Simpson Trial Lawyers Both Say They're Sorry -- Bailey Finishes Grilling Detective

LOS ANGELES - At the judge's urging, O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark and F. Lee Bailey apologized today for a burst of temper over whether the defense tried to fabricate claims of racism against Detective Mark Fuhrman.

Judge Lance Ito told the prosecutor and defense attorney they went "beyond the bounds of professional conduct" yesterday.

The lighthearted exchange came after a potential witness recanted his denial that he had spoken to Bailey by telephone as the defense attorney said in court.

Superior Court Judge Lance Ito told the attorneys "it would thrill me if counsel would apologize to each other for the rather high level of vitriol."

"And I do," Clark responded, drawing laughter. "I'm sorry, your honor, I'm not going to be facetious. ...

"I don't like to engage in that sort of exchange. I think it's unseemly. I think it's bad for the entire profession. I do extend to Mr. Bailey my apology for the extreme nature of the exchange yesterday. "

Bailey then apologized to Clark, but saved his kindest words for Ito. He told Ito he was sorry for causing the judge any criticism for the outbursts, in which Clark called Bailey a liar and Bailey called Clark shrill.

"My most profound apology is directed at the court. I've been doing this for 40 years, and I was caught off guard with that accusation. The reaction was less restrained and certainly less professional than it should have been."

After the apologies and a brief series of questions by Clark, Detective Mark Fuhrman completed his testimony, subject to recall later in the double-murder trial.

Clark called Bailey a liar yesterday and produced a videotape of a TV news interview in which potential defense witness Max Cordoba denied ever talking to Bailey. On Tuesday, Bailey had said he spoke to Cordoba, "Marine to Marine."

"Mr. Bailey has made a deliberate misrepresentation to the court," Clark said. "He has lied to the court."

That provoked a furious response by a red-faced Bailey, who explained the discrepancy was a misunderstanding.

Bailey said yesterday it was actually his investigator, Patrick McKenna, who interviewed Cordoba, a black ex-Marine sergeant.

At one point, Bailey said, McKenna handed him the phone and let him say a few words.

Late yesterday, Cordoba told NBC he had indeed spoken with Bailey and backed away from his statements of the day before.

Jurors were not in court for Wednesday's outburst or for the apologies.

In the meantime, the defense can't mention Cordoba and his allegations that he heard Fuhrman make racially derogatory remarks.

What jurors did hear yesterday in open court was a derogatory epithet used to describe black people, but they did not hear it from Fuhrman.

At least seven times yesterday Bailey grilled Fuhrman about the word. And when asked point-blank if he uses that racial slur to describe people, Fuhrman responded with a firm yet simple "no."

Nearly lost in the day was any indication that it is Simpson who is on trial, accused of the June 12 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Before yesterday, only the written racial epithet had been shown to the jury, when a prosecutor flashed onto a large courtroom screen a letter that alleged Fuhrman used the word in the mid-1980s.

The letter, written by a woman who claims she met Fuhrman at a Marine recruiting station, said Fuhrman told her he would like nothing more than to see all black people gathered together and killed. "He said something about burning them or bombing them."

Bailey used the third day of his cross-examination to confront Fuhrman with those allegations. He asked the detective if he had used the word in the past decade.

"Not that I recall," Fuhrman replied, leading Bailey to ask if he could forget such a thing. Fuhrman answered he would not.

Bailey pressed Fuhrman, asking, "So that anyone who comes to this court and quotes you as using that word in dealing with African Americans would be a liar, would they not, Detective Fuhrman?"

"Yes, they would," Fuhrman said, nodding his head for emphasis.

"All of them?"

"All of them."