Business Law
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA……………………………………………… Plaintiff
v
ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON aka O.J. SIMPSON…………………………………. Defendant
Case No. BA097211
Facts of the case
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found murdered on June 13th, 1994. The detectives commenced investigations and identified Oj Simpson as the prime suspect and he was later formally arraigned and charged with two counts of murder on June 20. He pleaded not guilty. Although, the murder weapon had not been recovered the prosecution proceeded with its case, relying on DNA evidence, witnesses’ testimony and suspect demeanor before the murders. The prosecution
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The prosecution produced another pair of glove that was found within the scene near OJ Simpson house.
Thirdly, the prosecution relied on some form of science evidence, in which the DNA tests on blood traces found inside the Bronco matched O.J. Simpson and the victims. Further, a glove found on OJ Simpson house had matched that of the victim type. A sock found on Simpson's bedroom had a spot of blood that matched his ex-wife. Meticulously, the DNA evidence was presented in June, July, and August by a witnesses, of the State Crime Laboratory, Gary Sims. In advancing its case, the prosecution produced the unavailable or rare figures for the general population and for various subgroups such as the black Americans.
In their rebuttals, the defense team lead by Johnnie Cochran rebutted that OJ Simpson was at peace with Nicola and had in fact entered into a new relationship with one Paula Barbieri. The defense poked hole on the physical evidence, arguing and demonstrating that a ski cap cannot disguise a person’s face. In addition, the defense attacked the DNA evidence as it depicted that errors were made and the samples could have mixed up while being collected in the laboratory or at the crime scene. The defense lawyer Barry Scheck on cross-examination demonstrated that avoidable errors at the scene of the crime were made by Andrea Mazzola and Dennis Fung. One, Colin Yamauchi could have interfered or contaminated the samples in the Los Angeles Police Department Crime Laboratory that was referred as a "cesspool of contamination." In addition, the glove was demonstrated not to fit OJ
found behind the guest house was proven by DNA testing to have O.J.'s blood and
...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.
A pretrial plea bargain was given to Bundy, which was Bundy would plea guilty to the murders of killing Levy, Bowman and Leach. In exchange, Bundy would be sentenced to prison for a firm 75 years. He ultimately declined the offer and decided with trying to win the case, which was not a smart move by Bundy. Bundy thought the prosecutors had no evidence from the Chi Omega sorority, but what he’s about to find out ruins his life. No evidence was recovered at the Chi Omega sorority house like Bundy thought, but two crucial testimonies from sorority members played a big role. Connie Hastings believed she saw Bundy in the house that night, while Nita Neary stated that she saw him escaping the house clasping the oak firewood murder weapon. These testimonies showed that Bundy was in the house and was in the house around the same time of the murders. But with no physical evidence, Bundy could not be found guilty. What Bundy didn’t realize was that there was a piece of evidence from the sorority crime scene. While investigators examined the scene, one officer found the bite marks on Levy’s buttocks. The officer picked up a yellow marker ruler and took photographs of the bite mark. By the time the trial had started the bite mark disappeared, because the tissue around Levy’s buttocks had gone back to its normal color, size and shape. Prosecutors took the photos to forensic odontologist Dr. Richard Souviron.
Because Simpson was the prime suspect, the judge legally ordered searches on O.J’s house as well as the crime scene. The goal was to find proof that he did commit the crime, by finding DNA or items. Shortly after the searches and tests began, evidence was found. DNA from the crime scene matched the DNA of O.J. Although proof was found, Simpson continued to plead not guilty. Surprisingly enough, O.J st...
One of which was shoe prints found at Brown’s condo from a size 12 Bruno Magli shoe. Simpson was photographed wearing Bruno Magli shoes prior to the murders. In addition, there was a left leather glove discovered at the condo. This glove was a size XL, which matched the other glove found at Simpson’s residence. In Simpson’s Bronco, Brown’s blood was found (“The O.J. Simpson Trial 1”). Throughout the case, Simpson did not testify under oath.
