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95-690: The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court , in which former NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman , who were stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994. The trial spanned eight months, from January 24 to October 3, 1995. Though prosecutors argued that Simpson

190-411: A Nissan at the intersection of Bundy and San Vicente Boulevard, and that she recognized Simpson's voice. She talked to the television show Hard Copy for $ 5,000, after which prosecutors declined to use her testimony at trial. In 1995, Shively had falsely claimed actor Brian Patrick Clarke had assaulted and stalked her. Jose Camacho of Ross Cutlery provided store receipts showing Simpson had purchased

285-489: A civil case , however, the court simply weighs the evidence and decides what is most probable. Criminal and civil procedure are different. Although some systems, including the English , allow a private citizen to bring a criminal prosecution against another citizen , criminal actions are nearly always started by the state . Civil actions , on the other hand, are usually started by individuals . In Anglo-American law,

380-552: A speedy trial , and the defense and prosecuting attorneys worked around the clock for several months to prepare their cases. The trial began on January 24, 1995, seven months after the murders, and was televised by closed-circuit TV camera via Court TV , and in part by other cable and network news outlets, for 134 days. Judge Lance Ito presided over the trial in the C.S. Foltz Criminal Courts Building . District Attorney Gil Garcetti elected to file charges in downtown Los Angeles, as opposed to Santa Monica , in which jurisdiction

475-509: A " Colombian necktie " – because they were looking for Brown's friend, Faye Resnick , a known cocaine user who had failed to pay for her drugs. She had stayed for several days at Brown's condo until entering rehab four days before the killings. Ito ruled that the drug killer theory was "highly speculative" with no evidence to support it. Consequently, Ito barred the jury from hearing it and prohibited Christian Reichardt from testifying about his former girlfriend Resnick's drug problems. Rose Lopez,

570-577: A 12-inch (305 mm) stiletto knife six weeks before the murders. The knife was recovered and determined to be similar to the one the coroner said caused the stab wounds. The prosecution did not present this evidence at trial, after Camacho sold his story to the National Enquirer for $ 12,500. Tests on the knife determined that an oil used on new cutlery was still present on the knife, indicating it had never been used. Former NFL player and pastor Rosey Grier visited Simpson on November 13 at

665-441: A civil, not a criminal, action. In countries using the continental civil law system , such as France and Italy , the victim of a crime (known as the "injured party") may be awarded damages by a criminal court judge . The standards of proof are higher in a criminal action than in a civil one since the loser risks not only financial penalties but also being sent to prison (or, in some countries, execution). In English law ,

760-457: A clear distinction between civil and criminal procedures. For example, an English criminal court may force a convicted accused to pay a fine to the Crown as punishment for the crime, and sometimes to pay the legal costs of the prosecution , but does not normally order the convicted accused to pay any compensation to the victim of the crime. The victim must pursue their claim for compensation in

855-439: A criminal trial is not necessarily admissible in a civil action about the same matter, just as evidence given in a civil cause is not necessarily admissible on a criminal trial. For example, the victim of a road accident does not directly benefit if the driver who injured him is found guilty of the crime of careless driving. He still has to prove his case in a civil action. In fact he may be able to prove his civil case even when

950-542: A fight; to prevent him from being arrested, she told emergency room staff that she had fallen off her bike. Brown wrote that she felt conflicted about notifying police of the abuse because she was financially dependent on Simpson. Of the 62 incidents of abuse, the police were notified eight times, and Simpson was arrested once. On February 25, 1992, Brown filed for divorce, citing " irreconcilable differences ". Brown said that Simpson stalked and harassed her after they divorced – an intimidation tactic meant to force

1045-546: A loaded .357 Magnum , a United States passport, family pictures, and a disguise kit with a fake goatee and mustache". Simpson was booked at Parker Center and taken to Men's Central Jail ; Cowlings was booked on suspicion of harboring a fugitive and held on $ 250,000 bail. The Bronco chase, the suicide note, and the items found in the Bronco were not presented as evidence in the criminal trial. Marcia Clark conceded that such evidence did imply guilt yet defended her decision, citing

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1140-498: A mental health specialist, as he was showing signs of suicidal depression – he had updated his will, called his mother and children, and written three sealed letters: one to his children, one to his mother, and one to the public. More than 1,000 reporters waited for Simpson's perp walk at the police station, but he did not arrive as stipulated. The LAPD then notified Shapiro that Simpson would be arrested at Kardashian's home. Kardashian and Shapiro told Simpson this but when

