In countless documentaries and docudramas, the Dream Team has been highlighted for their incredible work in OJ's case, taking each piece of evidence and arguments against OJ, and backfiring it against the prosecution. For example, attacking the LAPD for its history and Mark Fuhrman for his history was a strategic move to raise doubt in the jury's minds. Regardless of whether you believe OJ committed the murder, the Dream Team had to have been the dream set of lawyers anyone could ask for.
OJ said himself in an interview that he would have had "no chance" if he had been a middle-class member rather than a rich, ex-NFL Star and hero. The Dream Team had cost OJ $50,000 each day of their work. During this time, he generated income mainly from his memorabilia from his NFL career, a marketing and merchandising plan to generate enough money to afford his lawyers. In his jail cell, he would sign autographs for memorabilia dealers to sell. OJ earned $3 million from his autographs that he signed in jail.
This paid for the Dream Team to work their magic. Their strategy was to contest every of physical evidence that the prosecution brought into the courtroom, as well as a DNA specialist to raise doubt in their DNA evidence, claiming that DNA can easily be tampered with. As Scheck said, "At best, we get some of it thrown out. At worst, we get the jury to question it.". Research was also key to debunking the prosecution's evidence. The countless hours of research by the defense led them to find former records of officer Mark Fuhrman in which he had been extremely racist and had a hatred for black people. Being that the jury was mostly black, that isn't going to sound too good for Mark. Additionally, they used the instances of institutionalized racism in LA at the time to show that people could have been motivated to stage OJ.
This is a prime example of the justice system being correlated to how much money each side has to hire the best lawyers. OJ would certainly have not had a chance if he wasn't OJ, and if he was almost any other man on the planet. The lawyers you hire and the jury that is elected are the two biggest factors in any case, and OJ had them both his way.
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-oj-simpson-paid-for-the-dream-team-2016-6#simpsons-former-agent-mike-gilbert-said-in-the-doc-that-by-the-third-day-simpson-was-in-prison-he-got-his-reps-to-start-getting-together-a-marketing-and-merchandising-plan-to-generate-a-lot-of-money-2
I agree with you Kunal that without being OJ he wouldn't have won the case. Now although it might be unfair, it's not like OJ committed a crime by hiring the best lawyers he could find. I think what really changed this trial was the fact that the trail was held in downtown LA. Due to the location, the Jury selected was almost entirely against the Police due to what they had experienced in their own lives. This prior bias I believe changed their views and made the Police lose a lot of credibility. Regardless of race, I believe that if this trial had been held in a different city or the LA Riots and Police brutality had not occurred in the prior years, then OJ would have been convicted
ReplyDeleteI agree that without OJ's wealth and fame, he would have not won the trial. It was impossible to find a jury that was unbiased or didn't know who OJ was, in Los Angeles especially after the Rodney King beatings. I think that OJ's case shows the effects of the huge (and growing) wealth gap between the middle class and top 1%. It is not OJ's fault for being as rich as he was, but it brings up what needs to be addressed in the justice system which is economic inequality. Some good lawyers do take cases on as pro bono, but most good "Dream Team" lawyers cannot be hired by normal, middle class citizens for that long of a period. OJ's trial lasted roughly eleven months which is around $16,750,000, not counting the time the lawyers spent before OJ's trial. It is disappointing to think that if OJ were simply a middle class person, he would've been convicted for the crime he did commit. I think that OJ's case also brings up questions about cases now that have celebrities involved. Even our president has been able to put away his scandals because of his wealth, whereas a majority of the American population would be convicted if faced with the same allegations.
ReplyDeleteOJ definitely had a major advantage in court. Since he had the money to hire the best lawyers around, he was represented very well and had a strong group of people fighting for him. Another huge advantage to OJ was the fact that he was black. There was a lot of controversy happening in the African American community in terms of the LAPD and it became very easy for the jury to believe that the police had planted evidence and were out to get him. His fame played a huge role in his fate as well. Since the case was so popular, a lot went into finding the perfect jury who was not bias and would fit the right profile. I believe that not only was OJ’s defense team a key part in why he was found not guilty, but the demographic of the jury who were mainly black and aware of what the police were capable of also impacted Simpson’s fate.
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