OJ Simpson The Precase Assessment

to mexico downright hot considering again that it's the middle of january on up the coast the east coast the low will be tracking into her classmates hours later nicole was dead i saw nicole and i said hello and gave her a big hug and a kiss obviously the next morning when i woke up to the news that i i mean the hair on the back of my neck stood up i had chills the neighbors who found the bodies were horrified my husband is turning the same way and he's saying to me there's a body there was a lot of blood i was remembering as like it was coming down like a river i just said you murderer and then he yelled me and i went yes you and i hung up the phone call from o.j simpson to his former in-laws the morning after nicole was killed his words still echo denise knew right away and said in my mom she was always fearful always fearful yeah one of these days i have a feeling that i'm good that he's going to kill me nicole simpson dead from a knife wound to her throat so deep that it nicked her spinal cord i still can't believe she's gone i still want to pick up that phone and say hey nick nicole's friend right now we all we are okay but you gotta tell the police to just back off he's still alive but he got a gun to his hand the o.j simpson story he had it all loved by millions oj was rich from commercials movies and business ventures but suddenly there were the killings and oj simpson would be to cast the celebrated athlete turned commercial spokesman and actor into the role of a vicious killer mr simpson is charged alone because he is the sole murderer and that is why he is the only one charged the events surrounding simpson's arrest five days after the killings were bizarre shortly before he was scheduled to turn himself in he was here at the home of his good friend and attorney robert kardashian other colleagues were also on hand including attorneys and doctors then suddenly o.j simpson simpson left behind a letter that sounded to some like a suicide note in which he denied involvement in the killings everyone understand i had nothing to do with nicole's murder i think of my life most no matter what the outcome people will look and point i can't take that and then simpson was located on a southern california freeway nearly 100 million people watched the low-speed police chase on national television it went through the interchange continuing northbound on the 405. thousands of his fans lined the freeways cheering waving and blowing him kisses simpson held a gun his friend o.j simpson was behind bars for the murders of his ex-wife nicole brown simpson and her friend ron goldman she was tall blonde and beautiful and since her death the subject of hundreds of tabloid headlines she was nothing but a woman who put other people in front of her in front of herself got drunk and did drugs that was so not my sister it's overwhelming we haven't had time to grieve there's not a quiet moment there's when we have a quiet moment i think we have a quiet moment then they're the children we'd like to dedicate this song especially to mrs nicole simpson you know [Music] that was just it's nicole with her two kids i was like look she's blonde she's angel's blonde the forgotten man in this murder case is ron goldman but not forgotten by the circle of friends with whom he played softball he had hit a tunnel he was an answer all the time to his family and friends his murder was incomprehensible you think oh it was a bad dream and then you realize that it did happen and that you're never gonna see him again it will be tragic you know dearly missed and uh we're gonna have to cope with that for the rest of our lives [Music] with no known eyewitnesses to the stabbing and will depend house at the time that this murder took place oj was at home awaiting to get into a limousine to take him to the airport on a trip that had been planned well in advance for a promotional event in chicago but testimony from the limo driver who took simpson to the airport might threaten simpson's alibi so from 10 40 to 10 50 you continue to ring the bell yeah and you got no response no he says he saw a large dark figure run across simpson's driveway shortly before 11 pm and after that simpson responded to his calls the evidence is consistent and very powerful even at this early stage of the case that it to indicate that the defendant has indeed committed every crime that he is charged with i think that when it's all said and done and when they've considered all the evidence in this case i think that reasonable people will agree that he's innocent of these charges until the killing simpson's marriage had looked ideal to outsiders but police 911 tapes revealed afterward that there had been troubles okay what does he look like oj simpson i think you know his record could you just do something over here okay what is he doing there he just drove up again a pair of gloves one found at the murder scene the other at o.j simpson's estate would become crucial evidence for the prosecution when i found the glove back here on this pathway i'll have to i have to admit to you that the adrenaline started pumping the defense hinted furman may have planted the glove because simpson's attorneys claimed it makes no sense that o.j simpson would go back to his house and leave a bloody glove in his backyard that just doesn't stand up to logic the los angeles police department waited more than 10 hours to summon the county coroner to examine the bodies the delay makes it impossible to pinpoint a precise time of death the coroner's office admits it made more than a dozen mistakes in this case among them a bottle marked urine actually contained liver