, Phillip Baker, said prosecutors withheld documents from Simpson’s criminal defense team.

“I think there’s a tremendous concern that not everything was turned over,” he said.

Hodgman told Haber that an agreement can be worked out on that issue. The judge set a July 23 hearing to address the matter.