1

English 1013
2 May 2014
The 1995 and 1997 Trials of O. J. Simpson
The 1995 criminal trial of Orenthal James Simpson, more commonly known as O.J.
Simpson, for the murders of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman has been called a
great trash novel come to life (Linder). The trial was made very public by the media and had a
high impact on the American public. Some speculate that the verdict would have been different if
the case had not been so highly publicized. However the fact remains that even now almost
twenty years after the crime, nineteen years after the criminal trial, and seventeen years after the
civil trial, you will find people discussing these trials and their verdicts.
On June 12, 1994 sometime after ten o'clock a single male entered Nicole BrownSimpsons home and brutally slaughtered both Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald
Goldman. Brown-Simpsons throat was slashed and almost severed her head from her body
(Linder). Goldman was stabbed approximately thirty times. Brown-Simpsons ex-husband O. J.
Simpson became the number one suspect and was charged with the murders (Harris, Mcguire
and Raeffer). The prosecution in the trial believed that they had solid physical evidence that
proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Simpson was guilty of premeditated murder.
Unfortunately for them, Simpson hired a Dream Team, as called by the media, which used
mechanisms such as racial profiling and police corruption to destroy the prosecutions case and
discredit every piece of information that was once presumed viable (Harris, Mcguire and
Raeffer).

On July 22, 1994, Simpson pled not guilty at his plea and arraignment (Linder). His exact
words were, "Absolutely one hundred percent not guilty, Your Honor." The months that followed
were full of discoveries, selecting a jury and a hearing deciding whether the medias cameras
would be allowed in the courtroom. The trial began on Tuesday, January 24, 1995. Reporters
arrived for what writer Dominick Dunne called "the Super Bowl of murder trials" (Linder).
The evidence collected by the police from both the crime scene and Simpsons house
were presented by the prosecution and discredited by the defense. One dark, cashmere-lined Aris
Light leather glove, size extra-large, was found at the murder scene (The Associated Press). A
supposed mate was found behind Simpson's guest house. DNA tests showed blood on glove
found on Simpson's property appeared to contain genetic markers of Simpson and both victims.
The prosecution argued that Simpson had lost the left glove at his ex-wife's home during the
struggle. They had Simpson try on the gloves in the courtroom (Linder). The gloves did not fit
him. The prosecution explained that the gloves didn't fit Simpson because the gloves had shrunk
from being soaked in blood and Simpson was wearing rubber gloves on underneath (The
Associated Press). The defense responded with acquisitions that the glove was placed by
Detective Mark Fuhrman, a racist cop trying to frame Simpson. The played the racist card many
times in the case saying that the blood may have been planted by police officers. They gloated
that theevidence gloves didn't fit and later stated "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit" (The
Associated Press). The Prosecution showed evidence of Simpsons previous violent behavior.
They were hoping to show the jury that he was capable of violence. Through 911 calls to police
and testimony, they showed history of Simpson hitting, degrading and stalking Nicole BrownSimpson. The defense stated that those cases were irrelevant and isolated events that were
poorly supported by the evidence (The Associated Press).

The jury spent only three hours deliberating the case that had produced one hundred and
fifteen witnesses, taken over one hundred and thirty-three days to try and had cost fifteen million
dollars (Linder). Americans watched at 10 a.m. PST on October 3, 1995 as the jury stated,
"Supreme Court of California, County of Los Angeles in the matter of the State of California
versus Orenthal James Simpson, case number BA 097211. We the jury, in the above-entitled
action, find the defendant, Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder"
(Jones). From the audience came the moans of Kim Goldman, Ron's sister, and the disbelieving
cry of his mother Patti Goldman. Simpson was noticeable relieved and his Dream Team were
visibly overjoyed and feeling victorious (Linder).
Simpson was soon dealing with a civil trial. The 1997 trial, held in Santa Monica, took
three months and produced the opposite result of the criminal trial. Simpson was forced to
testify and did a poor job of explaining what happened on the evening of the murders. The judge
in the civil trial, Hiroshi Fujisaki, proved he was not the same kind of judge that judged the
criminal case (Linder). He prevented the defense from introducing fanciful theories of a
conspiracy. After seventeen hours of deliberation, the jury concluded that O. J. Simpson had
wrongfully caused the death of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson (Linder). Both the
criminal court and the civil court had the same evidence but they turned out completely different
verdicts. Possible reasons for this are that the criminal case was tried by a predominantly black
jury, and a conviction required a finding that was beyond any reasonable doubt (Ayres Jr.). The
civil case was tried before a predominantly white jury, and a verdict required only 9 of 12 votes,
stating that in all probability Mr. Simpson committed the murders. In the criminal case, most of
the defenses case was allegations that police investigators were racist but in the civil case, the

jury heard little about racism because the court ruled that such allegations were inflammatory
and speculative (Ayres Jr.).

Works Cited
Ayres Jr., B. Drummond. "Jury Decides Simpson Must Pay $25 Million in Punitive
Award." 11 February 1997. The New York Times. 16 April 2014.
Harris, Dwana, et al. "Trial of O. J. Simpson." 7 October 2013. Termpaper Warehouse.
12 April 2014.
Jones, Thomas L. "The Murder of O. J. Simpson." n.d. Turner Entertainment Website.
15 April 2014.
Linder, Douglas. "The Trial of Orenthal James Simpson ." 2000. University of Missouri
Kansas City School of Law. 12 April 2014.
The Associated Press. "O.J. Simpson Civil Trial." 18 October 1996. USA Today
Website. 14 April 2014.