why didn't oj want johnnie cochran to be his lawyer at first

by Rosalinda Sanford Sr. Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 6 min read

Was Johnnie Cochran a good lawyer for OJ Simpson?

Not one of his better days. Published July 23, 2017This article is more than 2 years old. Johnnie Cochran, OJ Simpson’s lawyer, was able to win an acquittal for his client by making the mid-nineties trial about race, not a double murder.

What did John Cochran like to do as a lawyer?

Cochran had often liked to say that he worked "not only for the OJs, but also the No Js". In other words, he enjoyed defending or suing in the name of those who did not have fame or wealth. Cochran believed that most glorious moment as a lawyer occurred when he won the freedom of Geronimo Pratt.

What happened to Michael Jackson lawyer John Cochran?

Cochran also represented Michael Jackson when he was accused of child molestation. However, the case was settled out of court by Jackson and his accuser. In December 2003, Cochran was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In April 2004, he underwent surgery, which led him to stay away from the media.

What was the first celebrity case that John Cochran prosecuted?

In 1964, the young Cochran prosecuted one of his first celebrity cases, Lenny Bruce, a comedian who had recently been arrested on obscenity charges. Two years later, Cochran entered private practice.

Did Cochran believe OJ was innocent?

Both defense attorneys Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran believed from the outset that Simpson was guilty, Toobin says.

What did OJ whisper to his lawyer after the verdict?

Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro appeared on Megyn Kelly's Fox special on Tuesday night, and finally revealed what his client whispered in his ear after the verdict was read. “You had told me this would be the result from the beginning.

How did Johnnie Cochran get OJ off?

Johnnie Cochran, OJ Simpson's lawyer, was able to win an acquittal for his client by making the mid-nineties trial about race, not a double murder. To do so, he manipulated the media, according to Christopher Darden, one of the prosecutors charged with trying Simpson.

How did Johnnie Cochran become a lawyer?

He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1959 and later earned a law degree from Loyola Law School (1962). After working for two years as a prosecutor for the city of Los Angeles, Cochran pursued a private career.

Why did the gloves not fit OJ Simpson?

The glove was covered in blood. According to the prosecution, that blood seeped into the fibers of the leather and shrunk it, thus explaining why Simpson's hand did not fit inside.

What did OJ Simpson say to Robert Shapiro?

Shapiro also tells Kelly that Simpson whispered "you were right" in his ear in the moments after a jury acquitted him in 1995. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths by a civil jury. He's now serving prison time on a Nevada armed robbery conviction.

Did Rob Kardashian believe OJ?

He sat by Simpson throughout the trial. The New York Times reported that Kardashian said in a 1996 ABC interview with Barbara Walters that he had begun to question Simpson's innocence: "I have doubts. The blood evidence is the biggest thorn in my side; that causes me the greatest problems.

Was OJ at Nicole's funeral?

June 16, 1994Nicole Brown Simpson / Date of burial

Why did Mark Fuhrman plead the 5th?

He said that he pleaded the Fifth Amendment after he couldn't get the prosecution to call him to the stand for a redirect prior to the tapes' being played for the jury. Once the tapes came out, Fuhrman has said, his reputation as a credible witness would have been nearly beyond rehabilitation.

Did Johnny Cochran redecorate OJ house?

He personally supervised the removal of photos that show Simpson and his white friends, and the redecoration of the home with African art and photos of the former pro footballer with other African-Americans.

Does the Chewbacca defense work?

As a Chewbacca defense distracts and misleads, it is an example of a red herring. It is also an example of an irrelevant conclusion, a type of informal fallacy in which one making an argument fails to address the issue in question.

Who said if the glove doesn't fit?

Twenty-five years ago today, in his closing argument at the sensational O.J. Simpson double-murder trial in Los Angeles, lead defense lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran stood before the jurors and urged them to keep this in mind: “If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.”

Overview

Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr. was an American lawyer and civil activist best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal of O. J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. He often defended his client with rhymes like "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit!"
Cochran represented Sean Combs, Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Stanley Too…

Early life

Cochran was born in 1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father, Johnnie Cochran Sr. (1916–2018), was an insurance salesman and his mother sold Avon products. The family relocated to the West Coast during the second wave of the Great Migration, settling in Los Angeles in 1949. Cochran went to local schools and graduated first in his class from Los Angeles High School in 1955. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business economics from the University of California, Los Ang…

Legal practice

Inspired by Thurgood Marshall and the legal victory that Marshall won in Brown v. Board of Education, Cochran decided to dedicate his life to practicing law. Cochran felt his career was a calling, a double opportunity to work for what he considered to be right and to challenge what he considered wrong; he could make a difference by practicing law. In A Lawyer's Life, Cochran wrote, "I read …

Clients

Before the Simpson case, Cochran had achieved a reputation as a "go-to" lawyer for the rich, as well as a successful advocate for minorities in police brutality and civil rights cases. However, the controversial and dramatic Simpson trial made Cochran more widely known, generating a variety of opinions about him.
Cochran had often liked to say that he worked "not only for the OJs, but also the No Js". In other …

Illness and death

In December 2003, Cochran was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In April 2004, he underwent surgery, which led him to stay away from the media. Shortly thereafter, he told the New York Post that he was feeling well and was in good health.
He died from the brain tumor on March 29, 2005, at his home in Los Angeles. Public viewing of his casket was conducted on April 4, at the Angelus Funeral Home and April 5, at Second Baptist Ch…

Posthumous ruling

On May 31, 2005, two months after Cochran's death, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its opinion on Tory v. 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 co…

Legacy

• On January 24, 2006, Los Angeles Unified School District officials unanimously approved the renaming of Mount Vernon Middle School, Cochran's boyhood middle school, to Johnnie L Cochran Jr. Middle School in his honor. The decision received mixed responses.
• In 2007, the three-block stretch of the street in front of the school was renamed "Johnnie Cochran Vista".

In popular culture

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.
Actor Phil Morris played attorney Jackie Chiles, a character parody of Cochran, in several episodes of Seinfeld. He was satirized in the "Chef Aid" episode of the animated sitcom South Park, in whic…