The unforgettable and bizarre moments of the O.J. Simpson murder trial that left a lasting mark on popular culture.
A jury acquittal is not always the end of the story. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman thirty years ago. However, even though Judge Lance Ito mandated the football hero's release from detention "forthwith," the case was never really settled.
Instead, the October 3, 1995, verdict was just the first step in determining the precise implications of the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson case for the legal system, race, class, and celebrity, not to mention the impact on those who were actually involved in the proceedings.
Famous people had been accused of terrible things before Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife and her friend on the night of June 12, 1994. And Los Angeles had seen its share of splashy legal proceedings, not least the Menendez brothers' first murder trial just a year beforehand.
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A jury acquittal is not always the end of the story, but no case has ever taken over so much of the media, taking over late-night comedy and cable news, interrupting athletic events, and bringing a litany of personalities like Kato, Clark, Cochran, and Kardashian into the public eye.
The infamous low-speed Bronco chase that preceded Simpson's arrest, the Naked Gun actor's "absolutely, 100 percent not guilty" plea at his arraignment, the ill-fitting glove fiasco, and the methodical dismantling of numerous prosecution witnesses by the defendant's so-called dream team of attorneys were just a few of the topics that were discussed.
As everything had been said and done, the 473-day trial cost the city of L.A. upward of $10 million and Simpson who died April 10, 2024, at the age of 76 walked free. (Until 2008, when he was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to nine years in prison, but that is another story.)
Depending on who you asked, the decision was either cheering or tragic. In 1995, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who did not have an opinion on the subject, as over 100 million people paused their activities to turn on the television and watch the verdict being delivered.
Nothing else will have ever attracted a national audience in that way again, and TV no longer operates in that manner with the exception of, ironically, the Super Bowl, which at the time was the greatest show on the air due to the Simpson murder trial.
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