Title of Case:

The Trial of O. J. Simpson: The Incriminating Evidence

Who was involved in the case?

Victim(s):
The victims were Nicole Brown Simpson, ex-wife of OJ Simpson and Ronald Goldman, the
friend of Nicole Brown.

Suspect(s)/ Accused:
The suspect was OJ SIMPSON, ex-husband of Nicole Brown.

Case Details:
On the night of June 12, 1994, Simpson’s ex-wife and Goldman were stabbed to death outside her
condominium in Los Angeles, and Simpson quickly became the prime suspect. Rather than surrender to police
after being notified of impending charges, on June 17 Simpson hid in the back of a sport-utility vehicle driven by
his friend A.C. Cowlings. After being told that Simpson had a gun to his own head, law-enforcement officers
followed the vehicle at low speeds for more than an hour. The attempted “escape” was televised live nationally—
seen by an estimated 95 million viewers—and hundreds of Simpson’s fans lined the streets in support of him. It
ended at Simpson’s home in Brentwood, California, where he was placed under arrest and taken into police
custody.
Simpson was formally arraigned on July 22, 1994, entering a plea of not guilty. The trial began on
January 24, 1995, with Lance Ito as the presiding judge. The Los Angeles district attorney’s office, led by Marcia
Clark and Christopher Darden, emphasized the domestic violence that had occurred prior to and after the
Simpsons’ 1992 divorce as a motive for the murders. The attorneys representing Simpson, known as the “Dream
Team,” included F. Lee Bailey, Robert Blasier, Shawn Chapman Holley, Robert Shapiro, and Alan Dershowitz;
Johnnie Cochran later became the defense team’s lead attorney. The Simpson defense was based largely on the
grounds that evidence had been mishandled and that many members of the Los Angeles police department were
racist, particularly Mark Fuhrman, a detective who allegedly found a bloody leather glove at Simpson’s home.
The defense team argued that the glove could not have been Simpson’s, because it appeared too small for his hand
when he tried it on in the courtroom. In addition to the glove, the defense claimed that other important evidence
had been planted by the police to frame Simpson. During the trial, which lasted more than eight months, some
150 witnesses testified, though Simpson did not take the stand.
On October 2, 1995, the jury finally began deliberating and reached a verdict in less than four hours. Ito,
however, delayed the announcement until the following day. On October 3 Simpson was found not guilty of the
murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. After the verdict, polls of public opinion continued to
break down along racial lines. Whites were largely dismayed by the jury’s decision, whereas the majority of
African Americans supported it, seeing Simpson’s acquittal as a victory in a legal system that systematically
discriminated against blacks. Although Simpson was acquitted in the criminal case, he was also sued by the
victims’ families for wrongful death, and the civil trial began in October 1996. Less than four months later, that
jury found him responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and awarded their
families $33.5 million in damages.

Testimonial evidence:
There were a total of one hundred fifty-one witnesses that were presented in the trial. Here are some of
the prosecution and defense witnesses:
List of Prosecution Witnesses
Sharon Gilbert, LAPD 911 Dispatcher 1/31
Det. John Edwards, LAPD 1/31
Det. Mike Farrell, LAPD 1/31
Ron Shipp, friend of O.J. and Nicole 2/1 - 2/2
Mike Stevens, LAPD investigator 2/2
Terri Moore, 911 Dispatcher 2/2
Sgt. Robert Lerner, LAPD 2/3
Catherine Boe, neighbor of Nicole 2/3
Carl Colby, neighbor of Nicole 2/3
List of Defense Witnesses
Arnelle Simpson: OJ's daughter 7/10
Carmelita Simpson-Durio: Simpson's younger sister 7/10
Eunice Simpson: Simpson's Mother 7/10
Carol Connors: Songwriter that saw OJ & Paula Barbieri at a fundraising dinner on June 11 7/10
Mary Collins: Interior designer said she was redoing OJ's house 7/10
Shirley Baker: OJ's older sister 7/11
Jack McKay: Golf Partner of OJ 7/11
Danny Mandel: Supposedly walked by Nicole's condo at 10:25 PM and saw nothing 7/11
Ellen Aaronson: On a date with Danny that night 7/11
Francesca Harman: At Dinner Party on Dorothy that night 7/11
Physical Evidence:
Blood stains found at the crime scene were tested to determine blood type and to provide DNA samples.
Blood stains were found in O.J. Simpson's white Bronco, on a pair of socks in his bedroom, on the pair of gloves,
at the crime scene, in O.J. Simpson's driveway and in his house. The prosecution states that the blood evidence
proves that O.J. Simpson is the murderer, while the defense contends that the blood was contaminated and/or
planted.

