IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Criminal Action No. 96-CR-68
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
TERRY LYNN NICHOLS,
Defendant.
REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT
(Trial to Jury: Volume 122)
Proceedings before the HONORABLE RICHARD P. MATSCH,
Judge, United States District Court for the District of
Colorado, commencing at 1:10 p.m., on the 11th day of December,
1997, in Courtroom C-204, United States Courthouse, Denver,
Colorado.
Proceeding Recorded by Mechanical Stenography, Transcription
Produced via Computer by Paul Zuckerman, 1929 Stout Street,
P.O. Box 3563, Denver, Colorado, 80294
APPEARANCES
PATRICK RYAN, United States Attorney for the Western
District of Oklahoma, 210 West Park Avenue, Suite 400, Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, 73102, appearing for the plaintiff.
LARRY MACKEY, SEAN CONNELLY, BETH WILKINSON, GEOFFREY
MEARNS, JAMIE ORENSTEIN, and AITAN GOELMAN, Special Attorneys
to the U.S. Attorney General, 1961 Stout Street, Suite 1200,
Denver, Colorado, 80294, appearing for the plaintiff.
MICHAEL TIGAR, RONALD WOODS, ADAM THURSCHWELL, REID
NEUREITER, and JANE TIGAR, Attorneys at Law, 1120 Lincoln
Street, Suite 1308, Denver, Colorado, 80203, appearing for
Defendant Nichols.
* * * * *
PROCEEDINGS
(Reconvened at 1:10 p.m.)
THE COURT: Be seated, please.
(At the bench:)
(Bench Conference 122B1 is not herein transcribed by court
order. It is transcribed as a separate sealed transcript.)
(In open court:)
(Jury in at 1:20 p.m.)
THE COURT: All right, members of the jury. We again
apologize for keeping you waiting a bit; but here again, there
were things that it was necessary to take the time to discuss
with counsel and we hope we can appreciate your indulgence in
that. So we're sorry to keep you waiting, but we're not going
to keep you long so . . . we'll go for the next witness.
MR. MACKEY: And our final witness, your Honor, would
be Mr. Kerry Kitchener.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Would you raise your right
hand, please.
(Kerry Kitchener affirmed.)
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Would you have a seat, please.
Would you state your full name for the record and
spell your last name.
THE WITNESS: Kerry L. Kitchener, spelled
K-I-T-C-H-E-N-E-R.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Mearns.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Good afternoon, Mr. Kitchener. How old are you, sir?
A. 28.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And where do you live?
A. Wakefield, Kansas.
Q. I'm going to ask you to keep your voice up and also try to
slow down a little bit so everybody can hear you and the court
reporter can take down your testimony.
You live in Wakefield, Kansas?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. How long have you lived in Wakefield, Kansas?
A. About 28 years.
Q. Where is Wakefield in relation to Junction City?
A. It's northwest of Junction City.
Q. About how far?
A. About 18 miles.
Q. And where did you go to high school?
A. At Wakefield High School.
Q. And after graduating from high school, did you attend any
college?
A. I attended Cloud County Community College.
Q. You're going to have to slow down. Where did you go to
college?
A. Cloud County Community College.
Q. How many years did you attend that institution?
A. Three years.
Q. Where do you work right now?
A. I work for a CDP Landscaping out of Milford, Kansas.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. Where is Milford in relation to Wakefield?
A. It's southeast of Wakefield about 8 miles.
Q. And how long have you been working for that landscaping
company?
A. About six months.
Q. And what do you do for them?
A. Mainly do residential landscaping, mowing grass, planting
trees, and building gardens and stuff.
Q. Did you ever work for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and
Parks?
A. Yes.
Q. And when did you work for the Parks Department?
A. From the summer of 1989 to about September, October of '95.
Q. So a little over six years?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And what did you do for the Parks Department?
A. I worked at a state park for a while and mainly did
maintenance on the park itself with mowing grass, picking up
trash, cleaning rest rooms.
Q. What park was that that you're referring to?
A. Milford State Park.
Q. I'd like to show you what has been introduced in evidence
as Government Exhibit 2045. And, Mr. Kitchener, do you see
that on your screen?
A. Uh-huh.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And do you recognize that as a map of central Kansas?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, you have a black pen on -- that's attached to a wire.
