Trial of the Century: O.J. Simpson
The Trial of the Century
Larry King, from CNN, could not have summarized a single day any better. On June 17, 1994, he told his viewers that, “If we had god booked, and O.J. Simpson was available, we would move god”. (Tru T.V.) The Rangers just won the Stanley Cup, and they were celebrating their parade in Manhattan that day. Also, the Knicks and Rockets were at Madison Square Garden, playing a crucial fifth game of the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, world renown golfer Arnold Palmer was playing his last-ever US Open round, the soccer World Cup had opened in Chicago, and baseball was still active despite the doubts of a lockout. (ESPN Video) Even though all of these events were taking place on June 17, 1994; 95 million Americans found it more entertaining to watch the famous white Bronco police pursuit towards Orenthal James Simpson’s Brentwood residence. The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the “most widely publicized events in American history.” (Simpson Wikipedia)
O.J. Simpson’s trial is often characterized as “the trial of the century”. The trial culminated in a non guilty verdict that instituted a title for Simpson as, “one of the most famous criminal defendants in American History”. (Tru T.V.) The battle between 11 defense lawyers and 25 prosecutors lasted a record breaking 9 months. The entire process, from investigation to the verdict, developed into the greatest “soap opera to fascinate the American public in the 20th century.” (Tru T.V.) The trial broached an opportunity for the lower class to find retribution for the Rodney King beating, and all the social hardships enacted by the stigmatized LAPD. In the criminal case, California v. Orenthal James Simpson, the trial displayed a public spectacle that reexamined the issue of racial and social categories. In this paper, I will demonstrate how the defense accomplished to portray O.J. Simpson as the emblematic black man going through the American justice
Larry King, from CNN, could not have summarized a single day any better. On June 17, 1994, he told his viewers that, “If we had god booked, and O.J. Simpson was available, we would move god”. (Tru T.V.) The Rangers just won the Stanley Cup, and they were celebrating their parade in Manhattan that day. Also, the Knicks and Rockets were at Madison Square Garden, playing a crucial fifth game of the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, world renown golfer Arnold Palmer was playing his last-ever US Open round, the soccer World Cup had opened in Chicago, and baseball was still active despite the doubts of a lockout. (ESPN Video) Even though all of these events were taking place on June 17, 1994; 95 million Americans found it more entertaining to watch the famous white Bronco police pursuit towards Orenthal James Simpson’s Brentwood residence. The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the “most widely publicized events in American history.” (Simpson Wikipedia)
O.J. Simpson’s trial is often characterized as “the trial of the century”. The trial culminated in a non guilty verdict that instituted a title for Simpson as, “one of the most famous criminal defendants in American History”. (Tru T.V.) The battle between 11 defense lawyers and 25 prosecutors lasted a record breaking 9 months. The entire process, from investigation to the verdict, developed into the greatest “soap opera to fascinate the American public in the 20th century.” (Tru T.V.) The trial broached an opportunity for the lower class to find retribution for the Rodney King beating, and all the social hardships enacted by the stigmatized LAPD. In the criminal case, California v. Orenthal James Simpson, the trial displayed a public spectacle that reexamined the issue of racial and social categories. In this paper, I will demonstrate how the defense accomplished to portray O.J. Simpson as the emblematic black man going through the American justice