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Joseph Rizzi Legal Mechanics Of Crime The Case of O.J. Simpson The job of a criminal lawyer is quite difficult. Whether on the defense or the prosecution, you must work diligently and swiftly in order to persuade the jury. Some lawyers play dirty and try to get their client off of the hook even though they are guilty without a doubt. Even though the evidence is all there, the prosecution sometimes just can’t get the one last piece of the puzzle to make the case stick and lock the criminal up. Such is the case Orenthal James Simpson. In 1994, football pro and actor Orenthal James Simpson was tried for the murder of his wife and a waiter. O.J.’s wife and the waiter were found murdered outside of her condo. O.J. and his wife had divorced to years prior to the murder, so in retrospect, O.J. automatically looks guilty. O.J.’s wife was found stabbed multiple times in the head and neck. There were also wounds on her hands, showing that she tried to defend herself from the assailant. The wounds to her neck were so severe, her throat was gaping wide open and her spine had been pierced by the blade. A few days after the discovery of the bodies, the police department had convinced O.J. to give himself up to them. However, O.J. never showed at the precinct. After some time, police put out an APB on O.J. and his white Ford Bronco. And APB stands for “all point bulletin”. An APB is basically a warning to police officers to look for a certain person or vehicle that is known to be wanted or is of interest to the police department. After the APB had been sent out, Simpsons friend and lawyer read aloud a note found in O.J.’s house. Police took this as a suicide note because of what was stated in the letter. However, later that day, Simpson ... ... middle of paper ... ...on’s blood was found at the scene of the crime. There may be ways to plant such evidence, but it would be rather difficult to draw blood from a man without him realizing it and planting it at the scene of a crime. I also would have expressed that O.J. had a motive to kill his ex-wife, as well as a history of violent outbursts towards her. With all of the evidence that the prosecution had at their disposal, they should have been able to pin the murder on O.J. beyond a reasonable doubt. Everything pointed to O.J. and showed that he was the murderer. The only thing the prosecution was not able to do was fit the bloody glove on O.J’s hand. The only issue is, the glove was made of leather and had been soaking in blood prior to being found. When leather is soaking in a liquid, it tends to shrink. If only the prosecution had realized this, the case would have been theirs.
However, police should have acknowledged that individuals can make mistakenly identify the wrong person, especially an individual who had just tragically witnessed his wife’s death, and that the positive identification can not be the only evidence used to confirm the identity of a suspect. In addition, a search was never conducted on Butler’s home to see if any evidence was there. Unless my memory fails me, police officers also did not perform a gun residue test on Butler to see if he had recently fired a gun. Regardless, police did not find any physical evidence, such as blood, on Butler’s clothes or body. In fact, there was no forensic investigation of evidence conducted at all. Mary Ann Stephen’s purse was later discovered in a trash can, but it wasn’t until after the acquittal of Brenton Butler that a fingerprint belonging to the real killer was found on her purse. Overall, the ethical issues involved in the Brenton Butler case are astounding. The best solution to resolve those issues is to thoroughly perform job duties with integrity. Investigators had to know that more evidence than just a positive identification made by one, rightly upset individual was not substantial enough to confirm the identity of the
Things only got worse when it was alleged that he transported and planted one the gloves on the Simpson estate, and the defendants legal team stating the officer wanted to frame Simpson because he was black and he disliked blacks an considering the jury was made up of mostly minorities this helped O.JSimpson even more.(2015) The key to winning a case apart from collecting evidence there must be a clear way to paint a picture that the people of the jury can understand whether or not you done the crime one must be convincing. Even though Simpson’s blood was on majority of the evidence collected it was argued that he was framed along with the contamination of evidence even if he had done it his team used all the weaknesses exposed by police involved in the case to paint a picture of innocence to the jury which proves perception of wrongdoing as persuasive to a jury as actual wrongdoing. I am sure with O.J Simpson being acquitted of the charges left a bad taste in the mouth of both police and some people in the legal field. There were too many mistakes made by the people that were tasked with the duty of collecting evidence and also in the department of how the evidence was handled but there are many lessons to be learned in every mistake the obvious one would be to not make the same ones
