OJ SimpsonPeriod 3 Forensics

Background Information

Jury Selection• While picking a jury racial composition was strongly

enforced• The prosecution filed the murder case in downtown LA,

instead of Santa Monica where the crimes occurred• This was a race issue, had the crime been filed in Santa

Monica, OJ’s jury would’ve been mostly white• Poll data showed that white people were more likely to find

Simpson guilty when compared to African Americans• Jury selection lasted two months

Jury Selection• On Sempter 24th, 1994 jury selection began• 250 potential jurors, Judge Ito, Simpson and both the defense

and prosecutor were present• The potential jurors had to fill out a 79-page, 294 question

questionnaire• Questions were composed by both the defense and prosecution

• Jury selection lasted two months• Judge Ito began eliminating people based on their exposure to

the media• One person was eliminated for watching cartoons with her child,

another was eliminated because they woke up to a clock radio

Jury Selection • The release of Faye Resnick’s book on Nicole Simpson

and OJ’s relationship caused controversy and halted the juror selection• A week later the judge dealt with another controversy,

prosecutor Marcia Clark accused the jury of lying on their applications in order to be on the case• She asked for the entire jury to be dismissed, Judge Ito refused

• By November 3rd, an initial jury was chosen• It was composed of eight blacks, two Hispanics, 1 half-

Caucasian half Native America, and one Caucasian female• Fifteen alternate jurors were chosen over the next few weeks

Final Jury Composition

C C HS HS HS HS HS HS HS HS HS ND

9 Blacks, 1 Hispanic, 2 Whites

10 Women, 2 Men

2 With College Degrees, 9 With High School Diplomas, 1 With No Diploma

Fun Facts About The Jury• None of the jurors regularly read the newspaper, but

eight of them regularly watched tabloid television shows• Five thought that using force on a family member was

sometimes acceptable• All twelve were Democrats• Five reported that they or a family member had

experienced a negative interaction with police• Nine thought OJ Simspon was less likely to be a

murderer, because he was a professional athlete

Key Players• OJ Simpsom

• Defendant• Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman

• Victims• Mark Fuhrmam, Philip Vanatter and Dennis Fung

• Investigators• Rosa Lopez, Brian Kaelin, and Allan Park

• Witnesses• Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden

• Prosecutors• Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Kardashian, Barry Scheck, and

Johnnie Cochran• Defense “The Dream Team”

• Lance Ito• Judge

OJ Simpson• Orenthal James Simpson, mostly known by the name O.J. Simpson• Football Career

• One of the most famous running backs in football history• Gained fame as a running back for the USC Trojans• He set NCAA records, and won the Heisman trophy

• Previous marriages• Marguerite L Whitley, together they had three children, one of whom died before her

second birthday, this is speculated to be the cause of their divorce• Marriage to Nicole Brown

• Married six years after divorce with Marguerite Whitley, together they had two children

• In 1989 OJ pleaded “no contest” against a domestic violence charge, at the time he was separated from Brown, he was paying child support

• They divorced in 1992

Nicole Brown-Simpson• Marriage to OJ• Brown-Simspon met OJ Simpson while she was 18 and he was 30• They had their first child seven months after they were married

• Divorce• They divorced in 1992, earning her a $433,000 cash settlement, and

$10,000 per month for child support• Alleged abuse• Brown-Simpson often complained to others of being beaten by

Simpson, citing that he did not like her flirtatious relations with other men

• Simpson denied the abuse, claiming that the injuries resulted from “friendly wrassling”

Ronald Simpson • He was a “young and energetic” man• Lived in Southern California• Employed as a waiter at a restaurant, he occasionally

modelled• Soon after he became close friends with Nicole Brown-

Simpson, though he regularly cited that the two were only friends• The prosecution claimed that his death came as an

accident, as he went to return Brown-Simpson’s glasses that she left at the restaurant he was murdered by the “assailant”

The Crime

The Murder• June 13th, 1994, at 12:10am• Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman found

murdered outside of Nicole Brown’s condo in Los Angeles• O.J. Simspon and Nicole Brown had already been

divorced for two years• Brown was found staved multiple times in the head and

neck, she had defensive wounds on her hands• Goldman was found in a similar situation stabbed and

slashed• The bodies were found a few feet from each other

Accusations• O.J. Simpson had previously been charged with

domestic abuse to which he pleaded “no contest” to• This made him a prime suspect in the murder of his ex-

wife• He was often jealous of her “flirtatious” relationships

with other men, he was angry about her [platonic] relationship with Ronald Goldman• Another reason O.J. Simpson fit the profile for the

murderer

Charges• Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in the

death of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman• His lawyers convinced the LAPD to allow Simpson to

turn himself in, at 11am on June 17th

• The double murder charge meant that he could not be released on bail and he could possibly face the death penalty• Over 1,000 reporters waited at the police station,

though Simpson never showed up• An “all points bulletin” was issued at 2pm that day

“Suicide” Letter• At 5pm on June 17th, Robert Kardashian, one of O.J.’s

close friends and lawyer read a letter from Simpson to the media

“First everyone understand I had nothing to do with Nicole’s murder… Don’t feel sorry for me. I’ve had a great life.”