1235-403: A neighbor's Spanish-speaking housekeeper, stated on August 18 that she saw Simpson's Bronco parked outside his house at the time of the murders, supporting his claim he was home that night. During cross-examination by Clark, Lopez admitted she was not sure what time she saw Simpson's Bronco but the defense still intended to call her. However, a taped July 29 statement by Lopez did not mention seeing

1330-497: A note with a telephone number on it, and bedsheets with blood on them were all recovered from Simpson's room at the O'Hare Plaza Hotel. The manager of the hotel recalled Simpson asking for a Band-Aid for his finger at the front desk, because he had "cut it on pieces of note paper". After learning that Brown was the female victim, LAPD commander Keith Bushey ordered detectives Tom Lange, Philip Vannatter, Ron Phillips, and Mark Fuhrman to notify Simpson of her death and to escort him to

1425-559: A split screen. The chase was covered live by ABC anchors Peter Jennings and Barbara Walters on behalf of the network's five news magazines , which achieved some of their highest-ever ratings that week. The chase was also broadcast internationally, including in France and China. Thousands of spectators and onlookers packed overpasses along the route of the chase, waiting for Simpson. In a festival-like atmosphere, many held signs urging Simpson to flee, with slogans such as "Go O.J." and "Save

1520-509: A tree and the fence. He had been stabbed multiple times in the body and neck, but there were relatively few defensive wounds on his hands, signifying a short struggle to investigators. Forensic evidence from the Los Angeles County coroner alleged that the assailant stabbed Goldman with one hand while holding him in a chokehold. Near Goldman's body were a blue knit cap; a left-hand, extra-large Aris Isotoner light leather glove; and

1615-741: Is an American psychologist who founded the Domestic Violence Institute, documented the cycle of abuse and wrote The Battered Woman, published in 1979, for which she won the Distinguished Media Award that year. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1987. Lenore Edna Walker was born in New York City on October 3, 1942. She lived and worked in Denver, Colorado , where she

1710-407: Is often characterized as the trial of the century because of its international publicity and has been described as the "most publicized" criminal trial in history. Simpson was formally charged with the murders on June 17; when he did not turn himself in at the agreed time, he became the subject of a police pursuit. TV stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast live coverage of

1805-532: The FBI 's mobile phone tracking had located Simpson at the El Toro Y . More than nine news helicopters eventually joined the pursuit; Tur compared the fleet to Apocalypse Now , and the high degree of media participation caused camera signals to appear on incorrect television channels . The chase was so long that one helicopter ran out of fuel, forcing its station to ask another for a camera feed. Knowing that Cowlings

1900-524: The Los Angeles County Jail . A jailhouse guard, Jeff Stuart, testified to Judge Ito that at one point Simpson yelled to Grier that he "didn't mean to do it", after which Grier had urged Simpson to come clean. Ito ruled that the evidence was inadmissible as being protected because of clergy-penitent privilege. At first, Simpson's defense sought to show that one or more hitmen hired by drug dealers had murdered Brown and Goldman – giving Brown

1995-736: The Los Angeles highway system for Al Cowlings 's automobile, a white 1993 Ford Bronco. At 5:51 pm, Simpson reportedly called 9-1-1; the call was traced to the Santa Ana Freeway , near Lake Forest . At around 6:20 pm, a motorist in Orange County notified California Highway Patrol after seeing someone believed to be Simpson in a Bronco on the I-5 freeway heading north. The police tracked calls placed by Simpson on his cell phone. At 6:45 pm, police officer Ruth Dixon saw

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2090-508: The New York Post 's Cindy Adams reported that the pair had gone to a local Burger King , where a prominent drug dealer known only as "J. R." later said he had sold them crystal meth . Brown's neighbors testified that they heard profuse barking coming from outside throughout the night, beginning around 10:15 pm. Around 10:55 pm., a dogwalker who lived a few blocks away from Brown came across Brown's Akita dog barking in

2185-447: The "silent kill" technique of slashing the throat. SEALs also regularly wear knit "watch caps" like the one found at the scene. On the evening of June 12, 1994, Brown and Simpson both attended their daughter Sydney's dance recital at Paul Revere Middle School. Afterward, Brown and her family went to eat at Mezzaluna restaurant. One of the waiters at the restaurant was Ron Goldman, who had become close friends with Brown in recent weeks, but

