Background of OJ Simpson Trial

1. Background of OJ Simpson Trial By: Cassie Sardo, Celyne Moh, Janice Kim, Vick Noh

2. Jury

3. Jury Continued..

4. Judge • Judge: Lance Ito • Worked as a district attorney • Married to LAPD official • Irreverent childhood • Appointed in 1989 • Bad courtroom manager • Still an LA Judge

5. Prosecutors • Lead Prosecutor: Marcia Clark (Deputy District Attorney) • Clark’s co-counsel: Christopher A. Darden (Deputy District Attorney), widely experienced in murder trials • Despite no murder weapon or witnesses to murder, prosecutors believed they had a strong cased supported by DNA evidence • Prosecution presented dozens of expert witnesses (DNA printing, blood and shoeprint analysis) • Opening weeks of trial: presented evidence of Simpson’s history of physical abuse to his wife

6. Defense Lawyers aka “Dream Team” • Robert Shapiro: Civil litigator and senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen & Shapiro, LLP. Graduated from UCLA and obtained his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. He had never tried a murder case before the O.J. Simpson case. • Robert Shapiro: Civil litigator and senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen & Shapiro, LLP. Graduated from UCLA and obtained his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. He had never tried a murder case before the O.J. Simpson case.

7. Alan Dershowitz: A distinguished law professional. Has spent most of his career as Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Was involved in high-profile legal cases and as commentator on the Arab –Israeli conflict. He is notable for his role in overturning the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of his wife in 1984. At the time of the O.J. Simpson trial, he was more recognized for appellate law than criminal or trial law. • Johnnie Cochran: A high profile, stylish Los Angeles lawyer. Drove around in a Rolls Royce and had once worked in the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

8. Carl E. Douglas: Specialized in police misconduct cases. As managing attorney at the Law Office of Johnnie Cochran Jr, he was viewed as Cochran’s right hand man. • Robert Kardashian: Attorney and businessman. He practiced law for about a decade after he earned a law degree from the University of San Diego and then went into business. He has been a friend of Simpson. When he presented the O.J. Simpson case, it had been over 20 years since Kardashian had practiced law.

9. Gerald Uelmen: Dean of law at Santa Clara University. • Barry Scheck: New York attorney who specialized in DNA evidence. • Peter Neufeld: New York attorney who specialized in DNA evidence.

10. Sources • http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/simpson/do_7.html • http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case

11. OJ trial evidence/ car chase By Brian Fuchs, Stephen Grover, Calvin Hartman, Mike Kost, Tim Olsen

12. Crime Scene Evidence • Many aspects of evidence found at crime scene • Blood drops that matched OJ • OJ had a cut on his finger after the murders • Bloody shoe prints that matched a size 12 shoe • OJ wore a size 12 • Hairs found in dark knit cap matched OJ’s hairs and fibers resembled that of his Ford Bronco

13. Crime Scene Evidence Cont. • Bloody extra large glove was found by Simpson’s guest house • Contained the genetic markers of both victims • Bloody socks found at the foot of Simpson’s bed that contained the victim’s genetic markers • Blood found smeared in OJ’s Ford Bronco that had the genetic markers of OJ and victims • Suspicious time frame that showed OJ could have killed the victims

14. Car Chase • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcyyCi2b2AY&edufilter=d3ViuWqXvxQy1rRgssBz8Q • June 17th 1994 • Accomplice Al Cowling • Low speed chase on I-405

15. OJ Simpson By: Maddie Ricca, Jared Winston, CJ Doornheim, Nick Siegel

16. Blood Evidence • OJ had a cut on his left middle finger when interviewed by the police the day after the killings • Bloodstains on paper wrapping that was supposed to be holding dry blood samples • There was blood found on a gun inside OJ’s car • Blood found in the foyer and master bedroom in OJ’s home • One dark, cashmere-lined Aris Light leather glove, size extra-large, was found at the murder scene • Ms. Simpson bought Simpson two pair of such gloves

17. DNA Evidence • DNA tests showed blood on glove found on Simpson’s property appeared to contain genetic markers of Simpson and both victims • A long hair of Ms. Simpson’s was also found on that glove • Socks found at the foot of Simpson’s bed were tested and found the genetic markers of Simpson and his ex-wife • Blood spots in Simpson’s Bronco contained DNA matching Bropj-0wn’s, Goldman’s, and Simpson’s blood • Defense stated DNA results were unreliable

18. Works Cited • http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns25.htm • http://www.bxscience.edu/publications/forensics/articles/dna/r-dna02.htm • http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/evidence.html

19. Rose Marie Vigneron, Megan Farrell, Austin Berninger, TJ McHugh, and Joey Schwartz

20. Footprint evidence • Bloody shoe prints were found leading away from the bodies and from the back gate of the condo • Significance • Shoe size was size 12 – same as OJ • Tested for DNA matches • Initial testing did not rule Simpson out as a suspect • More tests matches were found between Simpson's blood and blood samples taken from the crime scene (both the shoe prints in blood and the gate samples).

