Clark: Gloves Are Those O.J. Wore In Broadcasts -- She Says She May Use Videos In Examining Blood Expert

LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor said today she could show that leather gloves O.J. Simpson was seen wearing during football broadcasts are the same gloves used in the murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark revealed the match during a brief hearing outside the jury's presence in which she suggested she may use the videos during cross-examination of a defense blood expert.

"Can you establish the foundation that those gloves are the same gloves?" Superior Court Lance Ito asked.

"Yes, I can," Clark replied.

"Interesting," Ito said.

Videotapes and still photos of Simpson wearing brown gloves while broadcasting football games in cold weather have circulated for months. Clark's statement marked the first link between those gloves and gloves collected as evidence in the murder case.

Clark didn't say how she could prove that the gloves in the video of Simpson's football broadcasts are the same as the gloves, one of which was found near the bodies and the other at Simpson's house. It also wasn't clear when - if ever - the prosecution would show the video since that decision hinges on testimony from the expert elicited by the defense.

The videotape issue arose when the defense asked Ito to bar the prosecution from showing the tape to the jury. Defense attorney Peter Neufeld said the video was irrelevant.

But Clark argued that she had the right to show the tape to impeach the credibility of the defense witness who had conducted a experiment on how much gloves shrink.

At the closing of the debate, Neufeld announced: "Without the ruling that I believe we're entitled to at this time, then the defense will not introduce that glove-drying experiment."

Glove shrinkage is important

Testimony about glove shrinkage is important. During their case, prosecutors had Simpson try on the murder gloves, but Simpson, who was wearing latex gloves underneath, appeared to have trouble tugging them on and told jurors they were too small. Prosecutors then brought in a new pair of gloves that were the same model, and they appeared to fit Simpson. A prosecution witness testified that the murder gloves may have shrunk 15 percent since they were bought.

After the arguments, the expert, Herbert MacDonell took the stand.

Testimony had been halted since Thursday, when a juror fell ill. The full panel of 12 and the two alternates were back in court today. The juror's ailment wasn't disclosed, but the judge said the 43-year-old man could remain on the jury.

Earlier today, a TV news reporter refused to identify confidential sources she used in a September 1994 report about blood on socks found in Simpson's bedroom.

KNBC-TV reporter Tracie Savage invoked California's Shield Law, which protects journalists from identifying confidential sources.

"Did your sources include any officers or agents of the Los Angeles Police Department?" asked defense attorney Gerald Uelmen.

"I respectfully decline to answer that question," Savage said. She said she "gave my word as a journalist that I would not reveal their identities."

No immediate decision

Ito did not immediately decide how much further to go with the hearing. Ito still must decide if her information is so crucial to Simpson's defense that she must divulge it despite the shield.

At that point, Savage could face jail for contempt. But Ito took the matter under submission, saying it was so complicated he had to study the law.

Savage would only say that her information came from "knowledgeable sources," declining to specify how she determined they were knowledgeable.

The defense asked to call another journalist, Joseph Bosco, who was said by the defense to have received a report similar to the one received by Savage. He wrote about that report in the July 1995 issue of Penthouse magazine. The judge gave Bosco time to call a lawyer before taking the stand.

Savage's report will help prove that Simpson was the victim of an elaborate police conspiracy, Uelmen told Ito during arguments this morning. Uelmen said the police crime lab leaked the inaccurate story to Savage to taint potential jurors.