The People V. Simpson Research Paper

On the late afternoon of June 17, 1994, news channels across the nation were broadcasting live helicopter news coverage of a white Ford Bronco driving on the Los Angeles 404 freeway. This image of this vehicle leading police on a 90-minute low-speed car chase captured everyone's attention. The driver of this soon to be famous vehicle was Allen Cowlings, long time friend of the passenger who was wanted by the police. In the back seat of the Ford Bronco was Orenthal James Simpson (O.J.) reportedly with a gun to his head while speaking to a Detective of Los Angeles Police Department. Simpson was the main suspect in a murder case and he was scheduled to turn himself over to the police to be arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown

Orenthal James Simpson. Simpson was charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and Simpson pleaded not guilty to all charges to became the most famous murder defendant in US history. According to the book O. J. Simpson Facts and Fictions: News Rituals in the Construction of Reality, So began the “Trial of the Century.” This case had all of the necessary elements to keep people watching: celebrities, tragedy, violence, minority, racism, spectacle, controversy, suspense, and resolution. Throughout the case, observers of the trial would combine these elements in interesting ways to set in their mind of Simpson’s innocence or guilt, while not considering all of the actual evidence. This was Simpson public trial (Hunt 33). By November 3, 1994, the jury is finally selected and consists of four men and eight women: eight black, one Hispanic, one white, two of mixed race. On January 24, 1995, Simpson's criminal trial begins. With courtroom cameras giving a live feed to TV station the public had full access to all the court proceedings and Simpson case became the nation's newest and best soap

The case did have many memorable scenes and blunders that the media reviewed and scrutinized continuously even to this day. The prosecution released 911 tape recordings from a few years earlier of Nicole Simpson detailing accounts of spousal abuse from her husband Simpson. At one point during the case, the prosecution's main witness was declared a hostile witness during questioning making the prosecution look incapable of handling their witnesses and presenting their case. To add more damage to the prosecution's case, one of the main LAPD Detectives who found a bloody glove at Simpson's residence during the investigation was accused of being a racist and asked if he ever tampered with evidence. While under questioning from the defense the detective invoked his Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions. The defense was also able to multiple technical mistakes made by the forensics team on this case to suggest contamination of the crime scene and cast doubt on any of the DNA evidence. On June 15, 1995, the prosecutor had Simpson put on the bloody glove which was believed to be worn by the killer, only to see that the glove did not fit on Simpson’s hand. Simpson's defense attorneys jumped on this development and used this scene of the glove not fitting as their mantra in convincing the jurors of Simpson's innocence