bile nicole brown simpson's stomach contents were thrown away and the deputy coroner admitted he didn't know what kind or how many knives were used despite vigorous searching thus far no murder weapon has been found and at some point in the trial it's believed the contents of the so-called mystery envelope will be revealed cnn sources say it is a knife like this one that simpson bought in may sources also say the knife is in mint condition the families of the victims came to court regularly in the beginning and are expected to do so again the man who is accused was my son-in-law we loved him [Music] how do you feel now [Music] justice will be done i feel i'm very i feel so sure about this that justice will be done i have such confidence well i want to answer we've managed to develop some sort of opinion but we still want a fair trial we want a trial that would be fair for everyone he took my sister and ron's life but i can't hate him and it's a hard thing it's your family you know it's it's hard but um i i would forgive anybody that that admits to their own sin the o.j simpson story what it comes down to is did he do it the brown family like the prosecution are convinced he did simpson says that he didn't how do you plead to counts one and two absolutely 100 in the end a jury will decide robert vito's cnn los angeles when we return an up-close look at marcia clarke and the prosecution strategy but first a look back at o.j simpson the american football hero turned actor and pitch man now murder defendant [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] did my folks get to disney world okay i still can't believe they went by themselves they're getting so weird over this chair and interviews capitol hill leaders including bob dole monday night on larry king live nine eastern on cnn [Music] now let's take a look at the prosecution the team is headed up by deputy district attorney marcia clark clark is joined by deputy district attorneys william hodgman and christopher darden they all work under the direction of los angeles county district attorney gil garcetti joining me again is roger cossack a former prosecutor with the la district attorney's office roger the prosecution is seated closer to the jury than the defense because the prosecution has to prove its case and what exactly does that mean well jim it's up to the prosecution to convince each and every juror beyond a reasonable doubt of mr simpson's guilt if they fail to do that it's called a hung jury and they might have to do the whole thing all over again we've been hearing that this is a case of circumstantial evidence what is circumstantial evidence well jim there's two kinds of evidence there's direct and they're circumstantial direct would be if you're standing outside and it begins to rain and you get wet you can testify that it's raining circumstantial would be it would be that if you're sitting inside and the door opens up and someone comes in that's soaking wet you can draw an inference from that set of circumstances that it's raining outside in this case the prosecution is going to have to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence there's no murder weapon there's no fingerprints and there's no confession so they're going to be relying on circumstantial evidence like dna let's take a closer look now at the person who has to prove the state's case deputy district attorney marcia clark here cnn's art harris in the wake of the two murders marcia clarke was everywhere at the crime scene at the estate of the accused killer with the cops then in court tangling with the best criminal lawyers money can buy it seems like a little bit of grandstanding if the two of you i can't believe i heard mr shapiro say that marcia clark is no shrinking violent she can put on the fancy dress and hold her pinky up when she drinks the coffee or she can just wade in and knock your teeth down your throat ready or not marcia clark is now prime time and the pressure is on the l.a district attorney's office has lost two recent high profile cases the acquittal of the police officers who beat rodney king and hung juries in the menendez brothers murder case to reverse that slump clark has to do what some would call the impossible send a hometown hero to prison for two murders he says he didn't do she's tried 21 homicides and hasn't lost a case in the last five years but she's never been under this kind of microscope the public has already heard defense counsels where everything she says these statements are done deliberately how she says it i'll never do it again i should promise a problem yes and what she wears sparks debate even rival robert shapiro has commented on her quote great legs at the same time he's attacked her as unfair it's appropriate to have an order to show cause ray contempt on the district attorney's office i think that would push her butt because i think marcia clark considers herself very fair and very ethical and i think she is it's the old story you put a black hat and a black bandana on the prosecutor and you make them look like a band of desperados who are who are beyond the beyond the law to see how she's playing the da's office convened a practice jury in phoenix to hear the case against simpson the panel called clark too aggressive and said she didn't make her case a few people said [ __ ] a few people thought she was very aggressive tenacious pushy but those people only watched her on television not in court i don't think you can watch a person on television on just what little bit we've seen and get a feel for that person i think you got to be in the courtroom attorney richard leonard watched clark send his client to