Jan 31, 1995 · Prosecution Witnesses in the O.J. Simpson Criminal Trial. The first witness, police dispatcher Sharon Gilbert, testified on January 31. The 58th and final witness, FBI analyst Douglas Deedrick, completed his testimony on July 6. …
The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court in which former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.The pair were stabbed to death outside …
Feb 23, 2016 · The prosecution team in O.J. Simpson's trial listens as a "not guilty" verdict is read on Oct. 3, 1995. POOL via Getty Images. Jill Shively's testimony might have swayed the path of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, had it ever been heard by jurors. Around 11 p.m. on the night that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered outside Brown ...
List of Defense Witnesses. Arnelle Simpson: OJ's daughter 7/10. Carmelita Simpson-Durio: Simpson's younger sister 7/10. Eunice Simpson: Simpson's Mother 7/10. Carol Connors: Songwriter that saw OJ & Paula Barbieri at a fundraising dinner on June 11 7/10. Mary Collins: Interior designer said she was redoing OJ's house 7/10.
Jun 13, 2019 · The O.J. Simpson case was a newsworthy criminal trial held in Los Angeles and decided in 1995. Former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster, and actor O. J. Simpson was tried on two counts of murder for the June 12, 1994, slashing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.O.J. Simpson was acquitted of their …
In a walk around the premises to inspect what may have caused the thumps, Fuhrman discovered a blood-stained right-hand glove, which was determined to be the mate of the left-hand glo ve found next to the body of Goldman. This evidence was determined to be probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for Simpson.
The defense alleged that Simpson's blood on the back gate at the Bundy crime scene was planted by the police. The blood on the back gate was collected on July 3, 1995, rather than June 13, the day after the murders. The volume of DNA on that blood was significantly higher than the other blood evidence collected on June 13. The volume of DNA was so high that the defense conceded that it could not be explained by contamination in the lab, yet noted that it was unusual for that blood to have more DNA on it than the other samples collected at the crime scene, especially since it had been left exposed to the elements for several weeks and after the crime scene had supposedly been washed over. On March 20, 1995, Vannatter testified that he instructed Fung to collect the blood on the gate on June 13 and Fung admitted he had not done so. The defense suggested the reason why Fung did not collect the blood is because it was not there that day; Scheck showed a blown-up photograph taken of the back gate on June 13 and he admitted he could not see it in the photograph.
Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld argued that the results from the DNA testing were not reliable because the police were "sloppy" in collecting and preserving it from the crime scene. Fung and Mazzola did admit to making several mistakes during evidence collection which included not always changing gloves between handling evidence items, packaging and storing the evidence items using plastic bags, rather than paper bags as recommended, and storing them in the police van, which was not refrigerated, for up to seven hours after collection. This, they argued, would allow bacteria to degrade all of the "real killer (s)" DNA and thus make the samples more susceptible to cross-contamination in the LAPD crime lab.
In November 2006, ReganBooks announced a book ghostwritten by Pablo Fenjves based on interviews with Simpson titled If I Did It, an account which the publisher said was a hypothetical confession. The book's release was planned to coincide with a Fox special featuring Simpson. "This is a historic case, and I consider this his confession," publisher Judith Regan told the Associated Press. On November 20, News Corporation, parent company of ReganBooks and Fox, canceled both the book and the TV interview due to a high level of public criticism. CEO Rupert Murdoch, speaking at a press conference, stated: "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project."
The defense team's reasonable doubt theory was summarized as "compromised, contaminated, corrupted" in opening statements. They argued that the DNA evidence against Simpson was "compromised" by the mishandling of criminalists Dennis Fung and Andrea Mazzola during the collection phase of evidence gathering, and that 100% of the "real killer (s)" DNA had vanished from the evidence samples. The evidence was then "contaminated" in the LAPD crime lab by criminalist Collin Yamauchi, and Simpson's DNA from his reference vial was transferred to all but three exhibits. The remaining three exhibits were planted by the police and thus "corrupted" by police fraud. The defense also questioned the timeline, claiming the murders happened around 11:00pm that night.
From an original jury pool of 40 percent white, 28 percent black, 17 percent Hispanic, and 15 percent Asian, the final jury for the trial had ten women and two men, of whom nine were black, two white and one Hispanic. The jury was sequestered for 265 days, the most in American history.
Barry Scheck alleged the police had twice planted the victims' blood inside Simpson's Bronco. An initial collection was made on June 13; the defense accused Vannatter of planting the victims' blood in the Bronco when he returned to Simpson's home later that evening. The prosecution responded that the Bronco had already been impounded by the time Vannatter returned and was not even at Rockingham.
The prosecution team in O.J. Simpson’s trial listens as a “not guilty” verdict is read on Oct. 3, 1995. Jill Shively’s testimony might have swayed the path of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, had it ever been heard by jurors. Around 11 p.m. on the night that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered outside Brown Simpson’s home, ...
The defense attempted to portray the department’s handling of evidence as sloppy. In the Simpson case, lead prosecutor Marcia Clark chose to ignore Shively and others who took money from news organizations to the stand — even though their voices might have bolstered her argument. Advertisement.
In the Simpson trial, however, the exact effect that checkbook journalism had on the case is impossible to quantify. Eyewitness testimony suggesting Simpson was near the scene of the crime after he’d bought a 15-inch knife and acted oddly on the golf course might have swayed some members of the jury.
Now, because Shively had both sold her story to the press and seemingly tried to hide the transaction from authorities, her testimony was thrown out — an unambiguous hit to the prosecution’s case.
Jose Camacho and Allen Wattenberg , who worked at the cutlery store where Simpson bought a knife, were upfront about the fact that they’d sold that story to The National Enquirer for $12,500. Simpson’s attorneys took swipes at the duo’s integrity anyway. Mitchell Mesko and Dale St. John were not called at all.
A similar, previous attempt — a so-called “Son of Sam” law prohibiting criminals from selling stories — was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991. The Society of Professional Journalists, for its part, abhors the practice of paying sources for information, saying it “threatens to corrupt journalism.”.
And by doing so, they posed a problem for prosecutors, as witnesses who sell their stories for cash are no longer as credible, according to Robert Pugsley, a law professor at Los Angeles’ Southwestern Law School.
Though Cowlings always maintained that he was helping Simpson turn himself in, not flee, he was arrested for aiding a fugitive but never charged due to lack of evidence. In 1997, records show that Cowlings filed for bankruptcy.
But Fuhrman has found much success since the conclusion of the trial; in 1997 he wrote Murder in Brentwood, a bestselling book about the trial, which he followed up with several more popular true crime novels covering everything from the JFK assassination to the death of Terri Schiavo.
Brown, too—along with her late father, Lou—set up a foundation in her sister’s name to educate and raise awareness about domestic abuse.
As recently as 2012, the Simpson trial outcome was clearly still weighing on Darden’s mind when he stated, during a panel conversation at Pace Law School, that he believed Johnnie Cochran tampered with the evidence. “I think Johnnie tore the lining,” Darden told the crowd.
For more than eight months, the jury—and more than 100 million interested members of the television-viewing public—watched as dozens of witnesses, experts, and legal pros were paraded in front of the cameras, and turned into instant celebrities.
In 1997, Clark co-authored Without a Doubt, a book about the Simpson trial, with Teresa Carpenter. She has since written four novels (with a new one coming out in May) and often appears on television as a legal expert in high-profile cases.
This led to Johnnie Cochran ’s famous declaration: “If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit.”. Shortly after the end of the trial, Darden left the district attorney’s office and was appointed as an associate professor of law at L.A.’s Southwestern University School of Law.