2280-457: The Bronco but did mention another housekeeper was also there that night, Sylvia Guerra. Prosecutors then spoke with Guerra, who said Lopez was lying and claimed the defense offered both housekeepers $ 5,000 to say they saw the Bronco that night. When Ito warned the defense that Guerra's claim as well as the earlier statement not mentioning the Bronco and the tape where Clark claims "that [Lopez] is clearly being coached on what to say" would be shown to

2375-425: The Bronco heading north on Interstate 405 ; when she caught up to it, Cowlings yelled out that Simpson was in the back seat of the vehicle and was pointing a gun at his own head. The officer backed off, but followed the vehicle at 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), with up to 20 police cars following her in the chase. Bob Tur of KCBS-TV was the first to find Simpson from a news helicopter, after colleagues heard that

2470-571: The Goldman family. The letter concluded, "Don't feel sorry for me. I have had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O. J. and not this lost person". Most interpreted this as a suicide note ; Simpson's mother collapsed after hearing it, and reporters joined the search for Simpson. At Kardashian's press conference, Shapiro said that he and Simpson's psychiatrists agreed with the suicide note interpretation. Through television, Shapiro appealed to Simpson to surrender. News helicopters searched

2565-612: The Juice". Encouraging Simpson's actions outraged Jim Hill , who was among those broadcasting pleas to their friend to surrender. As people watched and wondered what would happen to Simpson, one author wrote, "the shared adventure gave millions of viewers a vested interest, a sense of participation, a feeling of being on the inside of a national drama in the making". Simpson reportedly demanded that he be allowed to speak to his mother before he would surrender. The chase ended at 8:00 pm at his Brentwood estate, where his son, Jason, ran out of

2660-567: The case instead of working at $ 40 billion. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno aired many skits on the trial, and the Dancing Itos – a troupe of dancers dressed as the judge – was a popular recurring segment. According to Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post , the acquittal was "the most dramatic courtroom verdict in the history of Western civilization". Participants in the case received much media coverage. Limo driver Park said

2755-409: The case such as Clark, Fuhrman and Kaelin, was influenced to some degree by the media presence and related publicity. The trial was covered in 2,237 news segments from 1994 through 1997. Ito was also criticized for allowing the trial to become a media circus and not doing enough to regulate the court proceedings. Among the reporters who covered the trial daily from the courtroom, and a media-area that

2850-427: The center of her upper back with a corresponding foot print on her clothing indicated to investigators that, after killing Goldman, the assailant returned to Brown who was on the ground, pulled her head back by the hair and slit her throat. Her larynx could be seen through the gaping wound in her neck, and vertebra C3 was incised; Brown's head barely remained attached to her body. Goldman's body lay nearby, close to

2945-540: The chase peacefully. NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas , who had worked with Simpson on the network's NFL studio show , said that during the chase that Simpson had called 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City asking to speak to Costas, but Costas was several blocks away at Madison Square Garden covering Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals . Los Angeles streets emptied and drink orders stopped at bars as people watched on television. Every television network showed

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3040-436: The chase; ABC , NBC , CBS , CNN , and local news outlets interrupted regularly scheduled programming to cover the incident, watched by an estimated 95 million viewers nationwide; only 90 million had watched that year's Super Bowl . While NBC continued to air NBA Finals coverage, Bob Costas acted as a go-between for Marv Albert , who was calling the game, and Tom Brokaw , who reported on the chase. Both events were carried in

3135-450: The country pleaded with Simpson over radio to surrender. At Parker Center, officials discussed how to persuade Simpson to surrender peacefully. Lange, who had interviewed Simpson about the murders on June 13, realized he had Simpson's cell phone number and called him repeatedly. A colleague hooked a tape recorder up to Lange's phone and captured a conversation between Lange and Simpson, in which Lange repeatedly pleaded with Simpson to "throw

3230-426: The courtroom. On June 27, 1994, Time published a cover story, "An American Tragedy", with a photo of Simpson on the cover. Time ' s cover image was darker than a typical magazine cover and darker than the original photo, as shown on a Newsweek cover released at the same time. Time consequently became the subject of a media scandal. Commentators found that its staff had used photo manipulation to darken