Do you see that there?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Okay. Could you first indicate for us on that map where
Wakefield, Kansas, is, where you live.
A. It's about --
Q. You have to go -- I'm sorry. You have to go underneath.
There you go.
A. Right in here.
Q. That's where Wakefield is?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Okay. And where is Milford then? Where would Milford be
on that map?
A. Right in there.
Q. And how long was it that you had maintenance
responsibilities at Milford Lake?
A. Three years. Three to four years.
Q. And during the six years that you worked for the Parks
Department, did you have any maintenance responsibilities at
any other lakes?
A. I did at Geary County State Fishing Lake.
Q. And do you see Geary Lake on -- on this map?
A. Yes.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And could you put a circle around Geary Lake for us.
A. Right in there.
Q. Okay. And that's the blue dot that's just to the west
there of the highway?
A. Uh-huh. Yes.
Q. During what years did you do maintenance work at Geary
Lake?
A. From -- 1992 to about '95.
Q. And during those three or four years, 1992 to 1995, what
seasons or months of the year would you do maintenance work at
Geary Lake?
A. Mainly the spring and the summer.
Q. And so what months would that be? From what to what?
A. From usually March to about September, October.
Q. And what kind of maintenance work would you do at Geary
Lake?
A. Do cleaning the rest rooms, picking up trash, painting on
the rest rooms, building picnic shelters, just general
maintenance.
Q. About how many times a week during those -- the spring and
summer seasons, about how many times a week would you go to
Geary Lake during 1992 to 1995 to do maintenance work?
A. Right around three or four days -- sometimes more --
usually, depending on what the boss wanted us to do.
Q. Three or four times a week?
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
A. Uh-huh.
Q. What I'd like you to do now is to look at what is in
evidence as Government Exhibit 1982A. And if you could clear
your pen by clicking the button there.
Okay. Do you recognize that as an aerial photograph
of Geary Lake?
A. Yes.
Q. Using that pen to indicate where on the aerial photograph
you're speaking, could you show us what you would do -- excuse
me -- tell us what you would do when you would do maintenance
work at Geary Lake between 1992 and 1995.
A. I'd usually come down Highway 77, which runs right through
here.
Q. Is that coming from the north?
A. Coming from the north, running south. And I'd usually come
up and start at the very first turn which is off of Highway 77,
would go back to the west and follow that road back and usually
run through there and follow the road back around and check
over the rest rooms there, and usually follow and pick up the
trash all the way around until I got clear back over to the --
the intersection.
Q. Let me just stop you there. Is there a rest room facility
up where you were just indicating a moment ago?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Could you just put an X where -- approximately where
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
on that aerial photograph there is a rest room facility?
A. Somewhere right in there.
Q. And then you told us you would continue -- after you
finished maintaining that rest room, you'd come back to Highway
77?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. What would -- what would you do at that point?
A. I'd follow the road that runs to the east of the rest room
and it weaves all the way back and around through here. I'd
usually start here, stop here, and then travel on down the
highway.
Q. And what would you do then?
A. Go into the next turn -- turnoff off of Highway 77 and
usually go down in the lower end of this area and check it over
and come back out and go back over here toward -- there's
another rest room right in there and check it over. And then
just kind of make -- mainly make a sweep of the whole area.
Q. And along the way, as you were making this sweep or
checking over the area, what would you be doing during that
time?
A. Mainly picking up the trash along the roadsides; and, you
know, it could be a couch or whatever.
Q. Okay. About how long would it take you on a typical day to
do that maintenance routine when you were given that
assignment?
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
A. Probably three to four hours.
Q. Did you ever have to -- to do other kinds of maintenance
work at Geary Lake between 1992 and 1995?
A. Yeah.
Q. What other kind of maintenance work would you do at Geary
Lake?
A. Mowing grass, cutting down -- cutting limbs off of trees,
painting, building things. That was mainly the main just (sic)
of it.
Q. Did there come a time when you were working for the Parks
Department where you were assigned the responsibility of doing
a creel survey?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Tell us what a creel survey is.
A. It's a survey that looks at what kind of fish are being
taken off -- out of a lake and what -- what kinds, what types
or what size and weights.
Q. When was it that it was your responsibility to do creel
surveys at Geary Lake?
A. Around March of '95.
Q. March of '95 until what month and year?
A. September, October of '95.
Q. Did you conduct the creel surveys pursuant to any kind of a
schedule?
