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Table of Contents
The O.J. Simpson Trial – nicknamed “The Trial of the Century” – came to a shocking conclusion on October 3, 1995, when the jury handed down a verdict of “Not Guilty”.
For the 25th anniversary of the verdict, let’s look at some of the trial’s key moments, and also, showcase a list of movies and t.v. shows and books that are worth watching this week.
Key Moments of the O.J. Simpson Trials
June 12, 1994 – The bodies of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson were found at her home
June 17, 1994 – Ford‘s Bronco became a celebrity thanks to O.J. Simpson’s chase on the 405 freeway.
June 20, 1994 – O.J. Simpson is arraigned and pleads Not Guilty
July 20, 1994 – The Goldman family file a wrongful-death lawsuit
July 22, 1994 – At O.J. Simpson’s 2nd arraignment hearing he said he was “absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty.”
November 3, 1994 – Twelve (12) jurors were seated for the O.J. Simpson trial in addition to Twelve (12) alternates
January 24, 1995 – The trial against O.J. Simpson begins
January 27, 1995 – I Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions is released
February 3, 1995 – Nicole’s sister, Denise Brown, testifies to the abuse
February 12, 1995 – The jury visits Nicole Brown’s house and Simpson’s Rockingham house where the place was staged
March 13, 1995 – Mark Fuhrman denies being a racist
March 22, 1995 – Kato, O.J. Simpson’s houseguest, took the stand to say he had last seen O.J. at 9:36 p.m. the evening of the murders. [O.J. Simpson was not seen for over an hour until 10:54 p.m. when he talked to the limousine driver.]
March 28, 1995 – Allan Park, the limo driver from the night of the murder, testified
April 4, 1995 – Criminologist Dennis Fung confesses to a lack of proper protocol on the scene when collecting evidence
June 12, 1995 – Nicole Brown Simpson’s family files a wrongful-death lawsuit
June 15, 1995 – Christopher Darden made the biggest mistake of his career when he asked O.J. to put on the gloves found at the scene. The gloves could not have fit Simpson because they had been soaked in blood and also frozen and unfrozen several times.
June 19, 1995 – William J. Bodziak, FBI shoe print expert, testified that the bloody shoe print in Simpson’s Bronco and at the murder scene was made from a rare and expensive pair of Bruno Magli Italian shoes of which only 29 pairs in Simpson’s size were sold in the United States [one being sold at a store Simpson shopped at].
July 14, 1995 – Dr. Robert Huizenga testified that O.J. could not have committed the crimes due to his chronic arthritis and football injuries. AFTER THE TRIAL – Dr. Huizenga admitted that O.J. could have committed the crimes in “throes of an adrenaline rush”.
August 10, 1995 – Dr. Michael Baden testified for the defense that the murders happened closer to 11 p.m. when O.J. Simpson had an alibi. AFTER THE TRIAL – Dr. Baden admitted that he had lied and should never have testified on behalf of Simpson.
August 15, 1995 – Marcia Clark asks Judge Ito to recuse himself
September 6, 1995 – On the stand, Mark Fuhrman cites his fifth amendment privilege
October 2, 1995 – The jury reaches a verdict after FOUR hours of deliberation
September 18, 1996 – Jury selection begins for the lawsuits against O.J. Simpson accusing him of wrongful death and battery
November 22, 1996 – O.J. Simpson testifies before the jury
December 9, 1996 – Fred Goldman, father of the victim, testifies
January 13, 1997 – A letter from Nicole Brown Simpson is read to the jury wherein she claims “[O.J.] beat the holy hell out of me.”
February 4, 1997 – After 17 hours of deliberation, the jury reaches a verdict that Simpson is liable for the two deaths and awards plaintiffs $8.5 million in compensatory damages
July 31, 2007 – Federal Court Judge A. Jay Cristol awarded the Goldman family the rights to If I Did It and re-named If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer the book’s proceeds pays off Simpson’s civil claim
September 13, 2007 – Simpson entered room number 1203 at the Palace Station Hotel to retrieve sports memorabilia they claim were stolen
September 16, 2007 – Simpson is arrested and charged with six felony counts as well and is held in solitary confinement without bail
September 19, 2007 – Simpson is released on a $125,000 bail
September 15, 2008 – The Trial begins for the stolen sports memorabilia
October 3, 2008 – The jury unanimously finds Simpson guilty on all 12 counts against him, including robbery and kidnapping charges
December 5, 2008 – Simpson was sentenced to a minimum of 9 years in prison
July 20, 2017 – Simpson granted parole on the armed robbery convictions
October 1, 2017 – Simpson is released from prison
What to Watch and Read about the O.J. Trials
In addition to the 2 books written by O.J. Simpson, other books by key players-
Vincent Bugliosi (former District Attorney) – Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O. J. Simpson Got Away with Murder
Clark – Without a Doubt
Cochran – Journey to Justice
Darden – In Contempt
Fuhrman – Murder in Brentwood
Goldman Family – His Name is Ron: Our Search for Justice
Dr. Henry Lee (Defense forensic DNA expert) – Blood Evidence: How DNA Is Revolutionizing The Way We Solve Crimes
Faye Resnick – Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted
Shapiro – The Search for Justice
Jeffrey Toobin – The Run of His Life
[3 Ladies of the Jury] – Madam Foreman
Movies based on the cases against O.J. Simpson –
The O.J. Simpson Story (1995) – starring Bobby Hosea (Simpson)
American Tragedy (2000) – starring Ving Rhames (Simpson), Christopher Plummer (Bailey), and Ron Silver (Shapiro)
OJ: Trial of the Century (2014) – a documentary by ID
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) – starring Cuba Gooding Jr. (Simpson), Sarah Paulson (Clark), John Travolta (Shapiro), David Schwimmer (Kardashian), Sterling K. Brown (Darden)
O.J. Simpson Trial: The Real Story (2016) – a documentary by ID
O.J.: Made in America (2016) – a documentary by ESPN
OJ25 (2020) – a documentary by Court TV
Where are the Key Players of the O.J. Trial in 2020?
