Jury Selection and Effect of their Decisions 
By: Chely Córdova
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OJ Simpson murder case 

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Orenthal James Simpson or as most people know him as OJ Simpson. He rose to fame through playing for the San Francisco 49ners football team. He was also known for his career as sports commentator. He is most known for the murder trial of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was first married to Marguerite L. Whitley in June 24, 1967. In that relationship he had three children, which included Aaren Lashone Simpson who drowned in the family’s pool before her second birthday. That same year they divorced and in 1985 married Nicole Brown. Nicole Brown always complained about her marriage to family and friends. She would tell them O.J. would be physically abusive and frequently beat her. However he denied ever hitting her. She filed for divorce in 1992. On June 12, 1994 the bodies or Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death outside of her condominium in LA’s Brentwood area. When evidence led to police to suspect Simpson of the murder, he fled (with a disguise and a passport) in his Bronco in a nationally televised slow-speed chase seen.

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Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman
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Image of the scene of the crime.

Criminal evidence 

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The Timeline


The matching bloody gloves found at the murder scene and outside Simpson's home

9:36 P.M. Simpson, wearing a dark sweat suit, is seen by Kato Kaelin.

9:30-9:45 Charles Cale, walking his dog by Simpson's Rockingham residence, does not see Bronco.

10:02 Simpson attempts to call Paula Barbieri on the cell phone from his Bronco.

10:15 (prosecution)-10:40 (defense) Period during which murders took place.

10:22-10:30 Limo driver Allan Park, scheduled to take Simpson to airport, does not see Bronco on Rockingham.

10:40, 10:43, 10:49  Allan Park buzzes Simpson's intercom, but gets no response.

10:50  White or light bronco observed at the intersection of Bundy and Dorothy.

10:51 or 10:52 Kato Kaelin hears three thumps on the wall outside his room.

10:54  Allan Park sees a man wearing dark clothes, about 6-feet tall and 200 pounds, walk across the driveway of the Simpson residence.

10:55 Simpson lies to Allan Park.

Criminal Trial Evidence 

1.  The 9-1-1 call and the history of Simpson's violence directed at Nicole Brown.

2.  Hair evidence: (1) hairs consistent with that of Simpson found on cap at Bundy residence, (2) hairs consistent with that of Simpson found on Ron Goldman's shirt.

3.  Fiber evidence: (1) cotton fibers consistent with the carpet in the Bronco found on glove at Rockingham, (2) fibers consistent with the carpet from the Bronco found on cap at Bundy residence.

4.  Blood evidence: (1) killer dropped blood near shoe prints at Bundy, (2) blood dropped at Bundy was of same type as Simpson's (about 0.5% of population would match), (3) Simpson had fresh cuts on left hand on day after murder, (4) blood found in Bronco, (5) blood found in foyer and master bedroom of Simpson home, (5) blood found on Simpson's driveway, (6) blood on socks in OJ's home matched Nicole's.

5.  Glove evidence: (1) left glove found at Bundy and right glove found at Simpson residence are Aris Light gloves, size XL, (2) Nicole Brown bought pair of Aris Light XL gloves in 1990 at Bloomingdale's, (3) Simpson wore Aris Light gloves from 1990 to June, 1994.

6.  Shoe evidence:  (1) shoe prints found at Bundy were from a size 12 Bruno Magli shoe, (2) bloody shoe impression on Bronco carpet is consistent with a Magli shoe, (3) Simpson wore a size 12 shoe.

7. Other evidence: (1) flight in Bronco, (2) strange reaction to phone call informing him of Nicole Brown's death, etc.


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Incriminating Facts that the Criminal Jury was not permitted or able to Consider 







 
1. Simpson did not testify at his criminal trial.  Defense attorneys will almost always call as a witness an articulate client that they believe to be innocent.

2.  Subsequent to the trial defense attorneys talking about the trial have been careful to say "the jury did the right thing," while not stating that Simpson was in fact innocent.

3.  Subsequent to the trial, Simpson has devoted no real effort to tracking down the "real killer," nor has any significant evidence surfaced suggesting that the killer was anyone other than Simpson.

4.  The jury was not allowed to hear testimony concerning Simpson's rumored jailhouse confession to Rosie Grier.

5.  Subsequent to the criminal trial other evidence of Simpson's guilt surfaced.  The most significant of the new evidence may have been photographs of Simpson wearing Bruno Magli shoes.  The new evidence, together with much of the evidence considered in the criminal trial, convinced a civil jury that Simpson murdered Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.

6.  In his 2007 book, If I Did It, Simpson (for all intents and purposes) confessed.  The book describes in detail events leading up to the moment of the murders.



Entire chart citation below 

The jury

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The jury selection process for this case was long and extensive. In the end the jury consisted of 9 blacks, 1 hispanic and 2 whites.  The jury was also 10 women and 2 men. This decision of having a majority be black is. There was a poll given to both blacks and whites. The majority of whites found Simpson guilty while most blacks believed he was innocent. Click image to go to website with more information on how the jury was selected, and see sample questions. Click here to see the alternative jurors and background on each juror. People's backgrounds play an important factor in how people would make their decision. 
"Juries formed from all-white jury pools convict black defendants significantly (16 percentage points) more often than white defendants and (ii) this gap in conviction rates is entirely eliminated when the jury pool includes at least one black member." - Economists Shamena Anwar of Carnegie Mellon. 
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Click to read a primary source on how the jury was selected.
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Interview with Peter Arenella, a law professor at UCLA Law School. He is questioned on the OJ Simpson murder trial. Among the question the interviewer asks What is the legacy of the O.J. Simpson Trial? Is there a legacy? What role did race play on the jury's deliberations.  Which include people's reaction of the case and many questions on the jury and what could possibly have made the jury make their decision. Click image of Mr. Arenella to read his full response on the jury's decision. 
This video goes over how a juror's life is affected because O.J.'s trial was very long and the jurors had to stay away from learning of the opinions on the case. 

After Simpson was declared not guilty. The world was divided. There were differences in opinions about the facts in the Simpson trial and that divided whites and blacks. Looking at the poll's CNN held in October 4-5, 1995  they found most whites believed Simpson was guilty while most African-American's thought he was innocent. That related back to the jury. By looking at the statistics in this CNN page that was created through polls completed by 517 whites and 400  African-American's you can get a glimpse of how the country was divided. 

This is an extra video of more information on the trial and of actual day on the murder of O.J.'s wife. 
Next page
Citations:
  1. "A Jury Is Chosen to Hear The Simpson Murder Case." The New York Times. The New York Times, 3 Nov. 1994. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/04/us/a-jury-is-chosen-to-hear-the-simpson-murder-case.html>. 
  2. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/oj-simpson-9484729#trouble-with-the-law>.
  3. "BBC - OJ Simpson the Untold Story." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG5CPhGoT3M>.
  4. "Interview Peter Arenella." PBS. PBS. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/interviews/arenella.html>.
  5. "O.J. Jury - How They Lived While Sequestered - ABC News Report." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVZwRypexNE>. 
  6. "Profiles: Who Are the O.J. Simpson Jurors?" Profiles: Who Are the O.J. Simpson Jurors? Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns5.htm>. 
  7. Race and Juries." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/07/trayvon-martin-case>.
  8. "The O. J. Simpson Trial: The Incriminating Evidence." The O. J. Simpson Trial: The Incriminating Evidence. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/evidence.html>.
images:
  1. "Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman: 20 Years Later." Obituaries. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.legacy.com/news/legends-and-legacies/nicole-simpson-and-ronald-goldman-20-years-later/2398/>.
  2. "O. J. Simpson." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson>. 


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