A. Uh-huh.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. Explain how you would do it pursuant to a schedule.
A. I had a schedule that was given to me by the fisheries
biologist, and he would hand that out at the beginning of the
year or at the beginning of the survey season; and it would
show what times and what days we would have to be there to do
the survey.
Q. Now, when you say "we," were you doing -- were you the
person who was assigned to do creel surveys at Geary Lake from
March of '95 to September or October of '95?
A. Yeah.
Q. Explain to us what you would do when you were -- had the
responsibility of doing a creel survey at Geary Lake, again
using this photograph, 1982A.
A. I would like go on a maintenance run. I would start and go
around the north end of the lake and follow that road around.
And if there was fishermen that were either along the bank of
the dam, fishing there, I'd usually walk down and try to talk
to them and --
Q. And what was the purpose of talking to the fishermen who
might be fishing at that area of the lake?
A. To see what kind of fish they were catching, what kinds
of -- what lengths, weights, different types of species that
were there.
Q. And did you count the fish that the fishermen had caught?
A. Yes.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And did you measure the fish?
A. Yeah.
Q. And did you record that information?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And what did you do with the information after you recorded
it?
A. I turned it in to the supervisor or the fisheries
biologist, and he would send it on down to somebody else.
Q. Now, continue then. Using the aerial photograph, tell us
what your routine would be when you conducted a creel survey.
A. I would drive on around the lake and follow the roads all
the way around till I got back to Highway 77. And then I'd
come back in and I'd go down Highway 77, pull in; and usually,
if there was fishermen fishing along the banks here and along
here, I'd usually get out and talk to them and ask them the
same questions that "What kind of fish were you catching, how
long, how big," just a general type of question.
Q. Did you park in any particular area at the lake for any
extended period of time when you would do a creel survey?
A. Yeah. I'd park right around in here by the boat ramp.
There's a pretty good boat ramp there.
Q. Why would you pick this location to park while you were
doing your creel survey?
A. Because it was the only one that was halfway decent that
would show any -- that would -- where most of the fishermen
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
would park at.
Q. Was that the only modern boat ramp at Geary Lake in 1995?
A. Yeah. But there was another one that was all grown up with
weeds, and it was silted in pretty good, so nobody used it.
Q. So in your experience, the boat ramp that was used in 1995
was the one just to the north of that?
A. Uh-huh. This right around in here.
Q. What was the most popular area for you to come upon
fishermen in 1995?
A. Most popular was right around the boat ramp area and the
parking area, and that's right where the blue dot is right
here.
Q. If you saw a vehicle that was parked there but had not a
fisherman out on the lake or boat ramp associated with that
vehicle, what would you do?
MR. TIGAR: Object to what he would have done, your
Honor, without a time frame.
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Let's focus, then, on April of 1995. If you came upon a
vehicle parked in that area in 19 -- in April of 1995, what did
you do?
A. If the vehicle was parked there, I'd get out and if -- and
make sure -- you know, see if there was -- if the fishermen or
the person who drove that car -- or if there was anybody near
it, I'd usually go over and talk to them and ask them -- you
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
know, do my little survey.
Q. And you, again, would count the fish?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And you would measure the fish?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Was there any set length of time on a given day -- was
there any set length of time that you were supposed to conduct
the creel survey?
A. Yeah.
Q. What was that length of time?
A. About two hours.
Q. And was it -- was the creel survey required to be two
hours?
A. Yeah.
Q. I want you to look now on your -- there's a document on --
on the witness stand before you. It's marked Government
Exhibit 1985 for identification. Do you see that?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And do you recognize that document?
A. Yeah.
Q. What is it?
A. It's a state fishing lake creel survey schedule.
Q. And is that a copy of the creel survey schedule that you
followed in April of 1995?
A. Yeah.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And was that a schedule that was provided to you so that
you could conduct the business of the Parks Department?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And was that schedule then maintained by the Park
Department --
A. Yeah.
Q. -- as a record to show when you conducted creel surveys in
April of '95?
A. Yeah.
MR. MEARNS: Your Honor, we would offer Government
Exhibit 1985.
MR. TIGAR: I -- we've agreed about this, but I'll
just look at the exhibit.
THE COURT: Sure, you may.
MR. TIGAR: Thank you, your Honor.
No objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: 1985 received.
