Pleading not guilty to the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, which occurred on June 12, 1994, Simpson hired a "dream team" defense, which included lead attorney Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran (who later took over as lead counsel), F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Robert Kardashian and Alan Dershowitz.
While some key members of the trial—including Simpson's prone-to-theatrics "Dream Team" defense attorney Johnnie Cochran and fellow lawyer/Simpson family friend Robert Kardashian —have since passed away, others have spent the last 20 years rehashing the events of the trial of the century.
Yes, Robert Kardashian Really Suspected O.J. Simpson Was Guilty. "I have doubts." David Schwimmer as defense attorney Robert Kardashian in FX's "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson." To the public, O.J. Simpson's defense attorney Robert Kardashian represented his friend's longtime image as a lovable celebrity.
The Simpsons married in 1985 and had two kids, Sydney – OJ Simpson daughter and Justin, a son. Kardashian stood by Simpson during his 1995 trial, and worked with other lawyers F. Lee Bailey, Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran to fight prosecutors Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark during the long trial.
The attorneys representing O.J. Simpson included F. Lee Bailey, Robert Blasier, Shawn Chapman Holley, Robert Shapiro, and Alan Dershowitz. Johnnie Cochran later became the defense team's lead attorney. The attorneys were known as the “Dream Team."
The team included Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, Carl Douglas, Shawn Chapman, Gerald Uelmen, Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Robert Blasier, and William Thompson.
“He took money that was rightfully going to the government and that would have benefited his client.” The government produced a damning paper trail: Bailey had agreed that any fee he took would first be approved by the presiding judge, and early on he agreed to share a fee of $3 million, split among himself, Shapiro, ...
Robert Leslie Shapiro (born September 2, 1942) is an American lawyer. He is best known for being the short-term defense lawyer of Erik Menendez in 1990, and a member of the "Dream Team" of O. J....Robert Shapiro (lawyer)Robert ShapiroBornRobert Leslie Shapiro September 2, 1942 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.5 more rows
Robert George Kardashian (February 22, 1944 – September 30, 2003) was an American attorney and businessman. He gained recognition as O. J. Simpson's friend and defense attorney during Simpson's 1995 murder trial.
June 16, 1994Nicole Brown Simpson / Date of burial
Simpson's lawyers argued that he was broke — having spent between $3 – $5 million in legal fees for his murder trial defense. He also paid nearly $200,00 to regain custody of his children from their maternal grandparents.
Robert George Kardashian (February 22, 1944 – September 30, 2003) was an American lawyer and businessman. He was the lawyer for O. J. Simpson when he was accused for murder....Robert KardashianOccupationAttorney businessmanKnown forO.J. Simpson murder case9 more rows
Simpson reportedly spent upwards of $3 to $6 million on his Dream team of attorneys, which has traditionally been seen as one of the most expensive murder defence claims.
Of the defense "Dream Team" of Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Robert Shapiro and F. Lee Bailey, only two are still alive. Kardashian, sire of the notorious reality TV family, died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59.
On the prosecution side, Marcia Clark served as lead counsel, supported by Christopher Darden. Lasting close to a year, the trial and the events surrounding it were considered the most publicized events the world had ever seen. To many, it became a media circus full of colorful characters, opportunists and courtroom dysfunction ...
Pleading not guilty to the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, which occurred on June 12, 1994, Simpson hired a "dream team" defense, which included lead attorney Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran (who later took over as lead counsel), F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Robert Kardashian and Alan Dershowitz.
After prosecutor Darden made the mistake of demanding Simpson try on the ill-fitted bloody gloves, Cochran uttered the famous phrase: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.".
Due to Kaelin's shiftiness on the stand , prosecutor Clark turned against him and treated him as a hostile witness. Regardless, Kaelin — with his thick tufts of blond hair and surfer dude ways — gained considerable popularity in the media as a likable and comedic character of the trial.
Reportedly, one juror wholly dismissed Park's testimony because he was unable to recall the number of cars parked at the Rockingham mansion.
Aspiring actor and houseguest of Simpson, Brian "Kato" Kaelin was a star witness for the prosecution. Present at Simpson 's Rockingham mansion at the time of the murders, Kaelin claimed that he ate dinner with Simpson that night but could not account for the star athlete's whereabouts between the hours of 9:36 p.m. and 11 p.m. (the prosecution theorized that Simpson murdered his ex-wife and Goldman between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.).
Although Darden floundered at the start of the trial and was purportedly intimidated by Cochran, he gained momentum as events progressed. However, he made a consequential mistake when he demanded that Simpson try on the infamous bloody gloves, which ended up being too small for the accused's hands.
