Introduction
American litigation is known for several landmark proceedings, which were widely covered in newspapers, television, and social networks. In the late 20th century, the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson case thundered in Los Angeles, California, which became one of the most protracted trials in the history of the state’s jurisprudence. In short, this case was considered the deliberate murder of a woman and her friend by ex-husband, but the uniqueness of the case is that the culprit is a well-known football player and actor Simpson. This essay is aimed at a detailed discussion of this trial.
Main body
First of all, it should be said that this trial case should be attributed to the category of murders that began during family problems. The relationship between Nicole Brown and J. Simpson was destructive, and in 1989 the woman calls to the police for her husband’s domestic violence — then the man was not prosecuted (Clarke, 2016). Nicole filed for divorce in 1992, and as early as June 12, 1994, the dead bodies of the woman and, Ronald Goldman, probably her new partner, were discovered.
The Simpson case was the most high-profile trial in California in particular and the United States in general in the 1990s. The struggle between the prosecution and the defense went far beyond the boundaries of the courtroom and developed into an information cause for all the public media (Pakup, 2020). Defense attorneys and prosecutors, as well as witnesses and the jury, sought to find the truth in the biographies of all those involved in the trial, using articles from magazines, newspapers, and television. As a result, such searches culminated in a serious scandal involving the phenomenon of racism, and justice turned into a comedy.
This vast publicity was the reason for the trial’s length, as it was challenging to find a jury whose opinion would remain unbiased in this situation. As a result, the judge had to resort to completely isolating the jury so that they would not read newspapers or watch talk shows (Pakup, 2020). The prolongation of the case was justified by the abundance of other procedures needed to build justice. In particular, on March 8, 1995, genetic testing was initiated to confirm the DNA samples (Clarke, 2016). In addition, Simpson’s acquaintances, coaches, and friends have been consistently contacted in order to determine the identity of the suspect.
The D.A.’s office built a strong accusation line that collapsed in an instant, because Detective Furman, who found the suspect’s gloves with blood on them, was a racist. The detective’s telephone conversations later turned out to be public, and the prosecution’s first failure. The second failure of the prosecution was the fitting procedure, which revealed that the gloves were too small for the suspect’s hands (Clarke, 2016). Finally, the defense team put forward a compelling case that the murder was commissioned and related to the drug business, while Nicole was a random victim. It took the jury only five hours to reach a verdict – Simpson is innocent.
Conclusion
O. J. Simpson’s murder case is inextricably linked to three amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Explicitly, the 6th Amendment guaranteed that Simpson would have access to all prosecution documents and materials, so the trial published information about previous acts of violence against the ex-wife. In addition, Detective Furman’s prelitigation regarding racism is subject to the 5th Amendment, which gives him the right not to testify against himself. Lastly, since the case had taken on a racist context, the 14th Amendment had been particularly relevant as it guaranteed equality before the law for all citizens, regardless of color, age, or cultural background.
References
Clarke, K. (2016). Learn everything you need to know about the O.J. Simpson trial with this infographic. The Source. Web.
Pakup, E. (2020). O.J. Simpson murder case: A timeline of the ‘trial of the century’. Biography. Web.