3325-476: The crime scene and was released. On June 14, Simpson hired lawyer Robert Shapiro , who began assembling Simpson's team of lawyers (referred to as the "Dream Team" ). Shapiro noted that an increasingly distraught Simpson had begun treatment for depression. The following days, preliminary results from DNA testing came back with matches to Simpson but the District Attorney delayed filing charges until all

3420-660: The crimes took place. The Los Angeles Superior Court then decided to hold the trial in Downtown Los Angeles instead of Santa Monica due to safety issues at the Santa Monica Court house owing to the 1994 Northridge earthquake . The decision may have impacted the trial's outcome as it resulted in a jury pool that mainly consisted of African Americans. Richard Gabriel, a jury consultant noted that African Americans were far more likely than other minorities to be receptive to claims of racially motivated fraud by

3515-409: The curb outside the estate, but no car was parked outside. The prosecution presented exhibits showing the position next to the house number on the curb in which Simpson's Ford Bronco was found the next morning, implying that Park would surely have noticed the Bronco if it had been there when he arrived to pick up Simpson. Around the time Park saw the "shadowy figure" arrive at Simpson's home , Kaelin

3610-590: The defense prove that they are innocent, and any doubt is resolved in favor of the defendant. This provision, known as the presumption of innocence , is required, for example, in the 46 countries that are members of the Council of Europe , under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights , and it is included in other human rights documents. However, in practice, it operates somewhat differently in different countries. Such basic rights also include

3705-417: The dog stopped outside Brown's home and the couple saw Brown's body lying outside the house. Police were called to the scene and found Goldman's body near Brown's. The front door to Brown's condominium was open when the bodies were found, but there were no signs that anyone had entered the building, by breaking in or otherwise. Brown's body was lying face down and barefoot at the bottom of the stairs leading to

3800-478: The door. The walkway leading to the stairs was covered in blood, but the soles of Brown's feet were clean; based on this evidence, investigators concluded that she was the first person to be attacked and the intended target. She had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck, but there were few defensive wounds on her hands, implying a short struggle to investigators. The final wound inflicted ran deep into her neck, severing her carotid artery . A large bruise in

3895-482: The driver is found not guilty in the criminal trial. If the accused has given evidence on his trial he may be cross-examined on those statements in a subsequent civil action regardless of the criminal verdict. Once the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable, the main argument in a civil court is about the amount of money , or damages , which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff. Proponents of either system tend to consider that their system defends best

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3990-415: The envelope containing the glasses that he was returning. Detectives determined that Goldman came to Brown's house during her murder and that the assailant killed him to remove any witnesses. A trail of the assailant's bloody shoe prints ran through the back gate. To the left of some of the prints were drops of blood from the killer, who was apparently bleeding from the left hand. Measuring the distance between

4085-648: The federal government; if brought by a state, the case would typically be called State v. Sanchez or People v. Sanchez. In the United Kingdom, the criminal case would be styled R. (short for Rex or Regina, that is, the King or Queen ) v. Sanchez. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, a civil action between Ms. Sanchez and a Mr. Smith would be Sanchez v. Smith if started by Sanchez and Smith v. Sanchez if begun by Smith. Evidence given at

4180-415: The final jury for the trial had ten women and two men, of whom nine were black, two white, and one Hispanic. Criminal procedure Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the prosecution to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, as opposed to having

4275-527: The final panel. According to media reports, Clark believed women, regardless of race, would sympathize with the domestic violence aspect of the case and connect with Brown personally. On the other hand, the defense's research suggested that black women would not be sympathetic to Brown, who was white, because of tensions about interracial marriages. Both sides accepted a disproportionate number of female jurors. From an original jury pool of 40 percent white, 28 percent black, 17 percent Hispanic, and 15 percent Asian,

4370-399: The front of the property, where he saw the limousine parked outside. Kaelin let the limousine in, and Simpson finally came out through the front door a few minutes later, claiming he had overslept. Both Park and Kaelin would later testify that Simpson seemed agitated that night. Park noted that on the way to the airport, Simpson complained about how hot it was, and was sweating and rolled down

4465-608: The genre of court shows like Judge Judy . The Los Angeles Times covered the case on its front page for more than 300 days after the murders. The nightly news broadcasts from the Big Three television networks gave more air time to the case than to the Bosnian War and the Oklahoma City bombing combined. They served an enthusiastic audience; one company put the loss of national productivity from employees following