After a lengthy two hundred and fifty-two-day trial “not guilty” were the words that left the world in shock. O.J Simpson was your typical golden boy. He had it all, the nice car, the football career, and his kids. Unfortunately, this all came to an end when two bodies came to be spotted deceased in Nicole Browns front yard and was a gruesome sight. O. J’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman both found with brutal stab marks. Unfortunately, all his glory days now brought to an end, he went from playing on the field to begging for his freedom when becoming the main suspect of their murders. Since this trial has not only altered the way Americans viewed celebrities, but it also racially divided society,
On June 22nd, 1994, one of the most high-profile crimes to hit the media will occur at the home of one of the most adored football players in American history. O.J. Simpson was at one time considered to play the lead role of The Terminator, but producers thought the public wouldn 't be convinced that he could be a robot on a murder spree on film. O.J. was that likable that no one could believe he could be a killer, and people today still don 't believe it.
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.
In regard to the O.J. Simpson trial, this would have been a task easily accomplished. As the victim’s ex-husband and someone who was knowledgeable of Nicole Brown Simpsons daily routine, it would have been extremely easy for Simpson to place her in a specific place at a specific time. Unfortunately for Ronald Goldman, he happened to be returning a pair of sunglasses at that time, and became a victim himself. Following the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, on June 17th, 1994, O.J. Simpson was charged with two counts of first murder under special circumstances. Some aspects of the crime that occurred proving O.J. After an investigation, a suspect is arrested, which is again only possible if the police have probable cause to believe the individual committed the crime.
The last forensic technique that was used was blood typing. Forensic investigators found five bloodstains in the station wagon driven by Williams. They blood typed each other the stains in the car and they were consistent with two of his victims, William Barrett and John Porter. Although the blood types were not as persuasive as the hair and fiber analyses, it was still a crucial forensic technique used in the case.
The pliers were not found alongside the body or in the area where the bodies were discovered. It is their job to prove the burden of proof by linking the disturbing crime to the defendant. In this case, the prosecution’s defense had succeeded in providing evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden of proof was delivered by highlighting the defendant’s motive, which could be used to determine the intent behind the criminal act.
The officers tampered with evidence and made a false discovery that he was the person and that is how he was convicted (Innocent Project N.D.). Many forensic methods have been implemented in research when looking for evidence, but the methods that are not scientific and have little or nothing to do with science. The result of false evidence by other means leads to false testimony by a forensic analyst. Another issue with forensic errors is that it is a challenge to find a defense expert (Giannelli, 2011).
According to the Innocence Project (2006), “On September 17, 2001, Chad wrote the Innocence Project in New York, which, in 2003, enlisted pro bono counsel from Holland & Knight to file a motion for DNA testing on Tina’s fingernail scrapings.” The state had tested the DNA that was under Tina’s nail from the first case but at that time it was inadequate and could not be tested. It was not until now that we have the technology capable enough to test it. In June 2004, the test came back negative to matching both Jeremey and Chain Heins but did come from an unknown male. The state argued that it was not enough to overturn the conviction so Chad’s attorney asked the state to do some further testing and to compare the DNA from under the fingernails to the hairs that was found on Tina’s body. It was in 2005 that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that there was a match between the DNA under Tina’s nail and the pubic hair. According to LaForgia (2006), “this particular type of DNA, the report stated, was found in only about 8 percent of Caucasian American men.” During this process there was a new piece of evidence that Chad’s attorney had learned about during the appeals process, a fingerprint. There were some accusations that the prosecutors never disclosed this information about this third fingerprint and if they did it was too late. The jurors did not even know about this fingerprint and if they did this could have changed the whole case. This fingerprint was found on several objects that included the smoke detector, a piece of glass, and the bathroom sink. It was soon discovered that this fingerprint matched with the DNA found on the bedsheets that Tina was on. This was finally enough evidence to help Chad Heins become exonerated in
One of the most coveted trials in terms of popularity and media attention the O.J Simpson trial which took place between 1994 and concluded on October 2,1995 with O.J Simpson being acquitted of charges laid upon him during the Murder Trial Due to handling of physical evidence and questions over whether Mark Fuhrman planted the bloody glove at the scene to frame O.J. so in an attempt to understand how a deviation from standard operating procedures in the handling of physical evidence can affect the outcome of a criminal trial; One most first understand evidence and how to preserve it. When the crime scene technician took blood samples from Simpson’s Ford Bronco (1996) she used a cotton swab to take samples; but instead of using
Fairchild, H. & Cowan, G (1997). Journal of Social Issues. The O.J. Simpson Trial: Challenges to Science and Society.