During the time that O.J was on trial for the murders of Nicole and Ronald, everyone who was following the hearing had a deep sense of fear and pity. They were fearing that the man they once adored and aspired to be like was actually capable of committing such an inconspicuous crime. Also, due to the accusations of the murder, the viewers were also feeling in the sense of pity, in both sadness and disappointment. The acts that O.J Simpson was accused of caused the audience to feel disappointed in his actions, as well as sadness towards his family. The accusations developed about O.J left people who didn’t even personally know him in tears. People were so sad about his downfall. The accusation led to the fact that O.J left his family with no mother and technically no father, as he’d be spending time in prison. Furthermore, since he was found not guilty, there was a large part of the audience that felt a sense of release and emotion, and some felt bad that he was ever accused of this, but rather he just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Due to the fact that O.J and Nicole were separated for a couple years before she died, Nicole had made new friendships, and there was no proof that someone new that she met could have caused this crime and tried to frame Simpson, due to his past accused abuse
The double murder case of O.J. Simpson is one that will live on forever and one that will never be forgotten. On June 12, 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found dead at Nicole’s home in Los Angeles. According to Doug Linder, it was “most likely a single male that came through the back entrance of Nicole Brown Simpson’s condominium” (Linder). Since they did not have any other suspects they went right to Orenthal James Simpson who was Nicole Simpson’s ex-husband. Law enforcement had seen him as suspicious and they had charged him with both of the murders. The case had gone to trial and it was the prosecutor’s job to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simpson was guilty and that he had done the crime. Simpson had what was called
There was a lot of incriminating evidence against Simpson, including blood, hair, fiber, footprints a bloody glove, and black socks that also had blood on them. The blood found on the socks was indeed Simpson’s.
In 1995 one of the most puzzling criminal cases triumph in America. This double assassination actually occurred on June 14, 1994 in Los Angeles, California. The two fatalities were found by a neighbor who had seen an Akita that had blood on its legs and belly. When the neighbor saw the bodies, he immediately called 911. When the police arrived at Nicole Brown Simpson’s
The defense succeeded at instilling reasonable doubt in the jurors’ minds. A major difference between the defense and prosecution, as stated by Dershowitz, was that the defense relied on factual evidence and scientific experts while the prosecution utilized witnesses that casted a shadow of doubt upon the whole jury (Dershowitz 97). Dershowitz claimed the prosecution knew they had falsities in their case, but kept them in order to win the case (Dershowitz 96). In all, though many people viewed Simpson as a guilty man, the allegations of police perjury and investigative errors allowed the defense to exploit and capitalize on the faults carried out by the prosecution and ultimately implant reasonable doubts in the minds of the jurors.
The murders occurred between 10:15 p.m. and 10:40 p.m., this is based on testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses who heard barking from the area of the crime scene. Ms. Simpson's blood-covered pet Akita was found shortly before 11 p.m. Nicole Brown was found stabbed multiple times in the head and her throat was cut. Ron Goldman is assumed to have come upon the crime in progress and was also stabbed more than thirty times.
The subject of racial issues and inequality has been something that has affected human history and has impacted the world around us. For hundreds of years, racial equality has been an immense problem. Today, racial equality and injustice is being fought in many different aspects. One crucial event in the fight for equality came during the O.J. Simpson murder case. The beating of African-American Rodney King due to the actions of a police officer added to racial turmoil leading up to the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. The murder case went on to portray many examples of racial tension going on around the world, some of those examples were used against the prosecution throughout the trial. This worldwide story became the focal point
The trial of O.J Simpson, an infamous case that had america glued to their Tv’s. Tensions were high as 11 months passed as the verdict was nearing. The case goes as following, O.J was accused of the murder of his ex wife Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. On June 13, 1994 Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were found dead around midnight near the entryway of Nicole’s apartment complex. The crime was heinous for the times and took America by storm. With O.J being a famous main suspect, the media wanted to give as much insight about the trial to the people watching at home and the first amendment gives them that right to gather intel. At first the media was not allowed to share what was happening in the trial. But later on, judge Ito later gave the media permission to cover the trial as long as the media does not disclose the insight of the grand jury. To coincide with this, the media wanted access to the preliminary hearings. Several news organizations requested access to photographs of the crime and transcripts of conferences held in the judge’s office. A lot of this information was sensitive material that was still being decided upon whether to reveal to the jury, but the media still wanted to have
