OJ Simpson Criminal Trial June 13, 1994 Murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman

OJ Simpson Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson (born July 9, 1947), also nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American football player, broadcaster, actor and convicted felon currently incarcerated in Nevada. Simpson was the first professional football player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a mark he set in 1973He holds the record for the single season yards-per-game average, which stands at 143.1 ypg. Simpson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. After retiring from professional football, Simpson had a career as a football broadcaster and actor.

“Trial of the Century” This was the 1st nationally televised trial, and because OJ was such a popular sports hero/celebrity it is considered by many to be the first reality show of its kind. Coincidentally, Robert Kardashian was one of OJ Simpson’s lawyers as well as his best friend.

How was the defense able to create reasonable doubt? DNA evidence: a blood sample was mishandled by lab techs-1.5 cm of blood was found to be missing from a 8cm total sample Misconduct by the lead Detective Mark Fuhrman-Defense claimed he was a racist and therefore set up OJ “If the glove doesn’t fit you must acquit”-a black leather glove was found at the murder scene, the matching glove found at OJ’s House. When asked to try on the bloody glove in the court room it did not properly fit OJ’s hand.

Additional important evidence DNA of the victims found on OJ’s socks in his bedroom, as well as inside his Bronco African American hair was found on the body of Ronald Goldman There was a history of domestic violence by OJ towards his ex wife Nicole A Bruno Magli shoe print was found at the murder scene-size 12. OJ wore a size 12. Only 229 of this specific shoe were sold in the US, and the prosecution found a picture of OJ out in public wearing this style of shoe. Defense said the photo was doctored. No murder weapon was found, and there were no witnesses to the murders

Verdict & Civil Case On October 3, 1995 at 10 am OJ, after only 4 hours of deliberations, was found not guilty on all charges In 1997 a Civil Trial was held. OJ was charged with the wrongful death and battery of both victims. The Civil Trial ended in a unanimous decision of guilty based upon a preponderance of evidence. 12.6 million was awarded to Simpson’s kids 33.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages was awarded to both victims families

Today, OJ is serving time in Jail….. The State of Nevada v. Orenthal James Simpson, et al. Criminal case primarily involving OJ Simpson, concerning a robbery. On the night of September 13, 2007, a group of men led by Simpson entered a room in the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia dealer, testified that the group of men broke into his hotel room and stole various sports memorabelia at gunpoint. Three days later, on September 16, 2007, Simpson was arrested for his involvement in the robbery and held without bail. He admitted taking the items, which he said had been stolen from him, but denied breaking into the room. Simpson also denied the allegation that he or the people with him carried weapons.[ On October 3, 2008—exactly 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown, and Ronald Goldman, was found guilty of all ten charges. On December 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison with eligibility for parole in nine years. He is currently incarcerated at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada. He will be eligible for parole in 2017, at the age of 70

Let’s see what you think now… You already know what reasonable doubt means, and that it is the standard a criminal jury must meet in order to find someone guilty/non-guilty Based upon the evidence I presented in this powerpoint, pretend you are a member of the OJ Jury. Identify and explain what the reasonable doubt was in this case. As a member of the jury, do you think there was enough reasonable doubt to find OJ not guilty? Explain why using EVIDENCE…….