O.J. Simpson Case: Orenthal James Research Paper

Jury Selection Process, Sequestration, Verdict and Relevant Controversies:

OJ Simpson's case had already set the record for being the longest jury trial in the history of California even before the commencement of closing arguments. For a better part of the year, the jury in the case had been sequestered and was displaying signs of exhaustion and strain (Linder, 2000). Actually, Judge Ito was blamed for permitting the trial to drag on as he appeared unable to keep lawyers under control. The sequestration of the jury was also evident in the fact that they only took three hours to deliberate on the case that generated 150 witnesses in a period of more than 133 days and cost more than $20 million to conduct.

In this criminal trial, one of the key messages from the defense was that the Los Angeles Police Department was mainly geared towards bringing down a famous African-American. This message was specifically targeted at the jury, many of whom had negative experiences with the LAPD. The trial team not only maintained but also used a jury consultant effectively to carry out pretrial jury research and periodic analysis during the trial to understand the possible reactions of the jurors to significant thematic messages and evidence introduced during the trial. Therefore, jury research is carried out to determine the various kinds of juror reactions to the case messages or themes.

The jury in OJ Simpson's trial comprised of 9 Blacks, 1 Hispanic, 2 Whites with 10 women and 10 men whose educational level included 2 college graduates, 9 high school graduates, and 1 without diploma. The racial composition of this jury was mainly influenced by the prosecution's decision to file the case in downtown Los Angeles instead of Santa Monica, the judicial district where the offense took place as is usually the case. Poll results indicated that many whites believed Simpson was guilty while many blacks believed he was not guilty. Consequently, the decision to file the case in Santa Monica could have been the huge mistake the prosecution could have made.

The jury selection process for this case started on September 24, 1994 with around 250 probable members of the jury and the judge, the defense and prosecution teams, and Simpson in Judge Ito's courtroom. In addition to providing warning that the trial may take several months, the judge explained procedures to the potential jury members ("Selection of the Jury," n.d.). The judge excluded from consideration probable jurors who infringed his strict guidelines associated with exposure to the media. The selection of jury that composed of many blacks was basically attributed to the numerous efforts the defense team poured in the selection efforts.

Following a three-hour deliberation of the trial that lasted for months, the jury verdict was that OJ Simpson was not guilty of the offense of murder. The jury verdict contributed to huge controversies regarding the polarization of the trial along racial lines, which reflected that racial attitudes existed in the country, especially in the law enforcement. The polarization along racial lines was evident in the jury selection process, jury sequestration, arguments on case issues, and jury verdict.

Conclusion:

The OJ Simpson trial remains one of the most publicized and costly trials in the history of the United States. Since the jury verdict was that the suspect was not guilty of the criminal offense, it reflected polarization of major issues along racial lines.

References:

Linder, D. (2000). The Trial of Orenthal James Simpson. Retrieved from University of Missouri-

Kansas City - School of Law website: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/simpsonaccount.htm

Nickell, J & Fischer, J.F. (1998). Crime science: methods of forensic detection. Kentucky:

"Selection of the Jury." (n.d.). The O.J. Simpson Trial: The Jury. Retrieved from University of Missouri-Kansas City - School of Law website: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/jurypage.html

Thompson, W.C. (n.d.). Proving the Case: The Science of DNA: DNA Evidence in the O.J.

Simpson Trial. Retrieved from Ramapo College of New Jersey website: http://phobos.ramapo.edu/~jweiss/laws131/unit3/simpson.htm