O. J. Simpson murder case

The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The pair were stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on the night of June 12, 1994. The trial spanned eleven months, from November 9, 1994 to October 3, 1995. Opening statements were made on January 24, 1995. Though prosecutors argued that Simpson was implicated by a significant amount of forensic evidence, Simpson was ultimately acquitted of both counts of murder on October 3 of the same year. The trial took place shortly after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Commentators agree that the defense capitalized on anger among the city's African American community toward the LAPD, which had a history of racial bias, to convince the majority-Black jury to acquit Simpson. The trial is often characterized as the trial of the century because of its international publicity, and has been described as the "most publicized" criminal trial in human history. Following questioning by police detectives, Simpson was formally charged with the murders on June 17 after investigators found a blood-stained glove on his property. After he did not turn himself in at the agreed time, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white 1993 Ford Bronco SUV owned and driven by his friend Al Cowlings. TV stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast live coverage of the pursuit, which was watched by an estimated 95 million people. The pursuit and Simpson's arrest later on the same day were among the most widely publicized events in American history. Simpson was represented by a high-profile defense team, referred to as the "Dream Team,” which was initially led by Robert Shapiro and subsequently directed by Johnnie Cochran. The team also included F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Kardashian, Shawn Holley, Carl E. Douglas, and Gerald Uelmen. Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld were two additional attorneys who specialized in DNA evidence.