MR. MEARNS: If we may publish it on the computer?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. MEARNS: Is it possible to go back and view the
whole document? Thank you.
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Beginning at the top of the document, it says, "1995, State
Fishing Lake, Creel Survey Schedule for April"; is that right?
A. Uh-huh.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. And was this the April, '95, schedule that you followed?
A. Yeah.
Q. Beginning now just below that where there are three
columns, one titled "day," one titled "sample period," and one
titled "start" -- do you see that?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And if we could focus in on that area and the first entry
where it says "one." Explain to us what the "day" column
signifies.
A. This column here signifies the day of the 1st day of April.
Q. Okay. Beginning then, going over to the right, it says,
"sample period." What does that reflect?
A. That re -- that's the -- probably the best time to take the
survey. And it really reflects what time to start, like at
3:30 in the afternoon to 7:00 that night, or 7:30.
Q. So those -- those numbers reflect military time?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And so that's 2:30 p.m. to approximately 7:30 p.m.?
A. 3:30 to 7:30.
Q. Excuse me, 3:30. Thank you. And does that -- who
determined that time frame, 3:30 to 7:30, that sample period?
A. The biologist or people that were higher up that had
more -- knew more about the surveys.
Q. Now, going to the third column, the last column on the
right, it indicates "start" and "1700." Tell us what that
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
means.
A. That was the time I would start -- approximate time I would
start the survey, and that was at 5:00 in the afternoon.
Q. And so on April 1 of 1995, what time period did you conduct
a creel survey at Geary Lake?
A. Approximately 5:00 in the evening to 7:00 that night.
Q. Now, when you say "approximately," how much time variation
from 5:00 to 7:00 are we talking about?
A. 5 to 10 minutes.
Q. Now, if we could focus on the days in the center of the
schedule beginning with April 10. What time on April 10, 1995,
did you conduct a creel survey at Geary Lake?
A. At 1:30 in the afternoon.
Q. Until what time?
A. Till 3:30 that same afternoon.
Q. And between 1:30 and 3:30 on April 10, did you see a yellow
Ryder truck parked at Geary State Lake?
A. No.
Q. And if we could go to the 11th. What time on April 11,
1995, did you start your creel survey at Geary Lake?
A. Around 8:00 in the morning to 10:00 that same morning.
Q. And during those two hours, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., on April 11,
1995, did you see a yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary Lake?
A. No.
Q. If I could have the next entry, please. What's the date
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
that's reflected there?
A. April 13.
Q. What time did you start your creel survey on April 13,
1995?
A. Around 4:00 in the afternoon.
Q. How long did you conduct that creel survey?
A. For two hours, until 6:00 that same day.
Q. Between 4 and 6 p.m. on April 13th, 1995, did you see a
yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary Lake?
A. No. No.
Q. Turning to the next entry for Sunday, April -- Easter
Sunday, April 16, 1995, did you conduct a creel survey on that
day?
A. Yes.
Q. At what time did you start your creel survey on Easter
Sunday?
A. At 4:00 in the afternoon.
Q. And how long on that Easter Sunday did you stay at Geary
Lake to do your creel survey?
A. Around an hour and a half or so.
Q. That day, you didn't stay the full two hours?
A. No.
Q. And during that hour and a half on Easter Sunday, April 16,
1995, did you see a yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary Lake?
A. No.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. Turning to the next entry, which is -- what is the date for
that entry?
A. April 17th.
Q. And what time did you conduct your creel survey on Monday,
April 17th?
A. At 7:30 in the morning.
Q. And how long did you do it that day?
A. Two hours.
Q. Till what time?
A. 9:30.
Q. And from 7:30 to 9:30 in the morning on April 17th, did you
see a yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary State Lake?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Now, if we could go back to -- to the middle of --
several columns there in the middle. Did you conduct a creel
survey at Geary Lake on Tuesday, April 18th, as reflected in
the schedule?
A. I can't -- no.
Q. Did you -- do you know whether or not you did a creel
survey that day?
A. No.
Q. On April 19th, did you conduct a creel survey at Geary
Lake?
A. Yes.
Q. What time did you start your creel survey on Wednesday,
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
April 19th?
A. Around 5:00 in the evening.
Q. And how long were you there?
A. For two hours.
Q. And did you --
A. Till 7.
Q. I'm sorry?
A. Till 7:00 that same night.
Q. Did you see a yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary Lake
during those two hours?
