OJ Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was stabbed to death in front of her townhouse June 12, 1994 (also killed was her friend, Ronald Goldman).
Simpson was arrested several days later after a famous slow-speed chase down and up a California freeway.
His case – sometimes called “the trial of the century” started in January 1995. He was eventually acquitted of both counts of murder.
Much has been made about the racial overtones of the trial, with the defense claiming that the LAPD framed Simpson because he was a rich black man once married to a beautiful white blond.
For this course, we will focus on issues at the crime scenes – the victim’s home and Simpson’s mansion where seemingly incriminating evidence was recovered.
Attached are notes including primary source material that you can use to answer the Discussion Board question.
The mistakes started quickly, with patrol officers tromping through the bloody crime scene making it difficult to trace the killer’s footsteps. Before detectives arrived, an officer covered Ms. Simpson’s body with a blanket from inside the house. Although Simpson traces – hair – were discovered on the dead woman’s body, the defense was able to successfully claim that those hairs were left by Simpson earlier during a family visit. Proper procedure would have been to cover the body with a sterile cloth carried in the trunk of most LAPD patrol cars.
Things went from bad to worse. Criminalist Dennis Fung got information wrong and had to be called back to testify rather than be charged with perjury.
The notes contain references to poor storage and other issues.
A second crime scene was located at Simpson’s mansion on Rockingham Drive. Police recovered blood and other evidence at Simpson’s home they said proved he had committed the murder.
The defense argued that police had planted the evidence, including blood, in order to frame Simpson. A bloody glove, that matched one found at Ms. Simpson’s home, seemed to prove the case beyond reaonable doubt. The defense claimed it had been planted by police. One of the most dramatic moments of the case came when Simpson “tried on” the glove in front of the jury and couldn’t get his hand in. That led to one of the most memorable moments of the trial, Simpson’s lawyer Johnnie Cochrane telling the jury: If it doesn’t fit you must acquit. go to 2:05 . Part of the issue with the glove was that it had been stored in the police evidence lab in plastic, rather than a paper container. The plastic container created an airlock that led to the glove shrinking .
Review the notes, focus on the reconstruction
As you review the notes, look for errors in processing the crime scene that destroyed the prosecution case.