It wasn’t long before he was representing his first famous client: Linda Lovelace, the 1970s porn star who became famous for the film Deep Throat. In early 1974, Shapiro defended Lovelace when she was charged with possession of cocaine and amphetamines in Las Vegas.
Once he opened his own firm in 1972, Shapiro started off on a firm path, often representing famous clients who had minor entanglements with the law. In 1994, he was hired as part of the defense team for O.J. Simpson and became part of what would become known as the "trial of the century.". While Shapiro has always had a stellar legal reputation, ...
Two years later, Cochran entered private practice. Soon thereafter, he opened his own firm, Cochran, Atkins & Evans, in Los Angeles. In his first notable case, Cochran represented an African-American widow who sued several police officers who had shot and killed her husband, Leonard Deadwyler.
In 1964, the young Cochran prosecuted one of his first celebrity cases, Lenny Bruce, a comedian who had recently been arrested on obscenity charges.
After the Simpson trial, Cochran was a frequent commentator in law-related television shows. Additionally, he hosted his own show, Johnnie Cochran Tonight, on CourtTV. With the Simpson fame also came movie deals.
During closing arguments in the Simpson trial, Cochran uttered the now famous phrase, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." He used the phrase, which had been devised by fellow defense team member Gerald Uelmen, as a way to try to persuade the jury that Simpson could not have murdered Nicole Brown Simpson nor Ron Goldman. In a dramatic scene, Simpson appeared to have difficulty getting the glove on; stained with blood of both victims and Simpson, it had been found at the crime scene.
Cochran. The court ruled 7–2 that in light of Cochran's death, an injunction limiting the demonstrations of Ulysses Tory "amounts to an overly broad prior restraint upon speech." Two justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said that Cochran's death made it unnecessary for the court to rule. Lower courts, before Cochran died, held that Tory could not make any public comments about Cochran.
Stanley Tookie Williams. Johnnie Cochran defended 17-year old Stanley Tookie Williams in a robbery trial in the early 1970s. Williams at the time was a known member of the Westside Crips street gang. After less than 10 minutes on trial, Williams was acquitted of all charges.
In 1978 , Cochran returned to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office in the leadership position of First Assistant District Attorney. Though he took a pay cut to do so, joining the government was his way of becoming "one of the good guys, one of the very top rung.".
Douglas was widely considered one of Johnnie Cochran's top lawyers. He later became the managing attorney of the Law Office of Johnnie Cochran, Jr. before leaving the firm in 1998, to form The Douglas Law Group (now known as Douglas / Hicks Law).
Barry Scheck, a law professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City, is a forensic expert. Scheck is also known for his work as co-founder and co-director of the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that uses DNA evidence to clear the names of wrongfully convicted inmates.
Peter Neufeld joined the Simpson defense team to assist with undermining the prosecution's DNA and forensic evidence. He is perhaps best known for discrediting the credibility of the blood trail between Nicole Brown Simpson 's body and O.J. Simpson 's car.
During the cross-examination, Bailey was able to get Fuhrman to plead the Fifth in response to key aspects of the case, including planting evidence, thereby undermining Fuhrman's credibility as a witness. This cross-examination is believed by many to be one of the keys to Simpson's acquittal.
In 2006, he was appointed Executive Director for the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, created by the California State Senate to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and propose reforms of the California criminal justice system.
Gerald Uelmen was part of O.J. Simpson's defense team during the O.J. Simpson murder case. Uelmen says he devised the memorable line used by Johnnie Cochran in the closing argument, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Uelmen is currently a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he served as Dean from 1986 to 1994. He served as defense counsel in the trials of Daniel Ellsberg and Christian Brando. In 2006, he was appointed Executive Director for the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, created by the California State Senate to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and propose reforms of the California criminal justice system.
Alan Dershowitz. Alan Dershowitz was the Felix Frankfurter professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and as of 2013. [update] remained one of the most successful lawyers and legal scholars in the country. After representing Simpson, he has represented Julian Assange, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
While some key members of the trial—including Simpson's prone-to-theatrics "Dream Team" defense attorney Johnnie Cochran and fellow lawyer/Simpson family friend Robert Kardashian —have since passed away, others have spent the last 20 years rehashing the events of the trial of the century. Besides being fictionalized in FX's new hit series, ...
Like so many other key people in the O.J. Simpson trial, lawyer Robert Shapiro, who successfully defended Simpson, eventually wrote a book about the case— The Search for Justice: A Defense Attorney’s Brief on the O.J. Simpson Case.
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.
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.