O.J. Simpson – retired in Las Vegas, Nevada, where his social security earnings are not in danger of being taken by the Goldman and Brown families (@TheRealOJ32)
Kim Goldman – sister of the late Ron Goldman; Kim is the Executive Director of LA Based The Youth Project
Fred and Patti Goldman – parents of the late Ron Goldman; they are working as realtors in Arizona
Denise Brown – sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson; victims’ right advocate and speaker
Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. – died of brain cancer in 2005
Robert Kardashian – died of esophageal cancer in 2003
Robert Shapiro – founder of LegalZoom and RightCounsel.com and the Brent Shapiro Foundation
Barry Scheck – co-founder of The Innocence Project
F. Lee Bailey – disbarred in Massachusetts and Florida in the early 2000s for misconduct in handling a client’s case
Marcia Clark – tv commentator and novelist
Chris Darden – defense attorney, legal commentator on television
Judge Ito – retired in 2005
Kato Kaelin – tried his hand at reality television and regularly appears at Wizard World Comic Con
More True Crime to Read
- The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021) is a Captivating Documentary on NETFLIX
- Ann RULE, True Crime Arthur
- The Fritzl Case that Shocked the World
- Remembering the Brave Olga Lengyel and the 5 Chimneys [Book Review]
- The Tragic Tale of Terrell Peterson, A 5 Year Old Boy Murdered
Sharing is Caring
How fast time goes by … Nobody knows for sure how it happened.
I vividly remember the events of this trial and situation. Thank you for detailing them to refresh our memory.
I am one of the follower of this trial. I am at the middle.school that time and not aware then grew up and watching it all over.
I followed this trial, O.J Simpson verdict was one of the greatest news ever that wveryones witness. The story is really fascinating.
I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. That was such a crazy case and I don’t think anyone expected it to end the way it did. And I had no idea that F. Lee Bailey was disbarred!
I remember this trial well as I followed all of it on live television. I remembered being happy at the verdict, only because black males and females for centuries never received justice and I knew OJ would pay for his sins eventually.
I must admit, Autumn, that is one of the most interesting thoughts about the verdict I’ve read/heard. Thanks for sharing!
Who can forget the slow speed Bronco chase? The world has gotten crazier since then, do you think it would just be another blip in 2020?
oh gosh the Bronco chase! It was a wonder Ford stopped making the Bronco. It became a celebrity itself 😉
Can’t believe it’s been that long, so crazy and so full of twists. Recalled it all with the timeline given in this post.
there were so many crazy twists! can you imagine being in the jury?
i can’t beleive it’s been that long. i’m 36 so it was going on when i was really little so i watch the highlights but i have followed later in life.
I’m 36 too, Katrina. I remember seeing it in school and especially after school since it was on t.v. 24/7 (or so it seemed)
I was a child when the OJ trial was going on so I didn’t fully understand. The timeline makes things easier to follow and to even understand how Oj was being tried in a court of law for this case.
glad the timeline could be of help!
After all these years, I find the O.J. Simpson case still totally fascinating. I wonder if we will ever know the truth??
i think the closest to the truth is the “insane” book OJ wrote when he described how he did it (IF he did it).
This happened when I was a senior in high school. Just crazy!
and yet you probably remember it like it was yesterday, right? i was in 3rd grade and still recall it vividly more than most things in school years.
I know about this the O.J. Simpson Trial. It was heartbreaking. Law can sometimes be not aligned with morality and conduct. It was so difficult.
it was a tough case to follow. i felt so sorry for the Goldman family especially since Ron seemed to become only a footnote in his own murder trial.
I had no idea we were coming up on the 25th anniversary of this case already! I can’t believe it was that long ago. I remember when all this was happening and it was truly crazy! The netflix series on this case was fantastic! I may have to watch it again!
Kileen
the FX series on netflix was masterfully done! love that it told many sides of the story. when the actress playing Ron Goldman’s sister cried out at the verdict – pinched my soul like the real sister’s cry. will never forget that.
I wasn’t alive when this all went down but this case is infamous. I’ve never actually looked into it so this is the first time I’m seeing it all written down, thank you
glad that my post could be enlightening for you, Alice. Have you seen the FX The People v O.J. Simpson series? It was well done from all sides.
I still remember this, I was in highschool at the time. It was such a crazy case. I will always remember the line, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” referring to the glove.
yep. that glove. that line.
I still remember watching this trial. I have never seen anything like it! Between the twists and turns and the grandstanding. Craziness.
the grandstanding was insane, right? i read that the “dream team” wasn’t even on speaking terms with each other during the case.
That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I watched every second of it.
it was addicting. don’t think i followed another case quite the same way until the Jodi Arias case and Casey Anthony case.