prison for murder she doesn't talk down to a jury she talks to him in plain simple language and makes the case very very simple and the families of victims say their pain feeds her passion for justice she's sympathetic she's caring marcia in her own line of work i think can tap into some of to be honest some of the rage that families feel who have lost victims to murder one clark fan is hollywood director brad silberling he planned to marry actress rebecca schaefer until she was gunned down by a fan who stalked her marcia clark sent that killer to prison too showing outrage at the trial robert barda will not truly be punished for this crime until he is locked away what i was so impressed with was she said this person does not deserve to be sharing the same space that you and i are an avenging angel for the dead when she's losing her temper it's probably because she wants to cling to make sure that that victim is still a part of the trial at the simpson trial one veteran prosecutor predicts she'll bond with the jury as skillfully as anyone on simpson's high price defense team she's got the common touch depending on what the advice i don't think that she ever speaks over the heads of the jurors and i think she tries to become one of them and let them know that she's not from a background where she had a silver spoon in her mouth the daughter of a government bureaucrat a former ballet dancer marcia clark finished high school in new york graduated from ucla and worked her way through law school here for 250 an hour as a waitress at lowry's steakhouse now at 40 she's juggling the simpson trial with her role as a single mother of two small children days before the simpson case began she filed for divorce from her second husband but colleagues say she leaves her personal trials at the house and feels right at home with hard-nosed detectives who solve murders for a living they relate great to marsha because marsha has a way of just becoming one of them and marcia can uh you know can um talk to talk like a truck driver sometimes she's made me blush a street fighter in high heels a tough cookie who doesn't crumble this is a tough business i mean you're running against tough lawyers that are going to pick at you every bit of the way and you got to be tough you know you can't be a namby pamby in there and be a good prosecutor art harris cnn los angeles now as we just saw on the art harris piece marcia clark has clearly changed her look as a result of these focus groups roger how effective have those changes been well it's difficult to assess at this time jim it's clear that she was criticized for perhaps being too strident and too tough in these focus groups and apparently she's taken some steps to try and soften her image as a former prosecutor and an observer what are marcia clark's strengths and what are her weaknesses well i think she's very very strong in one area and that's her passion and belief and and i think that will go right to the jury marcia clark stands up and tells you exactly what she believes and how she believes she's a strong tough prosecutor and this is a tough case and i think the fact that she passionately believes in her case is going to be very helpful to the jury the la dea's office has lost a number of recent high profile cases politically how important is it to win this one well it's hard to say whether or not this is going to be the make or break case for go garcetti but it's clear that the los angeles county da's office uh has lost a lot of high profile cases menendez and other cases are are such that it's going to come back to haunt mr garcetti when he runs for re-election in another couple of years from your standpoint and it's easier as an armchair quarterback what are the strategies that appear obvious at this point well i think that in this case the prosecution will be relying heavily on scientific evidence as well as that physical evidence that was found at the scene of the crime it's clear that they are hoping at least that the dna will connect mr simpson both to the scene of the crime and to his house as well as the bloody glove that was found at his house i think the defense probably will probably will be relying on the fact that there isn't a large window of time for mr simpson to have committed this crime so i think that those are some of the issues that we'll be talking about thanks roger and coming up we'll take a look at the defense the highest profile legal team ever assembled for one man o.j simpson we'll be right back it's time to get this matter into a courtroom and let a jury of 12 people decide this case based [Music] now a look at the defense assembling that team is high-profile lawyer robert shapiro he's joined by johnny cochran jr and retired law school dean gerald yulman also on the team effly bailly and harvard law professor alan dershowitz and a team of dna legal experts joining me again trial attorney greta van susteren greta we've seen that the prosecution has a burden of proof what does the defense have to prove the defense has to prove nothing only the prosecution has something to prove and that's proof beyond a reasonable doubt the defense can sit there absolutely silent they don't even have to ask any witnesses questions if the prosecution doesn't meet its burden to the satisfaction of the jury they must return a verdict of not guilty what about an affirmative defense well the defense has the option of actually putting on information putting out an affirmative defense if o.j simpson wants to put on witnesses to show or to tend to show that he had nothing to do with the offense he has a right to do so but he's not compelled to do so because he hasn't to