It has been named the Trial Of the Century. Everyone’s eyes were glued to their television screens. Everyone’s jaws were dropped while listening to the radio. And the only thing they wanted to know; was O.J Simpson guilty? The talented running back turned TV personality was being tried for two murders. In the end O.J. was acquitted. It came as a shock to many, as well as a victory to others. With a handful of evidence against him, some thought there was no way he could be found not guilty. O.J. Simpson’s “dream team” was able to win the case because the prosecution did not evaluate the evidence close enough before presenting it in trial.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Orenthal James Simpson or OJ Simpson was a well-known celebrity within North America. He was an all American Football player who turned to acting and sports casting after he retired from the National Football League. On June 12, 1994 Nicole Brown, OJ’s ex-wife, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were found murdered outside Nicole’s residence. The scene of the crime took place outside Ms. Brown’s condominium complex, where two murdered bodies were discovered in the entrance pathway. The police scanned the scene of the crime carefully searching for evidence. They found crucial DNA evidence that supported their idea that Mr. Simpson had been involved in committing these murders. The LAPD issued a statement to the media saying that they were allowing OJ Simpson to turn himself in by June 17 at 11:00 a.m. OJ Simpson did not report to the police station on June 11th. The infamous car chase took place while broadcasted on live television. OJ Simpson's Ford Bronco was spotted driving down the interstate, being driven by his friend Al Cowlings. Mr. Simpson was located in the rear seat with a gun pointing to his head stating that he was going to kill himself if any cop approach the vehicle. Within the video below detective Tom Lange talked to Simpson while the car chase was taking place. He pleads with Mr. Simpson to stop this chase and not to commit suicide. Every news station within the world broadcasted the chase as the police chased Mr. Simpsons white bronco at slow speeds down the highway. Citizens flocked to the overpasses to watch as the truck passed them while being followed by numerous cop cars and news helicopters. The chase finally concluded at Mr. Simpson's home and came to a dramatic end when Cowling park...
According to Famous Trials, “Just after midnight, Nicole's howling Akita, with blood on its belly and legs, attracted the attention of a neighbor, who then discovered the two bodies… O. J. Simpson, meanwhile, was aboard American Airlines flight #668 to Chicago. Simpson had taken off from Los Angeles at 11:45 after receiving a ride to the airport” (Linder) Whether or not OJ was on a flight to get away or for a legitimate business reason is unknown. What is known is that the flight left only two hours after Nicole and Ron were murdered, which gave OJ plenty of time to arrange his getaway. Also, the driver of the limo that OJ used to get to the airport was a key wittiness. The driver testified that he had arrived at 10:25 to pick OJ up for his flight, but no one answered the door. Then, at 11:00 he saw a shadowy figure enter the house from the back and minutes later OJ appeared carrying a black bag. OJ did not let him touch the bag, and the bag has not been seen since then (Price). He was scheduled to get in the limo at 10:25, but he was not at his house. This seems sketchy because the murders were committed somewhere between 10:00 and 10:45. These times allowed OJ plenty of time to commit the murder and then get home. Lastly, when the police summoned OJ to talk to him, he attempted to escape. When OJ did not surrender himself to the police by 5pm they entered his house and found him missing. He
J and Nicole's relationship. This is the biggest piece of evidence in the case and there is a lot to cover. First of all O. J was having affairs when Nicole got pregnant with their first child Sydney Brooke, and probably before that. O. J was a charming man that got what he wanted, according to close friends and family. Nicole wrote a letter while she was still married. In this letter she wrote that it was a huge mistake getting married, but she was the only one how thought so. She also wrote that his "nasty" attitude and mean streak was to cover up cheating. The relationship between O. J and Nicole seemed perfect in the beginning, but after a while it all went south. O. J started taking his anger out on Nicole, started getting abusive. He was extremely possessive over her and got jealous easily. There are 8 different police-call recordings, were you can hear Nicole in fear and O. J yell in the background. One of these incidents happened on New Year's Day 1989. On the recording you can hear someone being beaten and a feminine scream, then yelling and the call ends. When the police arrived at the house, he found Nicole in the bushes only wearing sweatpants and a bra, crying and yelling "He's going to kill me! He's going to kill me!" The policeman said he would talk to O. J, but Nicole told him that was all they ever did. She wanted her husband arrested for beating his wife. Then O. J came running out yelling that he didn't want he sleeping in his bed anymore and that she could leave, and admitting all of his affairs. The policeman told him to go back inside and get dressed, because he was under arrest for domestic violence. O. J went inside and then went out the backdoor of the house and drove off. He was not found that night, but called one of his good friends who is a policeman. He told him that Nicole and himself had gotten a little drunk and had an argument that got to heated and that Nicole had gotten physical. O. J was turning
Fairchild, H. & Cowan, G (1997). Journal of Social Issues. The O.J. Simpson Trial: Challenges to Science and Society.