The O.J Simpson Trial

The American public has always been fascinated by tragedy. Why? It’s in our human nature, as we tend to gravitate towards looking upon other people’s mistakes or failures as if it were as precious and watchable as someone’s victories. Add in an event so tragic being televised, and you have yourself a hit with everyday U.S citizens. The O.J Simpson Trial was a turning point in not only the American judicial system, but it completely changed the thoughts that there was no more racial division in our country. People suddenly viewed our court system as a broken, failed section of our government due to the outcome of the trial.
Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson was born on July 9th, 1947 in San Francisco, California. At his local high school he soon became a football star, ending up going to the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship (Baughman). There he excelled in the sport and soon made it to the NFL being on teams such as Buffalo Bills, and the San Francisco 49ers. He also made a break into the film industry right before deciding to retire from his professional football career. Overall during the 1970s-1980s Simpson was a figure the American public looked up to and viewed as a positive influence and icon. During his football and acting career Simpson was married to his first wife Marguerite Whitley, together having three children, but they soon divorced in late 1979 after the travesty of one of their children drowning in the family’s swimming pool (Baughman). Simpson had many victories and triumphs in his life but he also had struggle and strife. Although still dating his wife, Simpson began dating Nicole Brown whom he had first met in 1977, they married eventually in 1985 having two children. The marriage between...

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...lled believed the verdict was right (“The Trial”). Another reason this trial has been important to the American judicial system and overall history is because although there was much evidence pointing to Simpson for committing the murder, he did have some of the best attorneys in the business and that showed the American public that possibly money or even celebrity status could get you out of murder. People began to think that if money has something to do with whether or not you’re guilty of something, poverty will ensure you injustice (“OJ”). The case brought into question fundamental tenets of U.S. law as the presumption of innocence, the adversarial trial, and the right to trial by jury (Kronenwetter). Many people believe that you can not understand the law system until you understand the O.J Simpson trial, and it is a trial that will always be remembered (“OJ”).