prove anything a question many people are asking will oj simpson testify he doesn't have to he can remain silent but in this particular case i expect that he will testify he's going to want to testify before that jury to convince the jury that he is a believable credible and non-violent person he's a very smart man and as a defense lawyer defense lawyers are very happy when they get a witness such as o.j simpson the jury is going to want to hear from him so i expect he'll testify now you said the prosecution will call witnesses the defense will cross-examine what is the purpose of a cross exam well cross-examination is simply asking questions of the other side's witnesses you do that to challenge their witnesses to pick apart at the case the defense is going to ask questions of the prosecution's witnesses simply to try to pick at the case to show that the prosecution can't meet its burden similarly if the defense calls witnesses including o.j simpson the prosecution will be able to cross-examine ask their witnesses questions in an effort to show that their witnesses are not believable okay greta stand by when we return we'll continue our discussion on the defense and take a closer look at two members of this defense team stay with us [Music] go inside the world of cnn on your pc for a free compuserve membership kit call this number [Music] let's take a look now at two key players on the defense team robert shapiro and johnny cochran they both made careers representing high-profile clients here's cnn's anne mcdermott robert shapiro can play to the crowds robert shapiro can play to the media robert shapiro can play hardball in court i assume he's talking to me i'm addressing the court but i'm looking at you i wanted to be clear i wanted to make sure that you understood this because council please he is flamboyant and passionate and many observers agree he is very very good each lawyer thinks rightly or wrongly that he or she may be the best thing to come down the pike since clarence daryl and of course that's not so in this case not only is mr shapiro talking the talk but he's able to walk the walk he has represented marlon brando's son christian and f lee bailey but the simpson case made him a household name in just about every household with a television set that was tuned in the night simpson disappeared please surrender immediately since then he's become a celebrity at the courthouse and he's become a celebrity outside the courthouse he appears to handle it well no surprise perhaps for a man who authored an article on dealing with the media see in a couple hours he is hard-working focused and controlled with an occasional lapse like the time he muttered an obscenity in court i'm offended by mr shapiro's comment that he would even utter an expletive in open court just like that shapiro blamed it on the heat at the moment i apologize to mr hodgman it was unprofessional of me he seems to have few critics at least few willing to go on the record about the veteran lawyer but some have suggested shapiro is a better deal maker than a trial attorney young brando's case for example was resolved by a plea bargain others say that's unfair and point to his courtroom successes most of the criticism about him seems lukewarm and seems to focus on style rather than substance i think if mr shapiro can follow the rules of the road and downplay perhaps the flamboyance that he's demonstrated thus far he can be very very effective and courtroom observers say so far that's exactly what he's been very very effective effective at casting at least some doubt on a case that many first figured to be open and shut before long shapiro was joined by another la lawyer johnny cochran could be called flashy after all he favors gold-rimmed glasses pastel suits personalized plates for his roles and represents michael jackson but if he is flashy he is also friendly a cheerful man who is happy to praise an opponent like prosecutor bill hodgman he is an excellent lawyer flashy friendly and sometimes fearsome in court council stands here and and makes these outrageous statements but most of all johnny cochran is a winner just ask denzel washington he sought out cochran as the model for his performance in philadelphia how many lawyers you go to before you call me cochran has long been a star of la la but the o.j simpson case will likely make him a national one even international yet cochran says all good attorneys rely not on their reputations but on the facts of a case but i think what you find is that your press clippings stay at the door he is much admired by colleagues i think the world of johnny carkin is a lawyer i like him on a personal level and i think he's a great lawyer and i think this is the perfect case for him and others agree saying it's because of the challenge and not race cochran has represented a lot of african americans but he is also representing reginald denney the white truck driver who was nearly beaten to death by african-americans during the la riots prosecutors recognize his skills and freely acknowledge their admiration he's smooth silk he's a brilliant courtroom tactician one conflict cochran was concerned about in the simpson case was his friendship with the former football great that made him hesitate when asked to join the defense team but joined he did and some veteran legal observers say that may have been the defense's smartest move of the case anne mcdermott cnn los angeles okay greta focus if you will on possible defense strategies the defense strategy is going to continue to be the same since it's been since the beginning that's very aggressive they put a lot of pressure on the prosecution hoping the