• This was interpreted as a suicide note, and thus the search for Simpson began in full force• Around 6:20pm a motorist spotted Simpson in his white

Bronco, with his friend Al Cowlings, the man notified the police immediately

Evidence

Gloves• Glove found at the scene• Another glove matching

the one found at the scene was found behind O.J.’s guest house• Strand of blonde hair was

found on the glove at O.J.’s house

Bloody Shoe Prints• Man’s size 12 shoe (matching O.J.’s foot size)

• Only 9% of American men wear size 12 • Shoe size indicates that the person is between 6’0”

and 6’4”• O.J. Simpson is 6’2”

• Exclusive brand of men’s shoes • Lorenzo by Bruno Magli• Rare and expensive• Only 29 pairs sold in the US• 2 of the 29 were sold at a store were O.J. frequently shopped

• Denied ever owning a pair• In 1993, O.J. was photographed wearing the shoes

• Bloody socks• blood found on a pair of Simpson's socks found in his bedroom identified it

as Nicole Brown's • Hair

• a few strands of African American hair were found on Goldman's shirt• Coins:

• several coins were found along with fresh blood drops behind Nicole's condo

• Inside OJ’s car• Drop of blood found on the outside door handle of his

Ford Bronco• Blood found on inside door, steering wheel, console,

and carpeting• The blood had a combination of the genetic markings

of Simpson and the victims• Car Chase

• White Ford Bronco• That day was the day he was supposedly going to

confess to the murder of Brown and Goldman, but he never showed

• Police traced call to find him• Al Cowlings (a former teammate) was the driver of the

white Ford Bronco, while OJ Simpson was the passenger. Cowlings stated that Simpson put a gun to his own head and demanded that he take him home or that he would kill himself.• OJ was in the back seat threatening to kill himself. • They went 35 mph and about 20 police cars and 20

helicopters were involved• Chase ended in Simpson's driveway

Found In The House• After they arrived at the house, it was promptly

searched, they found:• $8,000 cash• Change of clothes• Loaded gun• Passport• Family pictures• Fake goatee and a mustache

• None of it was used in court as evidence

Witnesses

Witnesses• Rosa Lopez

• She was walking her employer’s dog and she saw Simpson’s car outside of his house around the time of the murders

• She later testified to this in court• Brian “Kato” Kaelin

• Lived in Simpson’s guest house• He could not account for Simpson's whereabouts between 9:36 pm and 11:00 pm on the evening

the murders took place• Testified to Simpson’s whereabouts the night of the murder, though his ‘flakiness’ caused Marcia

Clark to treat him as a ‘hostile witness’• Allan Park

• Limousine driver, sent to take Simpson to the airport for a flight to Chicago• Claims he was supposed to pick up O.J. at 10:45 and O.J. came out at 11:05 after knocking on the

door for 15 minutes with no answer• Before OJ came out he saw a ‘dark’ figure walk across the yard in a dark suit and go into the house

at 10:55 • Was seen as one of the most significant witnesses in the case

Mark Fuhrman• Los Angeles homicide detective• Responsible for the discovery of the bloody glove on

O.J.’s property• Once took Simpson to jail on the charges of domestic

abuse, resulting in Simpson pleading “no contest”• Was often viewed as having a consistently negative

attitude towards African-Americans• Often used the word nigger derogatorily and bragged

about torturing gang members he had arrested• After the trial he denied ever having been a racist

Philip Vannatter• Senior Los Angeles robbery-homicide detective• One of the first detectives to arrive on the scene, he

arrived at 4:05am• It was his decision to contact Simpson about his

whereabouts• It was when they visited his mansion, they noticed the

blood on his car• Their initial entrance into Simpson’s house was

warrantless, however they justified it by claiming they believed that Simpson might have also been injured

Dennis Fung• Los Angeles criminologist • Was responsible for DNA evidence because it was becoming more

significant during the trial• He spent a total of nine days testifying• Testified as to how the evidence (blood and other DNA) was collected at

the crime scene• Admitted to having missed blood at the scene, but that he returned weeks

later to collect it• Was repeatedly asked about contamination of evidence during the cross-ex• Did not use rubber gloves when collecting samples• Defense later accused him of being involved in the scheme to frame

Simpson

Other Witnesses• Fredric Rieders: forensic toxicologist, director of National

Medical Services in Philadelphia and expert in the blood preservative EDTA• Herbert MacDonell: blood spatter expert, said blood on

the ankle of one sock from the bedroom was applied through "direct compression," • John Gerdes: testing expert, said Los Angeles police

crime lab was so badly contaminated it was "by far" the worst lab he'd seen• Gilbert Aguilar: police fingerprint expert, determined the

day after the killings that none of 17 prints lifted from the scene were from O.J. He said nine unmatched prints could be from anyone.

