DAMAGING CONVERSATIONS

Earlier, Laura Hart McKinny took the witness stand in the jury's presence to describe her notorious tape-recorded interviews with Fuhrman. Despite Judge Ito's decision to restrict that evidence severely, Willwerth reports, the aspiring screenwriter told of Fuhrman's comments on past police "coverups." "Her testimony was certainly damaging," Willwerth says. "But this trial has so many dramatic U-turns that it's difficult to tell how much sinks in with the jury. The defense still has to show a police conspiracy, and that will not be easy."