Ford Bronco OJ Simpson
The O.J. Simpson case was a newsworthy criminal trial held in Los Angeles and decided in 1995. Former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster, and actor O. J. Simpson was tried on two counts of murder for the June 12, 1994, slashing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of their deaths in a trial that riveted the nation and divided many along racial lines. (For more, click here) (see also: When They See Us)
Have things Changed Since the O.J. Simpson Trial? If we are moving in the right direction, a lot more has to be done.
It was a quick verdict: defense attorney Johnnie Cochran based his strategy on the element of race and polls later showed that race factored heavily into public acceptance or rejection of the verdict. No matter how abundant the evidence of guilt, the jurors were focused on finding the flaws, not the truth.
No matter what we think about the verdict, we live in a post-racial world and in the criminal justice system, race matters. It is about who gets arrested, the degree of the punishment, and whether the defendant has a chance of getting acquitted.Â
Ford Bronco O.J. Simpson
I/ The O.J. Simpson case helped fighting Domestic Violence
The world was a different place 25 years ago, people had difficulties understanding what domestic violence was. The relationship between O.J. and Nicole was abusive before her death: that fact was perceived as a wakeup call for women across the country and it helped pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994.
The case motivated Congress and state legislature to approve tougher new laws on domestic violence, and, in many jurisdictions, the number of women reporting domestic abuse has more than doubled. In 1996, Congress passed a law preventing domestic batterers from purchasing guns, and by 2008 domestic homicide rates had plummeted 53%.
Beside the awarenesses , Judges are now taking the Simpson case as a textbook case of how not to conduct a trial. Especially, prosecutors are pursuing cases that rely on forensics, medical records and other hard evidence, rather than a victim’s testimony.
In summary, the case (1) shifted the country’s view of domestic violence from a largely private matter to a public health concern, (2) strengthened the legislature; and (3) changed the basic precepts of trial tactics, including the supposed invincibility of DNA evidence.
II/ The Element of Race: a Lesson in Black and White
Indubitably, the O.J Simpson became a symbol of America’s division on race. It may sounds like a cliche, now associated with John Travolta’s wig in the TV series American Crime Story, but it has had a considerable impact on the United States, which has since moved on, though not necessarily toward the right direction.Â
In a 1995 CBS poll 76% of whites thought the former FNL star was guilty while just 22% of blacks thought so. Now 79% of whites and 41% of blacks think that. Some 10% of whites and 39% of blacks think he is not guilty.
Firstly, the case highlighted the importance of race in how a jury judges evidence. There is a perception based on culture, race, gender, socioeconomic status and geography, and what we can learn from the O.J. Simpson trial, is that, in order to avoid the differences of perception, perhaps the formula for conviction should be reduced to something less than beyond reasonable doubt.Â
Secondly, there is now a better understanding about how race plays about implicit bias, which is the more difficult to challenge to go after than explicit bias. Some prosecutors, for instance, now think twice about using a witness if they believe the witness harbors racial animosities.
Whether our doubt is seen as reasonable or ridiculous depends on our own experiences and subjective perceptions. Still, 25 years later, the divide remains great as witnessed, among other things, in the Black Lives Matter movement.Â
III/ Reforming the Criminal Justice System
Within days of the trial, officials suggested various reforms of the criminal justice system. Among those most often mentioned were (1) barring cameras from courtrooms, (2) curbing the use of jury consultants, (3) restricting closing arguments, and (4) blocking or regulating the ability of witnesses and participants from selling their stories or writing books about them.
One view is that the trial has deepened cynicism about police testimony and prosecutorial honesty and contributed heavily to a sense that your chances of finding justice in America were too connected to how wealthy you were.Â
Fundamentally, the O.J. case has changed things: for example in California, the case changed rules from attorney commentary during a trial to how judges now more rigorously enforce the jury service and compel people to come in and follow up with prospective jurors.
It also had an impact on the role of media in covering trials : often, trials are seen as forms of mass entertainment. Perhaps the media focus can also be a protection then: if everybody is watching the judiciary, then the judiciary has to be more accountable.Â
Finally, the Simpson murder case brought some change to law enforcement. For police, the case exposed weaknesses in the way it handled and processed evidence, prompting new procedures and huge investments in cutting-edge crime labs.
Reforming the system requires caution: one must first identity the problem and then determine whether change will help more than it will hurt. At least the O.J. Simpson trial would have had the merits to identify the problems in the judicial system.
Conclusion
Ford Bronco O.J. Simpson
25 years later, the O.J. Simpson trial is still called the Trial of the Century. It had had numerous impacts, whether on raising awareness on domestic violence, revealing the flaws surrounding the element of race, or suggesting reforms of the criminal judicial system.Â
The case still mesmerizes law students and definitely serves as a benchmark for all future trials. O.J. was found responsible for both deaths in a civil lawsuit decided on February 4, 1997. The families were awarded compensatory and punitive damages totaling $33.5 million but have received only a small portion of that amount. O.J. served nine years in prison for unrelated charged and was paroled in 2017. He now lives in Las Vegas.
Ford Bronco OJ Simpson
In memoriam Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman.
Sources:
> https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1684&context=articles
> https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/diaz/article/Trial-of-the-century-legacy-How-O-J-11306325.php
> https://time.com/2864428/kardashian-oj-simpson-domestic-violence/
> https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1260&context=mjrl
> https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/06/us/lessons-of-simpson-case-are-reshaping-the-law.html
> https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/06/12/us/ap-us-oj-simpson-25-years-domestic-violence.html
> https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/themes/impact.html
Ford Bronco OJ Simpson
