Johnnie Cochran was appointed lead counsel for Simpson during his trial. His strategies included showing jurors how the glove did not fit, planting evidence and falsifying testimony against Simpson.
Peter Neufeld was a civil rights attorney and forensic expert who assisted with the Simpson case. He became well known for his aggressive cross-examination of detective Mark Fuhrman, which helped discredit evidence presented during trial proceedings.
Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie Cochran worked his way up through the ranks at Los Angeles City Attorney’s office before leaving feeling that African-American men were being mistreated by law enforcement officers. After starting his own private practice, Johnnie quickly gained notoriety for winning big settlements against law enforcement officials for any harm caused by them.
Cochran took on several high-profile clients, such as Michael Jackson. He successfully negotiated an out-of-court settlement for him regarding child molestation charges against him. But Cochran’s greatest achievement came through his representation of Geronimo Pratt whose murder conviction was overturned after 27 years behind bars.
Lee Bailey
Famed defense attorney Albert Rosenblatt rose to fame through defending newspaper heiress Patty Hearst during her 1976 bank robbery trial and Boston Strangler suspect Samuel Sheppard (who spent over 10 years behind bars before recanting and being freed).
John Bailey excelled at drawing media coverage into his cases. He often held press conferences to bolster the credibility of his clients and was one of the first defense attorneys to use cross-examination as an attack tool.
Eventually, Bailey was disbarred in both Florida and Massachusetts on charges that he mishandled stock belonging to one of his clients and was found guilty of contempt of court – serving 44 days in jail as a result.
Gerald Uelmen
Gerald Uelmen was previously Dean of Santa Clara University School of Law. As part of OJ Simpson’s defense team known as “The Dream Team”, Gerald represented Daniel Ellsberg during his trial as well as various high-profile cases such as OJ Simpson.
Though he did not directly argue before a jury in this case, his expertise was invaluable. He drafted many defense briefs and pre-trial motions as well as actively cross-examining LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman to discredit him. With an in-depth knowledge of arcane legal issues and appellate decisions, his expertise made him an indispensable member of Dream Team.
Barry Scheck
After his former wife Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were killed, O.J. Simpson became the subject of national scrutiny due to his murder trial. Unfortunately for him, however, he was ultimately found innocent of all charges; public sentiment split along racial lines; whites disapproved while blacks supported it.
Scheck was part of Johnnie Cochran’s defense team in his trial and has become famous for his cross-examination of Los Angeles police forensic scientist Dennis Fung; it has become an iconic legal moment.
Scheck is best known for his representation of high-profile clients; however, in addition to defending these cases he also works as a clinical law professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and as director of the Innocence Project which has exonerated hundreds of wrongfully accused prisoners through postconviction DNA testing.
Marcia Clark
Born in California, Clark spent her early years moving around frequently as her father worked as a chemist with the Food and Drug Administration. Following college graduation, she enrolled at Southwestern University’s law school before taking and passing the California Bar exam in 1979.
Clark was quickly seen as an aggressive prosecutor once she joined the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in 1981 and quickly established herself. She quickly earned a reputation for taking on high profile cases such as prosecuting stalker-murder Robert Bardo for killing actress Rebecca Schaeffer.
Clark wrote her memoir of the Simpson case, Without A Doubt, which made both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists in 1997. Since then she has published several legal thrillers featuring prosecutor Rachel Knight such as The Competition, Killer Ambition and Guilt by Association as well as crime fiction novels featuring criminal defense attorney Samantha Brinkman such as Blood Defense Moral Defense Snap Judgment
William Hodgman
As legal analysts analyze OJ Simpson’s trial, many are focusing their attention on his lawyers. Their work represents their respective roles within an often dysfunctional system.
Hodgman served as a lead prosecutor in this case, handling pre-trial motions and jury selection duties. During opening statements he collapsed due to stress-related health conditions but returned shortly thereafter for jury selection proceedings.
Shawn Holley was an indispensable member of the defense team. She handled several aspects of the case – such as jury selection and witness preparation – as well as providing significant media exposure for it.