21. Trial Explanation • Prosecution: tried to place Simpson at the murder scene by showing that Bloomingdale's in New York, where Simpson sometimes shopped, carried such shoes. • Defense: Thousands of people bought such shoes; noted that no murder shoes were ever recovered and that the prosecution had no evidence that Simpson ever purchased such shoes; raised the possibility that unexplained "imprints'' that didn't match the Bruno Magli sole also were at the crime scene.

22. Glove Evidence • Fibers on the bloody glove found behind OJ's house match carpeting in OJ's car (type: Bronco) • Kato (witness) hears thumps outside his window between 10:50 p.m. and 10:51 p.m. He heard the thumps near where the bloody glove is found. • A bloody glove matching the one at the murder scene is found behind OJ's house near the air-conditioning unit, where Kato hears three thumps. • A bloody glove matching the glove found at the murder scene that was found on OJ's property within hours of the murders contains a hair with the same microscopic characteristics as Ron's and Nicole's.

23. Pieces of Evidence for Gloves (2) • The glove at the murder scene and the glove at OJ's home are extra large: OJ's size. Both gloves are matching (left and right). • Both gloves are identical to the type Nicole bought for Simpson at Bloomingdales in December of 1990. • one of only two hundred pairs like them sold through out the whole country that year. • Photos and videos of OJ show him wearing the exact same gloves that match the ones found at his home and the murder scene. • An expert testifies the bloody gloves would have fit OJ except that blood and moisture caused the extra-large gloves to shrink a full size.

24. Trial explanation • Prosecution: Simpson lost the left glove at his ex-wife's home during the struggle and, in a rush, inadvertently dropped the right glove while trying to hide it; explained that evidence gloves didn't fit Simpson in a courtroom demonstration because the gloves shrunk from being soaked in blood and Simpson had rubber gloves on underneath. • Defense: glove behind guest house was planted by Detective Mark Fuhrman, a racist cop trying to frame Simpson; blood on glove may have been planted by police; gloated that evidence gloves didn't fit; hair analysis isn't sophisticated enough to be trusted.

25. Works Cited • http://theweek.com/article/index/233084/oj-simpsons-glove-did-johnnie-cochran-tamper-with-evidence

26. OJ “The Juice” Simpson By: Jamie Smith, Sarah Kissane, Mary Mei, and Jenny Haggis

27. The Crime • The double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman occurred on June 12, 1994 • Nicole had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck -The wound on her neck was so deep that the larynx could be seen and the vertebra C3 was incised

28. The Charges • 2 counts of First Degree Murder

29. The Speculation • Many people believe that Ronald Goldman most likely arrived after Nicole’s murder and was stabbed to death. Just another matter of wrong place, wrong time. However, others believe that Nicole and Goldman were both alive and well when they were both confronted by OJ.

30. The Victim • Simpson and Brown began dating when she was 18 and he was 30 • She had 2 children with OJ • Brown was 26 years old when she married Simpson.

31. The Victim Cnt. • OJ abused her and in a 911 tape she told the operator that she needed assistance because OJ was “going to beat the shit out of me.” • She divorced OJ in 1992 and won $433,000 in a cash settlement and $10,000 per month in child support • Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered on June 12, 1994

32. The Second Victim • Was an energetic young man who lived in Southern California • Was well liked by all who knew him • He was employed as a waiter at a trendy restaurant and was also a model on the side • Claimed that he was “only friends” with Nicole

33. The Second Victim Cnt • Many believe that Goldman’s death was an accident and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They think that he was never the intended target • He claimed that he was returning Nicole’s glasses which her mother left at the restaurant

34. The Crime Scene • Nicole was found outside her condominium • Brown was discovered in a rumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs at her condo. Her feet were protruding through the bottom of the fence. Goldman was also found sprawled against the fence.

35. THE VERDICT? • Acquittal on all counts • OJ SIMPSON now serving a lengthy sentence in Nevada state prison for an armed robbery of his own (stolen?) sports memorabilia. • Significance of sports memorabilia; it was supposed to have been sold to raise monies to pay Goldman family. • the wrongful death civil case; Goldman family sued OJ (less burden of proof needed) and they won • OJ claimed bankruptcy from trial costs but memorabilia showed up later.. .interesting by JMP

36. The Bibliography • http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/goldman.htm • http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/brown-simpson.htm • http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/oj.htm • http://www.latimes.com/news/la-oj-anniv-arrest,0,922015.story • http://www.bobaugust.com/photo.htm#no1

37. Slide show a collaborative effort of period 6 SUPA forensic class 2012-13