On this day in 1995, a jury of his peers acquitted O.J. Simpson on all charges in the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. The verdict was read at 1-:02 a.m. and the jury unanimously found the former NFL running back not guilty on all charges. It was the first completely televised jury trial of my lifetime. Lasting almost nine months, it’s one of the longest murder trials I’ve ever heard of.
The case involved a fascinating mix of racial bias, new forensic DNA testing, and an all-star cast of some of the most powerful defense attorneys in the country, including Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian, F. Lee Bailey, Carl E. Douglas, and Shawn Holley.
The verdict rocked the nation, and I’m going to discuss the nuances of the trial and the verdict with Georgia Attorney Jimmy Kurhajian.
I’ll also discuss my thoughts on the NFL, and what it can really do to address the cultural issues of our time, particularly moving the London games (which are terrible) to a place more worthy of the international attention.
Follow me at @DavidTDorer, listen to the David Dorer Show live every Friday (Available on iTunes and on Stitcher). Also, make sure to check out Talking Law with David Dorer every Wednesday. (Available oniTunes and on Stitcher).