No other high-profile trial has catapulted people into the spotlight like the Simpson trial did. Here’s a look at some of the key figures from the trial.
Lead Prosecutor Marcia Clark
Clark’s first high-profile case came when she prosecuted Robert John Bardo in 1991 for the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. One of the only women working on the Simpson case, Clark’s fashion choices and custody battle with her ex-husband received national media attention. Many of Clark’s decisions during the trial were also examined. Clark resigned after losing the case and wrote a book about the case, “Without Doubt.” She has appeared on several television shows, including “Pretty Little Liars,” and as a cable news commentator.
Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran
Cochran led Simpson’s “Dream Team” of defense attorneys. He passionately stated that the black glove found at the crime scene could not have belonged to Simpson because it was too small for his hand. His famous line during the trial’s closing arguments – “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” – became an iconic pop culture motto that was parodied on television shows for years. Before the Simpson trial, he defended superstar Michael Jackson against sexual assault allegations and Tupac Shakur against weapons charges. But the Simpson trial made Cochran a household name. He is credited with bringing the issue of race to the forefront of the trial.
He wrote in his 2003 memoir that the Simpson trial “changed my life radically and forever in ways impossible to imagine.” After the trial, he appeared in “Martin”, “Family Matters” and “JAG”. He went into private practice and opened a personal injury law firm. Cochran died of a brain tumor in 2005 at the age of 67.
Prosecutor Christopher Darden
Darden set up one of the most famous trial scenes of all time when he had Simpson try on the bloody glove from the crime scene in front of the jury and a national television audience. Simpson struggled to get the glove on, prompting Cochran’s famous line. Darden’s colleagues said at the time that the moment in the courtroom was a classic example of what prosecutors should not do. He left the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office after the case and became a law professor.
Fuhrman was a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department who was assigned to Simpson’s case and reported finding a bloody glove near the crime scene. But his credibility was challenged by Simpson’s lawyers, who argued he may have concealed evidence after discovering recordings of Fuhrman making racist comments. Fuhrman retired from the LAPD the same year Simpson’s trial ended and was indicted for claiming false information in court statements. He pleaded no contest in 1996 and was sentenced to three years of probation. He has appeared as a guest on several news channels, including as an analyst for Simpson’s parole hearing on Fox News in 2017.
Ito began handling high-profile cases for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in the early 1990s, when he presided over the trial of financier Charles Keating Jr.. Ito cleared television reporters to broadcast courtroom broadcasts of Simpson’s trial, a controversial decision that ultimately changed media coverage of major trials. Ito considered stepping down at the end of Simpson’s trial after Fuhrman made disparaging comments about the judge’s wife, sparking concerns about his ability to remain impartial. Ito continued to preside over other cases in Los Angeles after Simpson’s trial, but removed his nameplate from his courtroom door after it was stolen several times. He retired in 2015.
Kaelin stole the show during the trial with her memorable prosecution testimony. A A struggling actor who, at the time, was living in a guest house at Simpson’s house, “Kaelin seemed nervous and jittery from the moment he entered the courtroom, running toward the witness stand, fidgeting on his headquarters,” Washington Post reporter Nell Henderson wrote in 1995. Kaelin gave conflicting accounts of Simpson’s behavior in the hours before and after the murders. Judge Ito ended up declaring him a “hostile witness” to the accusation. After the trial, Kaelin successfully sued the National Examiner for defamation after it published a front-page story with the headline “Cops Think Kato Did It!” » He settled the lawsuit for $15 million out of court. Kaelin continued to work in show business and appeared on “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2019.
Defense attorney Robert Kardashian Sr.
Kardashian was Simpson’s close friend and business partner. The two met while attending the University of Southern California and later reconnected on a tennis court.
Kardashian worked on the “Dream Team” as Simpson’s attorney during the trial. Kardashian’s ex-wife, Kris Jenner, was one of Brown’s good friends and sat alongside his family during the trial. Kardashian and Jenner shared four children, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Robert Kardashian Jr. Her family became reality TV stars and entrepreneurs after their hit show premiered in the mid-2000s, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” . Kardashian died in 2003 from esophageal cancer at the age of 59.
Reality TV fans know Resnick from her appearances on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” or meeting Kris Jenner on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” But Resnick was one of Brown’s friends and co-author of the 1994 book, “Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted.” Judge Ito interrupted jury selection to read the book and assess its possible impact on potential jurors. The book portrays “Simpson as a jealous, obsessive man whose abuse of cocaine and alcohol disturbed a character that led him to beat, stalk and threaten to kill his wife,” the Post reported at the time. Resnick was not called to testify in the case.
Defense attorney Barry Scheck
Scheck changed the way DNA evidence was examined in trials after arguing there was no scientific evidence showing Simpson had been at the crime scene. While prosecutors argued at the time that Simpson’s blood matched drops found at the scene, Scheck argued that it was impossible to conclude and that the samples were collected properly. Some scientists and lawyers later disputed Scheck’s claims, but he told the Los Angeles Times in 2014 that investigators began collecting and preserving crime scene evidence more carefully after the trial. Scheck now helps run the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that uses DNA testing to help exonerate people wrongly accused of crimes.
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