A. No.
Q. On any of the times that you were at Geary Lake in April,
1995, doing your creel survey, did you see a yellow Ryder truck
parked anywhere on the grounds at Geary State Lake?
A. No.
Q. On any of the times that you did a creel survey at all
during 1995 from March to September or October, did you ever
see a yellow Ryder truck parked anywhere on the grounds at
Geary Lake?
A. No.
Q. Now, how many years, again, did you do maintenance work at
Geary State Lake?
A. For -- around almost three years. Three for four years.
Q. That was 1992 to 1995?
A. '5.
Kerry Kitchener - Direct
Q. During the -- any of the times that you were at Geary Lake
during those years to do maintenance work, did you ever see a
yellow Ryder truck parked at Geary Lake?
A. No.
Q. During all of the times that you've worked at Geary Lake or
ever been there for personal reasons, have you ever seen a
yellow Ryder truck at Geary State Lake?
A. No.
MR. MEARNS: No further questions, your Honor.
THE COURT: Cross-examination?
MR. TIGAR: May I retrieve the exhibit, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. TIGAR:
Q. Good afternoon, sir. I'm Michael Tigar, one of the lawyers
appointed to help Terry Nichols.
This creel survey schedule that we've been looking at
here, that's a record that was made by the -- your -- your
boss?
A. Well, it's through the Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Q. And do you know when this was made?
A. I sure don't.
Q. Okay. Well, let me -- let me start by asking, when's the
first time that you started working up there at Geary State
Fishing Lake?
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
A. The very first time?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. Probably in the summer of '92.
Q. And when did you start doing the creel surveys?
A. In 1995.
Q. Well, let's just look at April, 1995. Okay? During that
time, what -- did you have jobs other than doing the creel
survey?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. All right. Did you have jobs at more than one lake?
A. Mainly at the wildlife area which is north of Wakefield,
Kansas, and Geary County State Fishing Lake.
Q. Were those the two areas that you were working in at that
time?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And you worked a regular eight-hour day?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And a 40-hour week?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Now, when were you first -- do you remember when you were
first contacted by the FBI about the work that you did out
there and what you'd seen?
A. No.
Q. Well, was it back in 1995?
A. Yeah.
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
Q. Okay. Back about in April, 1995, shortly after the
Oklahoma City bombing?
A. Yeah. I guess so.
Q. I mean, you remember that; right?
A. Yeah.
Q. Okay. And you were asked then whether you'd seen any
trucks on the 17th of April; do you remember that?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Well, let's talk about this creel survey. When you
did the survey, what were you supposed to do? Make out cards?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And in April of 1995, would there be good fishing at that
lake?
A. Yeah. It's early spring. The fish are biting. People are
actually getting cabin fever and they want to get out on the
lake and have a good time.
Q. So when does that fish-are-biting-early-spring thing of
fishermen coming to the lake start?
A. I don't know. Whenever they get the first itch to get
outside, I guess.
Q. I mean, there are certain days when you didn't see many
fishermen and there's days when you did see more?
A. Right.
Q. And did you see many in January?
A. No.
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
Q. Didn't have many fish to count; right?
A. Because I wasn't even around down there in January.
Q. You weren't. When did you start doing that? In March?
A. Started doing it March of 1995.
Q. Did you see many people around the 1st of March?
A. A handful.
Q. And when you say "a handful," about how many folks would
you run into the first week in March up there?
A. Two or three. They were the diehards.
Q. Okay. And -- and then when -- getting on towards April,
would you start seeing more?
A. Yeah.
Q. How many would you run into, let's say, the first week of
April on a day when you were out counting?
A. Two or three or four, depending.
Q. Started to be more; right?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Now, the leaves weren't on the trees yet, were they, early
April?
A. They were just starting to bud then.
Q. Just starting. In the city where you live, there would be
more leaves on the trees, but out in the country, there would
be fewer; right?
A. Because I live in a small town, so it really doesn't have
anything --
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
Q. Not like the big city; right?
A. Right.
Q. So it pretty much hasn't started to bud up.
A. Right.
Q. So you could see pretty well as you were standing all the
way around the lake; correct?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And when you would see fisherpeople out there, you would go
up and ask them what they had caught and count them and measure
them; correct?