4560-481: The gun out [of] the window" for the sake of his mother and children. Simpson apologized for not turning himself in earlier that day, and responded he was "the only one who deserved to get hurt" and was "just gonna go with Nicole". Simpson asked Lange to "just let me get to the house" and said "I need [the gun] for me". Cowlings's voice is overheard in the recording (after the Bronco had arrived at Simpson's home surrounded by police) pleading with Simpson to surrender and end

4655-400: The house, and 27 SWAT officers awaited. After remaining in the Bronco for about 45 minutes, Simpson exited at 8:50 pm and went inside for about an hour; a police spokesman stated that during this time Simpson talked to his mother on the phone. Shapiro then arrived, and Simpson surrendered to authorities a few minutes later. In the Bronco, police found "$ 8,000 in cash, a change of clothing,

4750-467: The jury if Lopez testified, they dropped her from the witness list. When the trial began, all of the networks were getting these hate-mail letters because people's soap operas were being interrupted for the Simpson trial. But then what happened was the people who liked soap operas got addicted to the Simpson trial. And they got really upset when the Simpson trial was over, and people would come up to me on

4845-455: The jury unanimously found Simpson responsible for the deaths of Goldman and Brown. The Goldman family was awarded damages totaling $ 34 million ($ 64 million adjusted for inflation), but as of 2024 have received a small portion of that. Brown met Simpson in 1977 when he was 30 and she was 18, working as a waitress at the Daisy (a Beverly Hills private club). They began dating although Simpson

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4940-483: The killer was bleeding from, and asked Simpson how he got the cut. At first, Simpson claimed he cut his finger accidentally while in Chicago after learning of Brown's death. Lange then informed Simpson that blood was found inside his car; at this point, Simpson admitted that he had cut his finger on June 12, but said he did not remember how. He voluntarily gave some of his own blood for comparison with evidence collected at

5035-563: The letter, Simpson sent greetings to 24 friends and wrote, "First everyone understand I had nothing to do with Nicole's murder". He described the fights with Brown and their decision not to reconcile their relationship, and asked the media "as a last wish" not to bother his children. He wrote to his former girlfriend Paula Barbieri, who had broken up with him hours before the double murder, "I'm sorry   ... we're not going to have, our chance   ... [ sic ] As I leave, you'll be in my thoughts". It also included "I can't go on" and an apology to

5130-549: The media offered him $ 100,000 but refused, as he would be removed as a witness. Fans approached Clark in public, and when she got a new hairstyle during the trial, the prosecutor received a standing ovation on the courthouse steps; People approved of the change, but advised her to wear "more fitted suits and tailored skirts". While Cochran, Bailey, and Dershowitz were already well-known, others like Kaelin became celebrities, and Paula Barbieri appeared in Playboy . Those involved in

5225-544: The party bringing a criminal action (that is, in most cases, the state) is called the prosecution , but the party bringing a civil action is the plaintiff . In a civil action the other party is known as the defendant . In a criminal case, the private party may be known as the defendant or the accused . A criminal case in the United States against a person named Ms. Sanchez would be entitled United States v. (short for versus , or against) Sanchez if initiated by

5320-494: The photo, and they speculated it was to make Simpson appear more menacing. After the publication of the photo drew widespread criticism of racist editorializing and yellow journalism , Time publicly apologized. Charles Ogletree , a criminal defense attorney and law professor, said in a 2005 interview that the best investigative reporting regarding the murder and trial was by the National Enquirer . Simpson wanted

5415-407: The police and were less likely to be familiar with and thus accept DNA evidence . In October 1994, Judge Lance Ito started interviewing 304 prospective jurors, each of whom had to fill out a 75-page questionnaire. On November 3, twelve jurors were seated with twelve alternates. Over the course of the trial, ten were dismissed for a wide variety of reasons. Only four of the original jurors remained on

5510-414: The police arrived an hour later, Simpson and Al Cowlings had disappeared. The three sealed letters Simpson had written were left behind. At 1:50 pm, Commander Dave Gascon, LAPD's chief spokesman, publicly declared Simpson a fugitive; the police issued an all-points bulletin for him and an arrest warrant for Cowlings. At 5 pm, Kardashian and one of his defense lawyers read Simpson's public letter. In

5605-514: The police station to pick up the former couple's children, who were asleep in Brown's condominium at the time of the murders. The detectives buzzed the intercom at Simpson's estate for over 30 minutes but received no response. They noted that Simpson's car was parked at an awkward angle, with its back end out more than the front, and that there was blood on the door, which they feared meant someone inside might be hurt. Vannatter instructed Fuhrman to scale

