LOS ANGELES COUNTY COURT ROOM
MAY 25TH, 2013
JUDGE RICHARD THOMAS
SUBJECT/CASE:
JESSICA DAY VS. SPENCER WHITMAN
CHARGE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
PLAINTIFFS ATTORNEY: NICHOLAS MILLER
DEFENDANTS ATTORNEY: JAMES O'DONALD
Defendant, Spencer Whitman, takes the stand and oath. Jury and witnesses are seated. Cross examination begins.
MR. MILLER: Defendant, will you please state your name and relationship with my client to the court?
DEFENDANT: Spencer P. Whitman. I am, or was, Jessica Days boyfriend.
MR. MILLER: How long were you in a relationship?
DEFENDANT: 6 years.
MR. MILLER: 6 years? That's a long time. No marriage was planned out for you two?
DEFENDANT: Marriage was always an option. But... Our relationship was complicated. I couldn't imagine tying the knot in the state we were in. Constantly fighting, weeks of not talking to each other, etc.
MR. MILLER: Sounds complicated. I can understand how marriage would not seem to help the situation. What kind of fights? What were they about?
DEFENDANT: I couldn't tell you now. It's been a while.
MR. MILLER: Kids maybe? Jobs?
DEFENDANT: I don't know.
MR. MILLER: And you were physically abusive?
DEFENDANT: No. Of course not. I would never hurt Jess. We fought often, and sometimes loudly, but I never hit her.
MR. MILLER: Can you tell the court a little bit about why were here today?
DEFENDANT: Is it necessary? I think we all know why were here.
MR. MILLER: I would imagine the court would like to hear it from you.
DEFENDANT: Jess claims I hit her.
MR. MILLER: Let's get the most obvious question out of the way. Did you hit my client, Jessica Day?
O'DONALD: OBJECTION! Your honor, the plaintiffs representatives questions are repetitious and redundant.
JUDGE THOMAS: Overruled. Continue with questioning.
MR. MILLER: Thank you, your honor. Now, Mr. Whitman, the statement that Miss Day completed states that you and Jess were having a verbal dispute on March 31st of this year. A Sunday evening around 8:30pm. Is that correct?
DEFENDANT: I had just gotten home.. and.. I couldn't..
MR. MILLER: It's okay, take your time.
O' DONALD: Can my client get some water?
DEFENDANT: No it's alright. I'm fine.
MR. MILLER: The question stands, Mr. Whitman.
DEFENDANT: Yes, although I would say dispute is a strong word, we were fighting. I had just gotten home from work and Jess was going crazy about one of my e-mails she had read.
MR. MILLER: Why was she upset over an e-mail?
DEFENDANT: Jess thought I was cheating on her with a girl from work. That's who the e-mail was from.
MR. MILLER: And were you?
DEFENDANT: Was I what?
MR. MILLER: Cheating?
DEFENDANT: Of course not.
MR. MILLER: I just want to remind you of the oath you took here on the stand Mr. Whitman, before I continue on with my evidence. Are you positive you had NO other relations with any other woman other that Jessica Day?
DEFENDANT: I thought I... No I couldn't.
MR. MILLER: Spencer?
DEFENDANT: Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm fine. Yes, I am positive that I would never cheat, or hurt Jess.
MR. MILLER: I appreciate your cooperation. Now, Jess and you were living together, correct? For how long?
DEFENDANT: About 3 years.
MR. MILLER: Would you say that everything in that house was hers, just as much as it was yours?
DEFENDANT: Um, yes? I would suppose so.
MR. MILLER: What I have with me today is your home telephone, which is conveniently connected to a voice mail machine. Jess had picked it up when she visited the house to get some clothes while she stayed with her friend, Cece. Let's listen to a few messages, shall we?
WOMANS VOICE: Spencerrrrr. I'm at the club, where are you? We were supposed to meet up hours ago. I miss you.
MR. MILLER: Mr. Whitman, can you tell me who that voice was?
DEFENDANT: No good... liar... I swear...
MR. MILLER: Defendant?
DEFENDANT: Erin Briggs. She works in the office with me.
MR. MILLER: My client claims that this is the same woman she believes you were cheating on her with.
DEFENDANT: NO. Of course not. Not Erin, I would never... Jess..
MR. MILLER: Before we continue, we'll listen to the next message.
ERIN BRIGGS: Misterrrrrrrrr Whitmannnn. I'm looking over at you from my office. You're probably thinking I'm just having a good ol' time on a phone conference, but little do you know... I can't get last weekend out of my head. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow night. I'll wear that outfit I know you like.
MR. MILLER: I think continuing with the message is unnecessary. It seems completely obvious that you and Miss. Briggs had some sort of sexual relationship.
DEFENDANT: No.. Not really. It was just a one time thing...
MR. MILLER: Does that make you less of a cheater, Mr. Whitman?
DEFENDANT: No.. Thats not what I meant...
MR. MILLER: I think it's safe to say that the court isn't worried about finding you guilty of cheating, which has already been proven, but they are more worried about finding if you're guilty of assaulting Miss Day. Can you tell me what happened March 31st?
DEFENDANT: I came home, Jess was extremely upset. Whenever I tried to say something she didn't want to hear, she would shove me and throw punches all over my arms and chest.
MR. MILLER: I see. Your representative says he has no pictures of these bruises?
DEFENDANT: Regardless, she's not very strong. I doubt it left a mark.
MR. MILLER: Okay. I'm fortunate enough to have pictures of the marks that were left by the defendant. If we could pass them along...
DEFENDANT: That's not really possible..I didn't even know.
MR. MILLER: They're small, but Jess states she didn't take any pictures until she decided for sure that she wanted to sue Spencer. The bruises had faded quite a bit.
DEFENDANT: She had hurt herself plenty of times. That's probably where they are from.
MR. MILLER: Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that so far I've learned a whole lot about you Spencer. You cheated on Miss Day, and you hurt her physically and mentally. And it's only been the first 15 minutes.
DEFENDANT: I didn't.. I wouldn't...
MR. MILLER: No more further questions, your honor.
Nick Miller walked slowly over to the plaintiffs table, where Jess sat with her hand in her lap, squeezing until her whole hands were white. He gave her a confident smile before sitting down next to her, and gently place his hand on hers, stroking her skin with his thumb. "Were going to make this happen," he thought to himself. "This is really ending today, for good."