DNA is a person's genetic fingerprint. DNA samples taken from blood at the crime scene were compared
to samples from O.J. Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman. Prosecution witnesses have testified
that the DNA tests link O.J. Simpson to the murders, while defense witnesses support the claim that crime scene
samples have been contaminated or could have been planted as part of a conspiracy against Simpson.
Critical pieces of evidence in the Simpson trial are a pair of bloody gloves. The left-handed glove was
found outside the residence of Nicole Brown Simpson, and the right-handed glove was recovered from O.J.
Simpson's estate. During the June 15, 1995 court session, Simpson put on the gloves and they appeared to be too
small. The prosecution contends that the gloves, once drenched in blood, have shrunk. The defense believes that if
the glove doesn't fit, Simpson is not the killer.

Prosecution witness Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran has told the jury that he believes the killings were
done with a single-edged knife; O.J. Simpson had purchased a single-edged knife prior to the murders. During
cross-examination, however, the doctor said he could not be positive. But probably the most compelling and
important fact regarding the murder weapon in the case is that the actual murder weapon has yet to be recovered.
 A prosecution witness, FBI shoe print specialist William Bodziak, testified that the murder scene shoe
prints were left by size 12 Bruno Magli shoes. The actual shoes used have not been recovered, but comparisons
have shown that O.J. Simpson could have worn the shoes.
Critical pieces of videotape have been entered into the case by both the defense and the prosecution. The
defense has shown video of Simpson handcuffed as soon as he returned from Chicago, trying to show a rush in
judgment by the police. The prosecution has brought video of a Simpson exercise video (1.5M quicktime movie)
taped 2 1/2 weeks before the murders and a March 1994 promotional speech in which Simpson claims relief of his
arthritis. Both prosecution pieces were to be used to refute the notion that Simpson was physically incapable of
committing the murders.
The Los Angeles Police Department Laboratory, a major site of forensic testing in the Simpson Trial, has
come under scrutiny from Simpson defense attorneys for negligence in evidence handling and testing. Dr. John
Gerdes, defense witness and director of a DNA lab in Denver, said the LAPD Crime Lab has a "substantial
contamination problem."

Outcome/Results of case:
Although Simpson was acquitted in the criminal case, he was also sued by the victims’ families for
wrongful death, and the civil trial began in October 1996. Less than four months later, that jury found him
responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and awarded their families $33.5
million in damages.
Twenty-five years after the shocking deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman gripped the
nation, O.J. Simpson is living a simple, quiet life he has styled for himself in Las Vegas and would prefer not to
revisit what happened on the night of June 12, 1994.

References:

http://edition.cnn.com/US/OJ/evidence/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3yFoy22EZ3G-
NjVlS9EhmEzNx_sW6ZKBLwZ8imveAEm0TQKLNEEgEHNk8
https://www.britannica.com/event/O-J-Simpson-trial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhpkJ8VF040

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/10/oj-simpson-years-after-murders-says-life-is-
fine/?fbclid=IwAR2GlLquHccHvm5KRBa9Sb2ecveE1M6gsdGdKTzENjoQ9QgL598A1DnWyRQ

http://simpson.walraven.org/pwitness.html

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/dwitness.html