5700-595: 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 glove found next to the body of Goldman. This evidence along with the presence of blood in the driveway of the Rockingham estate and on Simpson's vehicle constituted probable cause and a search warrant for the location was applied for and granted. Phillips testified that when he called Simpson in Chicago to tell him of Brown's murder, Simpson sounded "very upset" but

5795-400: The prints indicated that the assailant walked – rather than ran – away from the scene. On the night of June 12, Simpson was scheduled to board a red-eye flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Chicago, where he was due to play golf the following day at a convention with representatives of The Hertz Corporation , for whom he was a spokesman. The flight

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5890-453: The prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal "beyond reasonable doubt", while the plaintiff in a civil action is required to prove his case "on the balance of probabilities". "Beyond reasonable doubt" is not defined for the jury which decides the verdict, but it has been said by appeal courts that proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt requires the prosecution to exclude any reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence: Plomp v. R . In

5985-469: The prosecution, to the point that he had once been arrested and pleaded no contest for spousal abuse, Walker's colleagues accused her of betraying her advocacy for financial gain. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence wrote of Walker's assessment of Simpson, "[it] is absolutely the opposite of the assessment of most battered women's advocates in this country." During the subsequent civil trial, Walker testified against him instead and testified for

6080-427: The public reaction to the chase and suicide note as proof the trial had been compromised by Simpson's celebrity status. Most of the public, including Simpson's friend Al Michaels , interpreted his actions as an admission of guilt yet thousands of spectators were seen expressing sympathy for Simpson and encouraging him to flee from the police. On June 20, Simpson was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to both murders and

6175-463: The pursuit, which was watched by around 95 million people. The pursuit and Simpson's arrest were among the most widely publicized events in history. Simpson was represented by a high-profile defense team, referred to as the " Dream Team ", initially led by Robert Shapiro and subsequently directed by Johnnie Cochran . The team included F. Lee Bailey , Alan Dershowitz , Robert Kardashian , Shawn Holley , Carl E. Douglas , and Gerald Uelmen . Simpson

6270-439: The restaurant at the end of his shift at 9:50 pm; he intended to drop them off at Brown's place. Meanwhile, Simpson ate takeout food from McDonald's with Kato Kaelin , a bit-part actor and family friend who had been given the use of a guest house on Simpson's estate. Rumors circulated that Simpson had been on drugs at the time of the murder (later dismissed as blood tests were negative for Simpson, Brown, and Goldman), and

6365-502: The results had come back. Simpson spent the night between June 16 and 17 at the San Fernando Valley home of friend Robert Kardashian ; Shapiro asked several doctors to attend to Simpson's purported fragile mental state. On June 17, detectives recommended that Simpson be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstance of multiple killings after the final DNA results came back and an arrest warrant

6460-428: The right for the defendant to know what offence he or she has been arrested for or is being charged with, and the right to appear before a judicial official within a certain time of being arrested. Many jurisdictions also allow the defendant the right to legal counsel and provide any defendant who cannot afford their own lawyer with a lawyer paid for at the public expense. Countries using the common law tend to make

6555-505: The rights of the innocent. There is a tendency in common law countries to believe that civil law / inquisitorial systems do not have the so-called " presumption of innocence ", and do not provide the defence with adequate rights. Conversely, there is a tendency in countries with an inquisitorial system to believe that accusatorial proceedings unduly favour rich defendants who can afford large legal teams, and therefore disfavour poorer defendants. Lenore E. Walker Lenore Edna Walker

6650-418: The street and say, 'God, I loved your show.' The murders and trial – "the biggest story I have ever seen", said a producer of NBC's Today – received extensive media coverage from the very beginning; at least one instant book was proposed two hours after the bodies were found, and scheduled to publish only a few weeks later. The case was a seminal event in the history of reality television, helping to revive

6745-474: The street outside her home. The Akita, whose legs were covered in blood, followed the man home; he tried to walk the dog back to where he found it, but the dog resisted. Later, he left the Akita with a neighboring couple who offered to keep the dog overnight; as the dog was agitated, the couple decided to walk it back to where it had been found. Around midnight, as they reached the area where the Akita had been found,

