Nearly 30 years after the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the case against O.J. Simpson continues to divide public opinion.
KNX News Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman spoke to former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley about how the so-called “trial of the century” impacted the courts, the police, and the media.
“It was almost breathtaking regarding the impact that that case had,” Cooley said. “One thing the prosecution learned – maybe not totally, but – is that celebrity cases do not obey the rules of gravity. They are different. And the prosecution must keep that in mind when prosecuting the celebrities.”
After the media circus the trial inspired, the Superior Court of L.A. County changed its rules regarding TV cameras in the courtroom, becoming much more restrictive about what judges could allow. Cooley said the change may not have been a good thing.
“However, my position always was the cameras in the courtroom should be allowed, because the people have a right to know how their justice system is working or is not working,” he said.
Cooley replaced Gil Garcetti, who lost the Simpson case, as L.A. County D.A. in 2000. He said that if he had been in charge of the trial, he would have done things differently than his predecessor
“Gil Garcetti did not follow the law when it came to the proper venire, the proper jury venire,” Cooley said.
In L.A. County, cases are supposed to be tried in the district of victimization, which would have been the west district for Simpson’s trial. However, Cooley decided to bring the case downtown.
“One of the reasons was he wanted to control the media, probably to enhance his own future career and ambitions. Perhaps he wanted to have more control over the case itself as it went along,” Cooley said. “It's also been said that he wanted to have a quote-unquote rainbow jury, different ethnicities and backgrounds, and then when they would come to the inevitable conclusion that O.J. was guilty, it would be an even greater victory for the D.A.’s office and Gil Garcetti.”
Cooley said the decision proved “disastrous” – not only was Simpson acquitted, but some members of the public took issue with the jury selection process, forming the opinion that the jury was predisposed to find Simpson not guilty.
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Despite being acquitted, a civil trial jury found Simpson liable for the double murder in 1997. After Simpson’s death Wednesday, David Cook, the attorney for the Goldman family, told KNX News’ Chris Sedens the former football star “died without penance.”
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