A. Right.
Q. And then would you make a card?
A. Yes.
Q. What would you do with the card?
A. I would turn it in to the fishery biologist.
Q. Did the card show the times that you'd been there and how
many people you'd spoken to?
A. They would show the -- they have a time and a name and what
the weather was like for that day.
Q. All right. Well, what was the weather like on the 17th?
A. It was cloudy and rainy.
Q. Did you work the 18th?
A. No. Not at Geary County I didn't. I worked at the
wildlife area.
Q. But you didn't go to Geary Lake on the 18th?
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
A. Not that I can remember.
Q. Now, where is the wildlife area? Up north of Junction
City?
A. Yeah.
Q. So to get to Geary Lake from where you were living and
working, you would arrive from north; is that correct?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And on Easter Sunday, what kind of a shift did you work?
A. Just mainly a two-hour creel survey.
Q. You didn't do any of the maintenance or other work that you
were doing; correct?
A. No.
Q. Now, let's take a look at the 11th. What -- how many hours
did you spend at Geary Lake on the 11th?
A. Two hours.
Q. And did you do anything other than a creel survey on the
11th at Geary Lake?
A. Not that I can remember.
Q. Did you do any maintenance on the rest rooms?
A. Not that I can remember.
Q. Did you remember -- do you remember picking up any trash?
A. No.
Q. All right. Well, how about on the 13th? Well, on the
12th, did you go to Geary Lake on the 12th at all?
A. For the survey?
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
Q. No. For any purpose.
A. No. For the survey, I did.
Q. On the 12th? Okay. Well, let me put this back up here and
refresh your memory. It doesn't --
A. It doesn't have a 12 on there.
Q. Pardon?
A. There's no 12 there.
Q. There's no 12, but that's not your paper, I understand.
Just tell us what you remember. Do you remember going there
and counting fish on the 12th?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Do you remember being assigned to do any other work
on the 12th, picking up trash or the other things, the
important things to keep the park going?
A. No. Because the -- I could have been working on the north
end of the lake, Milford Lake, with my other boss -- with my
boss.
Q. You say "could have been." What I'm asking you, sir -- I
know it's a long time ago -- can you remember whether you went
to Geary Lake at all on the 12th?
A. No.
Q. Now, your responsibilities during this time did include
more than the creel survey; correct?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Were you the only person that was having to do the
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
maintenance of the rest rooms and the -- you know, getting the
trash and keeping the place cleaned up during this time?
A. At that time, yeah.
Q. So during April, 1995, you had the job of creel survey and
keeping Geary Lake, you know, clean for the campers, plus you
had the other job up north; right?
A. Right.
Q. Okay. Well, on the 17th, do you remember what time -- did
you work on the 17th? That would be a Monday, on doing any of
the picking up trash or cleaning the rest rooms at Geary Lake?
A. On the 17th?
Q. Yes. A Monday.
A. That was -- I can't think right now.
Q. Okay. Are you a little nervous?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. I'm sorry. Is it -- don't worry about it. Just do the
best you can remember. That's all -- that's all we can ask
for.
Now, on the 18th, was that a day you had off, or was
it just a day you had off from creel survey?
A. That was just a day I had off from the creel survey.
Q. All right. Did -- on the 18th, do you remember going to
the lake, to Geary Lake at all?
A. No.
Q. Okay. And do you remember that you didn't, or you don't
Kerry Kitchener - Cross
remember whether or not you did?
A. Don't know if I did, or not.
Q. Okay. Now, when you would go and work at Geary Lake to get
the -- you know, the trash done, the rest rooms and so on,
would you have any particular time of day that you would try to
get that done during April of 1995?
A. Well, I'd usually try and get all the rest rooms and trash
picked up in the morning because most of the afternoon was
spent mowing and trimming everything else.
Q. So if you had gone on the 18th, you would have gone there
in the morning; right?
A. Right.
Q. Now, can you remember seeing any Ryder trucks at Geary Lake
on the 18th?
A. No. Because I wasn't -- I don't know if I was there, or
not.
Q. Okay. I understand. Your testimony is you have never seen
a Ryder truck at Geary Lake; is that right?
A. Right.
Q. All right. So -- and you don't remember whether you were
there on the 18th; right?
A. Right.
Q. And if -- if it did -- if it did happen you were there, you
never saw a Ryder truck; right?