prosecution will make mistakes mistakes only benefit the defense because that sometimes is reasonable doubt do you see the possibility of a plea bargain in this case if o.j simpson is guilty there is a possibility for a plea bargain and that could occur as late as jury deliberations lawyers want to get the least amount of punishment for their clients when they're guilty and if they conclude he's going to be convicted there'll be some behind the scenes negotiating and what would you say is the greatest obstacle facing the defense team they're up against some good tough smart prosecutors thanks greta coming up next we'll take an up-close look at the judge and jury inside the o.j simpson trial stay with me judge and jury throughout the past few months we've seen a lot about judge lancito from this position he looks down on the entire courtroom seated squarely between the prosecution and the defense in this case as in all cases the judge serves as a neutral mediator in the trial process i'm assigning the case to judge lance ito prior to his appointment to the trial of the century judge ido told a legal newspaper quote i think you would have to be crazy to want that case because of the amount of public scrutiny now the 44 year old former prosecutor is a household name and coping with the same scrutiny as all the other prominent players ito has experience with high profile cases he presided over the savings and loan fraud trial of charles will keating acceptable to the people as well neither defense nor prosecution objected to his appointment even after the supervising judge disclosed that edo's wife captain margaret york is the highest ranking woman on the la police force however that connection did raise some questions later all right good afternoon ladies and gentlemen before releasing jurors for the holidays judge edo stressed the crucial need for them to remain fair and focused please remember my admonition to you don't discuss the case amongst yourselves or with any other person don't allow anybody to contact you regarding this case don't allow yourself to be contacted or in any way influence regarding this case judge ito is a long-distance runner which could be an asset given the stamina that may be needed to balance a fair trial a free press and the big egos involved in this unprecedented case greta roger discuss if you will the role of the judge well jim ordinarily the role the judge is not that significant in that he or she just makes decisions on rather inconsequential points however sometimes the judge you selected is key to the case for instance in this particular case the former judge ruled that that glove was admissible that bloody glove another judge might not rule that way and that glove may damage the defense more than they can recover from roger how important is judge edo's personal history well jim we know that he was a career deputy district attorney right here at the los angeles county district attorney's office and we also know that he's married to the highest ranking female police officer on the los angeles police department a lot of people would be if you were a defense lawyer would be a little suspicious of someone like that but as we both know all parties agreed to accept them eagerly does it appear the judge has been tougher on one side than the other jim i think the judge has been tougher on the defense and i say that because there have been many opportunities when the prosecution has failed to do what it should do under the rules yet the judge has taken no action to punish the prosecution most judges would punish the prosecution when they don't do their job well i don't know about that greta after all the judge ruled that that conversation between the reverend rosie greer and o.j simpson is not going to be admissible and that potentially could have been very damaging to the defense so while it appears that oftentimes the prosecution does win i think the judge has been fairly even-handed in this trial but that was the right ruling roger the judge really should have excluded any testimony that rosie greer had relating to the conversation with o.j simpson let's turn our attention now to the jury these are the men and women who will ultimately decide o.j simpson's guilt or innocence greta roger what kind of an impact on the jury will it be to have o.j simpson seated at the defense table that may be the best thing that's happened to the defense because o.j simpson is a very likable guy and it's very difficult to convict someone you like so the defense wants him there he has a right to be there and hopefully from the defense perspective the jury will begin to like him just seeing him sitting in the courtroom roger well i'm not so sure about that after all mr simpson is accused of a very very serious crime and there is at least enough evidence to get them through a preliminary hearing and i suspect quite a bit more i think this could backfire on the jury i think that mr simpson is the kind of man that people might uh get angry at no question about roger that it's a tragic offense that it's a violence offense but having o.j sit there day after day after day the jury's going to get accustomed to him and there's a huge risk to the prosecution that the jury will begin to like him it's easier to convict an enemy than it is convict someone you know one of the nice things about all of this is though the juries have a great deal of intuition and they will pick up right away whether or not simpson is being honest or dishonest by is it with his appearances how do you assess the makeup of the jury the race factor the gender factor well this is a difficult question that perhaps each person has their