The O. J. Simpson Trial

The people directly involved with this case are Judge Lance Ito, the prosecution lawyers, Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, the defense lawyers, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro and Robert Blasier , the jury and the defendant, O.J. Simpson. The families of the victims have also been present in the courtroom, as well as other spectators and news media. This case has heard one hundred and twenty witnesses over a nine month period.

The jury really didn’t seem to remember the most important piece of information which was that the defendant’s blood was actually found at the crime scene. Bugliosi said “From the moment O.J. Simpson became a suspect in this double murder case, it was in the air, perhaps as in no other case within

On May 4th, 1994, the Goldman family sues O.J. A lot of Simpson’s personal items, such as his trophies and cars were seized. On November 6th 1996, the jury was composed of nine Whites, one Black, one Hispanic, and an Asian. A photographer claims to have taken a picture of Simpson in 1993 wearing Bruno Magli shoes, which were the same ones that were worn by the killer of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. O.J completely denied the picture; which led the photographer to release to the jury over 30 pictures of Simpson in the shoes. Also, on November 11th, pathologists thought that the scars and scratches on O.J’s hands may have been caused by the victim’s finger nails when trying to resist being stabbed to death. However, Simpson claimed that he might have gotten the cuts and scars on his wrists by “rassling” with his son. (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns171.htm)

Known around the world as O. J., famous celebrity Orenthal James Simpson was arrested and convicted for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her mistress, Ron Lyle Goldman. Although Simpson denied any participation in the crime, the FBI found numerous evidence that proved hands down that he was the murderer. After a trial that lasted more than eight months, he was acquitted and was able to go home. Personally, I feel that the jury made the wrong decision.

The prosecution called 78 witnesses with Allan Park, O.J.’s limo driver, being the best witness they had placing O.J. within the timeline of the murders(Geis & Bienen, 2016). The crime happened sometime after 10 pm before O.J. had left for LAX to travel to Chicago for a business meeting(Geis & Bienen, 2016). Allan Park testified that he was at O.J. Simpson’s house and knocked on his door at 10:25 pm but there was no response(Geis & Bienen, 2016). Mr. Park stated he did not see O.J.’s white Bronco anywhere and assumed he was not home yet(Geis & Bienen, 2016). At 10:56 pm, Mr. Park saw O.J. enter the front of his home(Geis & Bienen, 2016). Mr. Park noticed O.J. was very anxious and was

Due to Mr. and Mrs. Simpson’s previous police record of domestic violence calls, we were in desperate need to talk to Mr. Simpson. We called Mr. Simpson shortly after he arrived at his hotel in Chicago. When we informed him of the murder of his wife, Simpson acted surprisingly calm and collected. He never asked how, where, or if there are any suspects. During his interrogation, when we asked about a cut on his hand, he claimed the cut was from golfing and that he reopened it when he smashed some glass in his hotel room (Linder). He boarded the first plane back to Los Angeles, that’s when he found us at his home conducting a full scale investigation. After we obtained enough evidence, we released a warrant for the arrest of Orenthal James Simpson.

What had happened after midnight is still disputed, but it was most likely done by one single suspect. In front of the condo, near the gate, Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered with what appeared to be a single-edged sharp weapon, most likely a knife. Nicole suffered severe stab wounds in the head and neck. She also seemed to have defensive wounds on her hands. The suspect seemed to have struggled with Ron Goldman, who is repeatedly stabbed thirty-three times. (Linder) Just after midnight, Nicole’s Akita, saturated in blood, attracted the attention of a neighbor, who shortly discovered the bodies. The ill-fated investigation of Brown-Simpson and Goldman murders began when detectives went to Simpson’s Rockingham home to inform him of the murder of his ex-wife. While on the scene of Mr. Simpson’s home, detective, Mark Fuhrman, had found blood scattered along a white Ford Bronco. The four detectives on the scene had argued that they entered without a search warrant because of the exigent circumstances. Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson was aboard an American Airlines Flight #668 to Chicago, Illinois. After being told of the murder, O.J. boards a flight back to Los Angeles. Upon his return, Simpson undergoes questioning at the police headquarters. The Los Angeles Homicide Detective, Mark Fuhrman, became one of the most controversial figures in the Simpson trial because of the incriminating

Some of the hardest decisions on trial are made by the jury, which means the jurors have one of the most important roles when it comes to the trial, since they have to decide on another human’s fate, either. One decision a jury makes can be the difference between going to jail for life or being liberated. When O.J. Simpson was declared “not guilty” for the homicide of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and his friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman, by the Lance Ito, many argued that O.J. should have been proclaimed “Guilty”. Although many claim the verdict given was ideal, strong evidences, proves O.J. Simpson to be guilty for murdering 2 of his close acquaintances.