A. No.
MR. TIGAR: Okay. I have no further questions.
THE COURT: Mr. Mearns.
MR. MEARNS: Very briefly, your Honor.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. If you could look at 1985 on the computer.
April, 1995, was about two-and-a-half years ago;
right, Mr. Kitchener?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Do you know that with respect to creel surveys in April of
'95 that you followed this schedule to the letter?
A. Yeah. Pretty much.
Q. Was your maintenance responsibilities at Geary Lake
coordinated in any way with respect to your creel-survey
responsibilities?
A. Depending on the times of the survey, my day usually
started at 8:00 in the morning, and it was usually an 8-hour
day, 8 to 5; but if my survey would start at 5:00 in the
afternoon, I would stay for the next two hours, which would be
till 7:00, and finish out the survey, and I'd get an extra two
hours of overtime.
Q. Was it -- did your supervisor try to coordinate your
maintenance responsibilities with your creel-survey
responsibilities on the same days?
A. Uh-huh.
Kerry Kitchener - Redirect
MR. TIGAR: Objection. If he knows what his
supervisor did.
THE COURT: Well, of course. This is based on what
you know. That's how you've answered?
THE WITNESS: Uh-huh.
THE COURT: All right.
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Now, based upon this schedule, you know you did not do a
creel survey on April 18th, 1995?
MR. TIGAR: Objection to leading, your Honor.
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Do you do a creel survey on April 18, 1995?
A. No.
Q. Based upon the fact that you didn't do a creel survey on
April 18th, is it likely or unlikely that you did maintenance
at Geary Lake on April 18th?
MR. TIGAR: Object to leading, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled.
THE WITNESS: I can't remember. It's too far back.
BY MR. MEARNS:
Q. Do you have any recollection of being at Geary Lake on
April 18th?
A. No.
MR. MEARNS: No questions, your Honor.
Kerry Kitchener - Recross
MR. TIGAR: Just one thing, your Honor, if I can, your
Honor.
THE COURT: Sure.
RECROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. TIGAR:
Q. The -- on days when you wouldn't do the creel, is your --
well, how man y days a week would you have to go to Geary Lake
to work on, you know, keeping it clean and the rest rooms and
so on?
A. Usually about three times a week.
Q. Okay. And if you didn't have creel-survey duties during
April -- on a particular day during April, 1995, were there
times when your supervisor would say, "You've got to go down to
Geary Lake anyway, and just clean it up"?
A. Yeah.
MR. TIGAR: Okay. Thank you. No further questions.
MR. MEARNS: He may be excused, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. I take it you agree.
MR. TIGAR: Yes, your Honor, of course.
THE COURT: You may step down. You're excused.
Mr. Mackey?
MR. MACKEY: Yes, your Honor.
Finally, your Honor. Pursuant to agreement, we would
move to admit Government Exhibit 2135.
MR. TIGAR: May I just stand at the lectern?
THE COURT: Yes, you can be there together.
MR. MACKEY: And 2136.
MR. TIGAR: No objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. 2135, 2136 are received.
MR. MACKEY: And for the record, I will describe
Government Exhibit 2135 to be records of Roger Moore's credit
card use, telephone credit card use for the day 11-5, 1994,
reflecting two credit card calls, one placed to Louisiana and
one placed to Florida, both those calls placed from a number
Area Code (501) 767-6185, which is reflected in Government
Exhibit 2137 -- 2136, to be that of Mr. Walt Powell in Hot
Springs -- or Royal, Arkansas.
Also and finally for the record, your Honor, we'd move
to admit Government Exhibit 2149, which is a calendar of dates
for the years 1994 and 1995.
MR. TIGAR: No objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. 2149 is received as a
calendar.
MR. MACKEY: United States rests, your Honor.
THE COURT: Government rests. Is there any
surrebuttal?
MR. TIGAR: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: Very well.
Members of the jury, that means you've now heard all
of the testimony in this case that you will hear and all of the
exhibits that have been received, of course, as a part of the
evidence. So you have the evidence, but you don't have the
case. And as I have told you earlier, we will recess now so
that we're not going to be in a position of hurrying with
respect to the remaining parts of the trial, those remaining
parts being the opportunity for the lawyers on each side to
present their arguments to you, during which, of course, they
will be expected to review what you have heard and to point out
to you what each side suggests you to consider with respect to
the significance or insignificance of the evidence, to state,
really, the positions of both sides in the case -- that's a
very important part of the case -- and of course, what I have
to tell you about the law, the instructions on the law, which
will be quite detailed, and which, when you hear me give you
these instructions, you will also have written copies of. So
you will know that.