own feeling i know that there's a great deal of criticism that there are because there are so many african-americans but i i don't put any stock in that i see people convict people of the same race and gender all the time and i think we're going to have a fair trial in this case i think race and gender are equally irrelevant in this particular case in any case because good lawyers can convince jurors of their position and how do you see the prosecution and defense playing to the jurors they're going to be spending every second of every day aware that that jury is sitting there watching them and the defense is going to instruct o.j simpson be very careful what you do and say and how you appear in front of the jury and the lawyers are going to stick to the same code and the reason they have someone like marcia clark and bill hodgman assisting each other in this case is because they are so diametrically opposite bill is sort of an even-handed easy-going guy where marcia clark is passionate and uh and almost angry uh to the jury in her belief that she wants to convict mr simpson so i think that you'll see the prosecution uh come down hard and try very very much to get a conviction in this case but even marcia clark's vigor may be something that's very appealing to the jury because the jury is going to be appalled by this crime they'd like to see an aggressive lawyer so even the fact that she seems a bit aggressive or strident may not be something that hurts the prosecution and the same is true of the defense a jury likes to see a defense lawyer fight for a client no question about it that we're going to see some sparks during this trial isn't that true greta i hope we're going to see some sparks because that shows the lawyers are really got their heart and soul in it coming up the media coverage it's often been a blur of news entertainment and tabloid reporting in a surrounding of circus-like atmosphere when we come back we'll take a look at a day in the life of a cnn all-wheel drive all the time transfers power to the wheels with the most traction wait no no scratch the snow keep the hill and get something really slippery so quattro goes places the mercedes c280 and bmw 325i even with traction control never dreamed and it goes there for less they never believe it audi quattro from 27 170 from the soul of audi [Music] we turn now to the media during the busiest of times the press area near the criminal courts building is a frenzy of reporters and producers amid a sea of satellite dishes and scaffolding we follow along now with cnn's mark watts and witness a typical day with cnn covering the o.j simpson story mark watts this is atlanta can you hear me you're supposed to be getting uh ifb now okay uh brake turn send me a picture please you are about to go inside our nerve center on location from a place called camp oj hello cnn's mark watts from los angeles mark good morning donna the camera always shows you this but you rarely see what goes on behind the scenes one two three four five six gotta go mark you're about four minutes out buddy okay [Applause] hello it's the morning of december 8th jury selection is supposed to wrap up today cnn's mark watson los angeles thanks for the information and that's the first of seven live reports we do almost one every hour at the courthouse across the street from camp oj photographers await the arrival of jury consultant joe ellen demetrius and once she arrives we'll have approximately five minutes to send the videotape to atlanta on a fiber optics line and get it edited for usage in the next reports yeah go ahead tracy yeah he's coming in demetrius arrives a courier brings the tape to our production trailer yeah this is for the watts 12 o'clock live shot get to the joellen vo when i say the players in the simpson case began arriving about 25 minutes ago live crew please send some audio about a minute from you mark play on the simpson case is the role cue for the vow [Music] now the busy day on tap the players in the simpson case began arriving oh about 15 to 20 minutes ago who's arriving who's arriving cochran and shapiro are arriving out back i'll let you know in your ear if they say anything defense attorneys johnny cochran and robert shapiro have just arrived at the courthouse so things should be getting underway no 12 preemptories and then prosecution went first in the meantime the final jury selection process was being monitored on the 12th floor by cnn producers and media outlets throughout the world it's competitive and everyone is plugged in then the announcement came as both sides have accepted the panel as is moments later we're on the air a new development to tell you about now in the o.j simpson case a jury finally has been seated finally a milestone in the simpson case next a pool briefing from reporters who were inside the courtroom there was a sigh of relief in the courtroom the briefing is transmitted to atlanta and excerpts are used during the next two live reports with the latest headline news one for cnn headline news and then cnn's world today for the latest developments we go to cnn's mark watts in los angeles mark throughout it all judgito kept jury selection on course and the process today completed there was a sigh of relief in the courtroom judge lancito later held an open hearing dismissing the jurors and adjourning court i'm going to execute on the wall until monday and our work day was about to end but first some closing thoughts on o.j simpson and the completion of jury selection i think his mood speaks for everybody involved in this case one of relief all right cnn's mark watson los angeles with that camp oj went dark done for the day