What was oj simpsons lawyers

Read More. Among Bailey's other prominent clients were Samuel Sheppard, a doctor who was accused of murdering his wife, and who became the inspiration for the television series and movie "The Fugitive.

Lee Bailey C , pictured here surrounded by newspeople and their equipment on his arrival for morning session of the trial for Patricia Hearst. Fishman, who worked for Bailey as a young law student in , and stayed in practice with him for nearly 27 years, told CNN. He was the quintessential criminal defense lawyer.

Fishman, who called Bailey his friend, said the two had authored multiple law books together, including a manual on what Fishman called "the art of cross examination. And effective, obviously. Fishman said Bailey pioneered a style of cross-examination that eschewed using notes and prepared questions, and emphasized working off of a witness' reactions and testimony. Lee Bailey had a different approach than was typical at the time," Fishman said, adding that Bailey had an "incredible, almost scary memory.

Bailey was also among the first defense attorneys to regularly use press conferences as a tool, Fishman said. He realized early on that the only information in the press was from press releases from police and prosecutors.

However, the blow that removed Shapiro from his lead status was when Cochran won Simpson's favor by visiting him in jail — something Shapiro preferred not to do with any of his clients. Once Cochran took over as lead counsel, Shapiro was vocally critical and attempted to distance himself from his team's chosen strategies.

He would later tell Barbara Walters that "not only did we play the race card, we dealt it from the bottom of the deck. Having moved up the legal ranks in L.

In , he was considered one of the best trial lawyers in the nation, and it was Simpson himself who asked Shapiro to bring Cochran onto the team. Once Cochran gained control of Simpson's defense strategy and pushed Shapiro to the side, he wooed the courtroom and media.

Using his "Black preacher" style approach, he controversially used the race card to curry sympathy for Simpson. After prosecutor Darden made the mistake of demanding Simpson try on the ill-fitted bloody gloves, Cochran uttered the famous phrase: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. Before Lance Ito was appointed to the bench in , he was an attorney for the L. A fan of media attention, Ito was arguably too lax about different aspects of the Simpson trial, giving interviews and inviting celebrities and journalists into his chambers.

Judge Ito was further criticized on his decision to allow cameras in the courtroom and letting attorneys stall and have too many sidebars. His willingness to include Detective Mark Fuhrman's old taped interviews, in which he denigrated Black people, was also a huge source of contention for the prosecution. In a strange twist, the tapes also revealed Fuhrman had made disparaging remarks about Ito's wife, Margaret York, who was Fuhrman's department superior at the time.

When those comments were exposed, the prosecution asked for Ito to recuse himself due to his possible bias against Fuhrman, but later the request was withdrawn. Among the most controversial figures of the Simpson trial was L. Although Fuhrman denied ever having racist tendencies or using the n-word, a taped interview he had chosen to do 10 years earlier revealed otherwise. In the recording, he was quoted as saying to incarcerated Black people: "You do what you're told, understand, n—r?

A wave of backlash hit Fuhrman, but he continued denying being a racist and also pushed back against the defense's theory that he planted the bloody glove to frame Simpson. As the prosecution's witness, Dennis Fung — the LAPD criminologist who collected evidence at the murder scene — ended up spending the longest time testifying on the stand.

For nine days, Fung recalled how he collected samples of blood, albeit admittedly overlooking some important areas where blood drops were identified and not always using gloves. The defense ate up Fung's inefficient and careless actions and implicated him as a liar who was part of a larger LAPD conspiracy against Simpson.

Aspiring actor and houseguest of Simpson, Brian "Kato" Kaelin was a star witness for the prosecution. A Massachusetts judge censured him in for "his philosophy of extreme egocentricity," and he was disbarred for a year in New Jersey in for talking publicly about a case. Bendrix Bailey said there were no plans yet for a funeral for his father, but he added, "I was told when asked whether he would [want] a celebration of life, he responded: 'F no, I'll be dead.

I won't give a s! David K. Li is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. News World Opinion Business.

Share this —. Follow NBC News. Famed attorney F. Lee Bailey, who defended O. Simpson, dies at age 87 June 4, By David K.