6840-422: The trial claimed he saw Simpson at the airport discarding items from a bag into a trash can. Detectives Tom Lange and Philip Vannatter believe this is how the murder weapon, shoes and clothes that Simpson wore during the murder were disposed. Simpson was running late but caught his flight. A passenger on the plane and the pilot testified that they did not notice any cuts or wounds on Simpson's hands. A broken glass,

6935-532: The trial followed their own media coverage. Interest in the case was worldwide; Russian president Boris Yeltsin 's first question to President Clinton when they met in 1995 was, "Do you think O.J. did it?" The issue of whether to allow any video cameras into the courtroom was among the first issues Judge Ito had to decide, ultimately ruling that live camera coverage was warranted. Ito was later criticized for this decision by other legal professionals. Dershowitz said that he believed that Ito, along with others related to

7030-410: The use of a knife, and in one scene, he held a knife to the throat of a woman playing his daughter. Investigators discovered a 25-minute tape of the pilot, which did not feature the knife scene, and viewed it on Simpson's television while searching his home. The defense attempted to prevent its use on these grounds, but Judge Ito permitted it to be shown. "Bullfrog" Burke was skilled at night killings, and

7125-404: The victim to return to the abuser. She said he had spied on her having sex with her new boyfriend and that she felt her life was in danger because Simpson had threatened to kill her if he ever found her with another man. She drafted a will . On June 8, 1994, a woman named Nicole (presumed to be Brown) telephoned Sojourn House, a women's shelter. She was considering staying at the shelter because she

7220-407: The wall and unlock the gate to allow the other three detectives to enter. The detectives would argue they entered without a search warrant because of exigent circumstances – specifically out of fear that someone inside might be injured. Fuhrman briefly interviewed Kaelin, who told the detective that the car belonged to Simpson and that earlier that night he had heard thumps on his wall. In a walk around

7315-452: The window, despite it not being a warm night. Park also testified that he loaded four luggage bags into the car that night, one of them being a knapsack that Simpson would not let him touch, insisting he load it himself. A porter at the airport testified that Simpson checked only three bags that night, and the police determined that the missing luggage was the same knapsack the limousine driver had mentioned earlier. Another witness not heard at

7410-487: Was a licensed psychologist, was a leader in the field of domestic violence , and was president and chief executive officer of Walker & Associates. To research family violence, Walker founded the Domestic Violence Institute. She has testified as an expert witness in trials involving domestic abuse and had developed domestic violence training programs and drafted legislative reform. Walker interviewed 1,500 women who had been subject to domestic violence and found that there

7505-435: Was a racially motivated jury nullification by the mostly African-American jury. Polling in later years showed the gap had narrowed since the trial; more than half of polled Black respondents expressed the belief that Simpson was guilty. In 2017, three jurors who acquitted Simpson said they would still vote to acquit, while one said he would convict. After the trial, Goldman's father filed a civil suit against Simpson. In 1997,

7600-418: Was a similar pattern of abuse, called the " cycle of abuse ". She wrote the book The Battered Woman for which she won the Distinguished Media Award the same year. In 1995, Walker offered to testify for O. J. Simpson during his trial for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson , and her friend, Ron Goldman . Since evidence of Simpson physically abusing Brown in the past had already been shown by

7695-409: Was afraid of what Simpson might do to her, as she was refusing his pleas to reconcile their marriage. A few months before the killings, Simpson finished filming a pilot for Frogmen , an adventure series comparable to The A-Team . Simpson played the primary character, "Bullfrog" Burke, who led a gang of former US Navy SEALs . He underwent "a fair amount of" military training for Frogmen, including

7790-507: Was also instrumental in his own defense. While Deputy District Attorneys Marcia Clark , William Hodgman , and Christopher Darden believed they had a strong case, the defense team persuaded the jury there was reasonable doubt concerning the DNA evidence. They contended the blood sample had been mishandled by lab scientists and that the case had been tainted by LAPD misconduct related to racism and incompetence. The use of DNA evidence in trials

7885-407: Was dark, and nobody appeared to be home as he smoked a cigarette and made several calls to his boss to get Simpson's home phone number. He testified that he saw a "shadowy African-American figure", the same size as Simpson, enter the front door from where the driveway starts, before the lights came on; he did not see what direction the figure came from. He testified that he saw Simpson's house number on