back tomorrow back in about nine hours at 3 a.m as we just saw the media outside the courtroom can be chaotic and frenzied but inside the courtroom it's not only controlled it's remote controlled my experience is that individuals coming into this courtroom and taking this witness seat and having cameras six feet away is pretty intimidating despite those feelings judge lance edo agreed to allow three still photographers a robotic still camera and a single video camera to remain in the courtroom to provide pool coverage for all the networks including cnn as well as to local television stations both cameras are mounted on the wall behind and high above the jury box and operated via remote control by twin joysticks although the jurors will be safely out of range and may not be photographed the video camera is able to pan from side to side and zoom in and out allowing a bird's eye view of virtually the entire courtroom at the bench the judge has switches enabling him to shut off the four microphones placed within the courtroom he can also monitor the picture from a small television set under his desk the camera operator who also has a tv monitor will be seated inconspicuously among the trial watchers in the back of the courtroom the simpson trial will also spotlight high-tech equipment to display evidence to the jury an 80-inch screen and several smaller monitors for the judge counsel and the witness will display documents photographs videotape even animation as it's being discussed in court that same image will be fed to the networks for broadcast the judge will have the ability to turn the system on and off just ahead some final thoughts from inside the simpson trial with greta van susteren and roger cossack right after this ever seen one of these classic movies [Music] roger greta let's get your final thoughts what are your expectations about the mood inside the courtroom during the jury phase of the trial jim we're going to see everything we're going to see anger we'll see the lawyers get mad we're going to see the judge get mad we're going to see a lot of grief when those autopsy pictures are passed around and everyone sees the devastating injuries that these two victims suffered and periodically we're going to see a little humor like you see in all trials and i don't say that to be crass but sometimes funny things happen during trial but overall it's a mood of seriousness and then what happens after a while is a certain thing seems to take over in every serious trial like this a certain work person-like quality happens the jury gets down to work the attorneys get down to work and the judge gets down to work and the trial seems to take on a life of its own until the conclusion and something different happens and all the media and all the hoopla seem to go away do you think that the jury will be affected by seeing the victims families in the gallery without any doubt whatsoever those families have endured so much they've lost someone that they love and the jury is very sensitive to that and especially at those more important moments in the trial for instance when those autopsy pictures are passed around among the jury and they know the families are sitting there they're going to feel it of course the interesting part of this would be whether or not mrs simpson's sister will become a witness in this trial she has made statements to the press indicating that she believes at least that mr simpson is guilty she's also made some other statements which clearly indicate how she feels about him whether or not the prosecution calls her as a witness remains to be seen but if she does get called as a witness and if she breaks down on the witness stand and starts to cry even the most distant person would have to feel some sadness for greta what does this case say if anything about the price of justice well jim it's really the question what is the price of a fair trial there's been an awful lot of money spent by the defense but that simply matches what is spent by the prosecution it's very hard to get a level playing field trials are expensive few defendants have the resources that oj simpson has so that he can get a fair trial but we've seen other wealthy people get convicted of crimes and just because you have a lot of money that doesn't necessarily mean you get acquitted i think it sure helps greta but it doesn't necessarily mean you get acquitted no but it sure helps you get a fair trial do you think we'll ever see anything like this again not only do i think that but we'll probably see it very soon these cases don't go away i think when you spend your life being a criminal defense lawyer one of the things you learn is something called the human condition and i think that goes to you learn that sometimes the good or not quite as good as they're supposed to be in the bad uh perhaps sometimes aren't as bad as they're supposed to be and oftentimes people do things that uh that just are unexplainable and i think that you will see these kinds of things happen again and on that note that's it for this special look inside the simpson trial our thanks both to roger cossack and greta van susteren for your help from the criminal courts building in downtown los angeles i'm jim moray [Music] [Music] two years after taking office how's president clinton doing i think he's demoralized our country i think he's been overly all season long for the third year in a row the cowboys and the 49ers went head to head to decide who would referee

Channel: Derek Munch

Views: 14,481

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Id: EV0h068TUfM

Length: 42min 28sec (2548 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 06 2021