Blood And DNA

Crime Scene Blood• Drops found alongside the bloody shoe prints, the shoe

prints were leading away from Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman• Blood was found on a gate at the back of the condo• Samples of blood found at both locations contained

markers consistent with O.J. Simpsons’ • A cut on O.J.’s left middle finger was seen when he was

interviewed by police the following day

Bloody Shoe Prints

• Bloody shoes were a size 12• O.J. wears a size 12• Bruno Magli, • Relatively rare and expensive brand

up shoes

Hair And Fibers• Hairs found in a dark cap were similar to

Simpson’s hair• Fibers on the cap were similar to the ones in

Simpson’s car• Dark blue cotton fibers were found on

Goldman’s body

Bloody Socks• A pair of dark, and crumpled socks were found at the

foot of Simpsons’ bed• The socks contained genetic markers matching Simpson

and Nicole Brown

Bloody Bronco• Blood found on the drivers’ outside door handle• Inside the car blood was found• On the console• On the door• On the steering wheel• In the carpeting

• DNA showed some of the blood was a mixture of genetic markers from Simpson and both of his victims

Bloody Gloves• One dark, cashmere-lined Aris Light leather glove, it was a size

extra large• Found at the murder scene, another was found behind Simpsons’

guest house, where Kaelin resided• Nicole Brown had bought Simpson the exact pair of gloves in 1990• DNA tests showed that blood found on the glove contained

genetic markers matching Simpson and both of the victims• In addition a long strand of blonde hair was also found on the

glove, it proved to be similar to Nicole Browns’• When O.J. was asked to try the gloves on in court, they were too

small, and did not fit

How Bloody Affected The Trial• The blood directly connected Simpson, but his lawyers

found several problems with the way it was collected• Excuses:

• Blood in the crime scene – blood was collected in a sloppy manner causing the DNA to be contaminated, this caused a false identification

• Bloody shoe print – several thousand people bought shoes similar to the ones found

• Bloody gloves – placed there by Mark Fuhrman, a notably racist detective

• Bloody socks – also planted by the police• Bloody Bronco – challenged the interpretation of the DNA

tests, claimed they were invalid because it was a mixture of two different types of blood

Second Trial

Civil Trial • Parents of Ronald Goldman: Fred Goldman and Sharon Rufo,

sued Simpson for the wrongful death, and Brown’s estate• The trial took place over four months• O.J.’s lawyer (Bob Baker) made a crucial mistake in the case

that allowed the prosecution to introduce O.J.’s failure to take a lie detector test, causing O.J. to be called to testify• This mistake also allowed a picture of Simpson wearing the

Bruno Magli shoes that he previously denied having ever owned• A jury unanimously found there was a “preponderance of

evidence” to hold Simpson liable for damages in the wrongful death of Goldman and battery of Brown

Key Players (Civil Trial)• Fred Goldman – Ronald Goldman’s father• Juditha Brown – Nicole Brown’s mother• Louis Brown – Nicole Brown’s father• O.J. Simpson – Defendant • Daniel Petrocelli – Represented the Goldman’s• Bob Baker – Represented O.J. Simpson

State Of Nevada Vs. Orenthal James Simpson• September 13th, 2007• Simpson and a group of men were at Palace Station

hotel in Las Vegas• Bruce Fromong, a dealer specializing in sports

memorabilia was robbed and help at gunpoint• September 16th, 2007, Simpson was arrested and held

without bail • Simpson admitted to taking the items that were originally

stolen from him• He denied breaking in• Denied that he or the other men were armed• Sentenced to 33 years in prison, he his eligible for parole in

nine years

The Men Involved• Walter Alexander• Had the gun, sentenced to probation

• Clarence “C.J.” Stewart• Drove the getaway car, didn’t negotiate plea deal, sentenced

to 7.5 years in prison• Charles Cashmore• Carried items out, sentenced to probation

Civil Trial Verdict• Simpson and Brown’s children (Sydney and Justin) were

awarded $12.6 million from their father, they were acting as recipient’s of their mother’s estate• The families of the victims’ were awarded $33.5 million

for compensatory and punitive damages

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BibliographyBlood on the Console [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/daily/9-29/sights_sounds/Bloody Shoes [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/evidence/shoes/index.htmlThe matching bloody gloves found at the murder scene and outside Simpson's home [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/evidence.htmlOJ Simpson Civil Trial. (n.d.). Retrieved from USA Today website: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns25.htm

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