7980-752: Was dubbed "Camp O. J.", were Steve Futterman of CBS News , Linda Deutsch and Michael Fleeman of the Associated Press , Dan Whitcomb of Reuters , Janet Gilmore of the Los Angeles Daily News , Andrea Ford of the Los Angeles Times , Michelle Caruso of the New York Daily News , Dan Abrams of Court TV , Harvey Levin of KCBS, and David Margolick of The New York Times . Writers Dominick Dunne , Joe McGinniss , and Joseph Bosco also had full-time seats in

8075-400: Was due to leave at 11:45 pm. Limousine driver Allan Park arrived early at Simpson's Rockingham estate to pick him up at around 10:25 pm. Park drove around the estate to make sure he could navigate the area with the stretch limousine properly and to see which driveway would have the best access for the car. He began to buzz the intercom at 10:40, but got no response. He noted the house

8170-409: Was having a telephone conversation with a friend. At approximately 10:40, something crashed into the wall of the guest house Kaelin was staying in, which he described as three "thumps" and which he feared was an earthquake. Kaelin hung up the phone and ventured outside to investigate the noises, but did not go directly down the dark south pathway from which the thumps had originated. Instead, he walked to

8265-426: Was held without bail. The following day, a grand jury was called to determine whether to indict him for the two murders but was dismissed on June 23, as a result of excessive media coverage that could have influenced its neutrality. Instead, authorities held a probable cause hearing to determine whether to bring Simpson to trial. California Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell ruled on July 7   that there

8360-536: Was implicated by a significant amount of forensic evidence , he was acquitted of both murders on October 3. Commentators agree that to convince the jury to acquit Simpson, the defense capitalized on anger among the city's African-American community toward the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which had a history of racial bias and had inflamed racial tensions in the beating of Rodney King and subsequent riots two years prior. The trial

8455-430: Was listening to KNX-AM , sports announcer Pete Arbogast called Simpson's former USC football coach John McKay and connected him to Simpson. As both men wept, Simpson told McKay, "OK, Coach, I won't do anything stupid. I promise" off the air. "There is no doubt in my mind that McKay stopped O.J. from killing himself in the back of that Bronco", Arbogast said. McKay, Walter Payton , Vince Evans , and others from around

8550-714: Was married; he filed for divorce from his first wife in March 1979. Simpson and Brown married on February 2, 1985. They had two children together, daughter Sydney (b. 1985) and son Justin (b. 1988). Brown signed a prenuptial agreement that prohibited her from working while married. According to psychologist Lenore E. Walker , the Simpson–Brown marriage was a "textbook example of domestic abuse ". In letters and other documents, Brown wrote that Simpson had beaten her in public, during sex, and even in front of family and friends. She described an incident in which Simpson broke her arm during

8645-405: Was not assigned to the Brown family's table. Brown and her children went to Ben & Jerry's before returning to her condominium on Bundy Drive , Brentwood . The manager of Mezzaluna recounted that Brown's mother telephoned the restaurant at 9:37 pm asking about a pair of lost eyeglasses. The manager found the glasses and put them in a white envelope, which Goldman took with him as he left

8740-414: Was oddly unconcerned about the circumstances of her death. Simpson only asked if the children had seen the murder or Brown's body, but was not concerned about whether the assailant(s) had harmed the children either. The police contacted Simpson at his home on June 13 and took him to Parker Center for questioning. Lange noticed that Simpson had a cut on a finger on his left hand that was consistent with where

8835-432: Was relatively new, and many laypersons did not understand how to evaluate it. The trial was considered significant for the wide division in reaction to the verdict . Observers' opinions of the verdict were largely related to their ethnicity; the media dubbed this the "racial gap". A poll of Los Angeles County residents showed most African Americans thought the "not guilty" verdict was justified while most whites thought it

8930-527: Was subsequently issued. The LAPD notified Shapiro at 8:30 am that Simpson would have to turn himself in that day. At 9:30 am, Shapiro went to Kardashian's home to tell Simpson that he would have to turn himself in by 11:00 am, an hour after the murder charges were filed. Simpson told Shapiro that he wanted to turn himself in, to which the police agreed, believing that someone as famous as Simpson would not attempt to flee. The police agreed to delay Simpson's surrender until noon to allow him to be seen by

9025-403: Was sufficient evidence to bring Simpson to trial for the murders. At his second arraignment on July 22, when asked how he pleaded to the murders, Simpson firmly stated: "Absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty." Jill Shively testified to the grand jury that soon after the time of the murders she saw a white Ford Bronco speeding away from Bundy Drive in such a hurry that it almost collided with

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