They gathered enough evidence to charge him with two counts of first-degree murder. The prosecution, therefore, had to prove that O.J knowingly caused the demise of both Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson’s house guest was recorded saying that he saw O.J Simpson, shortly after the murder, being pulled up in his white Bronco. Moreover, the limo driver stated that he waited for him for fifteen minutes before driving him to the airport. Interestingly, the times given by the witnesses coincided with suspected murder time proving that Simpson actually had planned the crime. His alibi was also precarious. He also had a record of spousal abuse. All evidence was against him and after the police established all crime elements, Simpson was charged

Simpson and his defense team saw an opportunity within the jury to appeal to their emotional side, given that the case was tried at the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, which meant that the jurors were mostly part of the minority, Blacks and Hispanics, his defense team decide to work with the fact the the jury was aware of the racism within the LAPD and their brutality/abuse of power, thus the defense team appealed to the juror's life experiences with racism within the criminal justice system. Therefore, with the help of the media, Simpson's team made the trial a political stand about race. Thus, they accused the Police Department of Los Angeles of conspiring against

The prosecution's physical evidence included a bloody glove, bloody socks, hair, and fibers and a trail of blood drops connecting the crime scene and O.J.'s estate. Defense lawyers say this physical evidence means nothing because it was either purposely tainted or contaminated. Kenneth Berris testified that two laundry bags are still missing from Simpson's Chicago hotel room. The bloody clothes and murder weapon have never been found.

The next process in the Justice system, a Grand Jury indictment, was interrupted. OJ Simpson hired a top notch team of defense and appellate lawyers to defend him in this case and they were able to get the Grand Jury dismissed from this case due to the massive media coverage. They claimed that the jury was prejudiced toward the defendant because of the readily available information about the case. In lieu of the Grand Jury trial a probable cause hearing was conducted. With that, the judge in this hearing felt that enough evidence did exist for a criminal trial and OJ Simpson was arraigned on July 29th 1994. At his arraignment OJ pleaded not guilty, specifically stating that he was “one hundred percent not guilty”.

Another cunning piece of evidence was the bloody glove found behind Nicole's house, that had fit O.J.'s hand and supposedly had blood in it, but when it was time to call the glove as evidence in the court room, there was no blood. This leads us into question about whether or not racism played a role in the lengthiest trial in United States history. With the help of a strong team of forensic experts, the lawyers were able to identify irregularities in the conduct of the investigation by LAPD detectives and forensic specialists. For example, one of the detectives Philip Vannatter, had carried a sample of Simpson's around with him for hours: and some of the blood taken from Simpson was unaccounted for. After much investigation, the defense team found evidence that Mark Fuhrman, the detective who allegedly found the bloody glove in Simpson's yard, was a raving racist who, contrary to his claim on the stand, frequently used the word “nigger” and had bragged about framing blacks, especially those involved

The New York Times bestseller book titled Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case examines the O.J. Simpson criminal trial of the mid-1990s. The author, Alan M. Dershowitz, relates the Simpson case to the broad functions and perspectives of the American criminal justice system as a whole. A Harvard law school teacher at the time and one of the most renowned legal minds in the country, Dershowitz served as one of O.J. Simpson’s twelve defense lawyers during the trial. Dershowitz utilizes the Simpson case to illustrate how today’s criminal justice system operates and relates it to the misperceptions of the public. Many outside spectators of the case firmly believed that Simpson committed the

The OJ Simpson case has been hailed "The Trial of the Century." One of the longest running court trials in history, this case was filled with conspiracy, controversy, and the power of celebrity. The biggest part of the trial was the evidence. The submission of the blood samples, the DNA testing, and the articles of clothing made the case what it was. Amidst all the accusations of planted evidence and conspiracy plans against Simpson, the jury and Judge Ito had to try to sift through and find Simpson guilty or not guilty.