O.J. Simpson Case: Orenthal James

¶ … O.J. Simpson Case:

Orenthal James Simpson, who is commonly known as OJ Simpson, was a renowned celebrity in North America in the 1970's and 1980's. This celebrity was an all American footballer who ventured into sports casting and acting following his retirement from the National Football league. Together with her friend, Ronald Goldman, OJ's ex-wife, Nicole Brown, was found murdered outside her residence on June 12, 1994. Since the crime was carried out outside Ms. Brown's residence or condominium complex, the two bodies were found in the entrance pathway as law enforcement officers carefully scanned the scene of the crime in search of evidence. In this process, the police identified critical DNA evidence that supported the notion that Simpson has been involved in the murder of the two individuals. Despite of declining an initial plea by LAPD to turn himself in, OJ Simpson eventually surrendered to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and was arrested. This was after a long chase that almost culminated in Mr. Simpson committing suicide until his friend, Al Cowlings, convinced him otherwise.

OJ Simpson Trial:

OJ Simpson case or trial was declared as the trial of the century since it replaced Lindbergh kidnapping and became the most publicized case in the history of the United States. Unlike serial killers like Charles Manson, OJ Simpson's trial received increase media attention as the state of California spent more than $20 million on the case alone. Due to its consideration as the trial of the century, Simpson's case has actually been one of the most studied, observed, and debated incidents in America's history. This case was characterized by discovery of two murders that are described as butchery, apprehension of a high-profile sports hero as the suspect, the suspect's attempt to flee the country, the circus televised trial, and verdict that surprised the nation and lead to its polarization along racial lines (Nickell & Fischer, 1998, p. 205). Moreover, this case brought the spotlight of controversy into the whole field of criminology, especially forensic serology and crime-scene investigation. Actually, the successive civil trial was regarded as an attempt to redeem the perception of justice that was disenchanted by OJ Simpson's criminal trial.

The trial of OJ Simpson commenced following his not guilty plea of both accounts of murder while the prosecution was confident of convicting him though they lacked the murder weapon evidence, witnesses, or fingerprints. The prosecution's confidence in convicting the suspect was mainly based on the crucial DNA evidence such as hair samples on the two bodies and crime scene, bloody shoe footprints matching Simpson's shoes, and clothing articles in his residence. Since the prosecution lacked witnesses, they called DNA experts to testify that the blood found at the crime scene not only matched that of the two bodies but also matched Simpson's blood. In addition to the hair, fiber, shoe and blood evidence, the prosecution also used glove evidence and others like Simpson's strange reaction to a phone call informing him of the murder of Nicole Brown and flight in Bronco.

In order to convict him, the prosecution argued that Simpson cut his hand while committing the murder which left a trail of blood from the crime scene in Bundy to his Bronco and his residence at Rockingham (Thompson, n.d.). The prosecution account also stated that the blood of the two victims was transferred to the Bronco since it was splattered on the suspect and soaked the glove the suspect carried with him to drop behind his house. While the suspect disposed the clothing he had at the crime scene, he left his socks since he did not realize that they were strained with Nicole's blood.

As measures to prove the suspect's innocence, the defense account or story had various elements that countered the prosecution's account. These elements included that Simpson had bled at his home and in the Bronco since he cut himself at home in the evening of the crime, the DNA of the actual perpetrator could not be detected, inconsistency of the quantity of the DNA found in evidentiary items. They argued that Simpson's blood was taken from the reference tube by a nurse employed by the LAPD and the strain of Nicole's blood on Simpson's socks was pressed onto it while it was flat rather than while at someone's leg.

Jury Selection Process, Sequestration, Verdict and Relevant Controversies:

OJ Simpson's case had already set the record for being the longest jury trial in the history of California even before the commencement of closing arguments. For a better part of the year, the jury in the case had been sequestered and was displaying signs of exhaustion and strain (Linder, 2000). Actually, Judge Ito was blamed for permitting the trial to drag on as he appeared unable to keep lawyers under control. The sequestration of the jury was also evident in the fact that they only took three hours to deliberate on the case that generated 150 witnesses in a period of more than 133 days and cost more than $20 million to conduct.

In this criminal trial, one of the key messages from the defense was that the Los Angeles Police Department was mainly geared towards bringing down a famous African-American. This message was specifically targeted at the jury, many of whom had negative experiences with the LAPD. The trial team not only maintained but also used a jury consultant effectively to carry out pretrial jury research and periodic analysis during the trial to understand the possible reactions of the jurors to significant thematic messages and evidence introduced during the trial. Therefore, jury research is carried out to determine the various kinds of juror reactions to the case messages or themes.

The jury in OJ Simpson's trial comprised of 9 Blacks, 1 Hispanic, 2 Whites with 10 women and 10 men whose educational level included 2 college graduates, 9 high school graduates, and 1 without diploma. The racial composition of this jury was mainly influenced by the prosecution's decision to file the case in downtown Los Angeles instead of Santa Monica, the judicial district where the offense took place as is usually the case. Poll results indicated that many whites believed Simpson was guilty while many blacks believed he was not guilty. Consequently, the decision to file the case in Santa Monica could have been the huge mistake the prosecution could have made.

The jury selection process for this case started on September 24, 1994 with around 250 probable members of the jury and the judge, the defense and prosecution teams, and Simpson in Judge Ito's courtroom. In addition to providing warning that the trial may take several months, the judge explained procedures to the potential jury members ("Selection of the Jury," n.d.). The judge excluded from consideration probable jurors who infringed his strict guidelines associated with exposure to the media. The selection of jury that composed of many blacks was basically attributed to the numerous efforts the defense team poured in the selection efforts.