And this is a rather long gap here between now and
Monday morning when we expect to present these parts of the
trial, and it is very important for you to recognize your
responsibility during this time, which is, of course, just as
I've said at all earlier times but now must underscore it
because you know you've heard the evidence, and that is to keep
open minds. I know how difficult that can be. Recognizing the
responsibilities that you have with respect to the case, it is
only a natural human reaction to at least in your own minds
think, "Well, what do I think?" Please don't do that.
Also, you must be very careful as you come into
contact with other people to not only, of course, avoid
discussing with anyone, including other jurors, family members,
all other persons, anything about this case and, of course,
avoiding anyone who would seek to talk with you about the case.
I'm not suggesting that anyone would make that attempt; but you
must, of course, resist that if it should happen.
And as a part of the instructions that I give you now,
you must consider that even though we're not going to be in
this courtroom tomorrow or Saturday or Sunday, you must
consider that you're on duty during those times, and that means
you should not report to your employers that you're available
for employment during that time. You're still in the Court's
employment. And I emphasize that because I want to avoid the
possibility that if you were with your fellow workers at any
time, they know you've been gone and probably why, and I don't
want anything to happen here with conversation with any of them
where, you know, they ask you about the trial or suggest to you
how -- what you ought to do.
If I were, you know, not trusting of you, I would send
you off to a hotel now and sequester you. I have the power to
do that. I don't want to do that. But you've got to be also
worthy of my trust, our trust, and be very careful during this
entire time. I'm going to worry about you, so, you know -- it
isn't because I don't trust you, but I just know the nature of
human beings and what other people might -- might want to do.
So that's why I'm telling you stay away from your workplace,
your colleagues that you ordinarily work with, and that
includes -- this is the time of year when a lot of workplaces
have holiday events or parties or the like. You're not going
to go to those because that's an even worse environment.
Sometimes there are lubrication of tongues at such parties, and
we don't want anybody to fall afoul of these instructions even
accidentally.
So, you know, what I'm really saying to you is I'm
trying to do everything in your favor, but you've got to favor
us and comply with these instructions and these requirements,
recognizing the importance of this case, of course, and of your
responsibility in it. The best thing for you in this time is
to, you know, stay healthy and rest and be able to come to your
job here, your primary job now, on Monday morning.
So we trust you to do that. And of course, with --
you probably have a lot of questions in your mind right now.
If I said, "Any questions," we'd probably be here a good part
of the afternoon. I'll be answering those questions. I'll
give you detailed instructions next week on the deliberating
jury, what is required, and how we're going to proceed. So I
know that you'd like to have all of the questions that you have
now answered. They will be answered in due time. Please wait.
Trust me on that.
So with all of that, members of the jury, I'm going to
excuse you now until 8:45 on -- next Monday morning. You're
excused.
(Jury out at 2:01 p.m.)
THE COURT: Mr. Tigar.
DEFENDANT'S RULE 29 MOTION
MR. TIGAR: At this time, your Honor, Mr. Nichols
moves under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 for a
judgment of acquittal and reurges all the grounds previously
urged as well as the other bases, insufficiency of the evidence
and so on. I won't argue it in detail, your Honor. The Court
has heard our position before.
RULING ON DEFENDANT'S RULE 29 MOTION
THE COURT: Very well. The Rule 29 motion is denied.
Now I'm going to be meeting with the lawyers. We're
not giving them until Monday morning because, obviously, as I
think those who are in attendance here well know, the attorneys
in the case have an opportunity to participate in the Court's
development of the instructions on the law to be given to the
jury, and they will have a full opportunity to do that. I
suggest that we meet in chambers yet this afternoon to begin
that process, at any rate.
And do counsel want to have a little time before you
do that? Like 2:30 or something?
MR. MACKEY: 2:30 is fine, your Honor.
MR. TIGAR: Yes, your Honor. Thank you.
THE COURT: We'll be meeting at 2:30. The trial will
be in recess until Monday at 8:45.
(Recess at 2:03 p.m.)
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