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Prosecutor Christopher Darden displays a photograph of
Nicole Simpson to the jury during the closing arguments
at O.J. Simpson's murder trial.
MYUNG J. CHUN REUTERS |
People ask me why we lost the criminal trial and the plaintiffs won the civil trial. It was simple-different judge, different jury, different lawyers, different evidence, different day. The plaintiffs had the advantage of hindsight, which is always 20/20. They didn't make the same mistakes we did.
They also had 31 photos of O.J. Simpson wearing the Bruno Magli shoes and they had Simpson testifying under oath. Under the rules for civil litigation, he was obligated to give a deposition and take the witness stand. Ironic, isn't it, that both cases hinged on an "N" word? Attorney Daniel Petrocelli asked Simpson, "How many times did you hit Nicole?" He answered, "Never." Nobody believed him. When Simpson was asked if he ever wore Bruno Magli shoes, like those whose bloody footprints were discovered at the crime scene, he replied, "I would have never owned those ugly-ass shoes." Those photographs proved otherwise and Simpson learned an invaluable lesson about another "N" word-never say never. The jurors had 31 reasons to disbelieve Simpson and find him liable in the deaths of Ron and Nicole.
The civil trial wasn't about revenge or money. It was about accountability. There was nothing more offensive to the victims' families than seeing Simpson stroll toward the courthouse, waving to fans and giving autographs, rubbing his undeserved freedom in the victims' faces. The civil trial was about a man who will no longer be able to say: "I was a victim of racist cops. I didn't do it." The Simpson II jury did its duty. They were given the chance to right a wrong, and did.
But the story isn't over.
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