, one lawyer for each side, maybe an expert or two, and several other witnesses. Most criminal trials are conducted speedily (a matter of days rather than months) and in a dignified manner. The public saw none of that.
Instead, they saw a jury held captive for months, a judge too afraid to cut off defense lawyers or too enamored of the limelight to exercise his authority, and a parade of lawyers, expert witnesses, and fortune hunters. Many people concluded that if you have enough fame or money, you can get away with any crime, even one as heinous as this. The American criminal justice system, one of the best in the world, came to be viewed as a joke by those it is supposed to serve. That, ultimately, was the legacy of the People v. Simpson.
People of California v. Erik and Lyle Menendez
This was the second go-around for the Menendez brothers. Their first trial had ended with a hung jury that could not decide between manslaughter, second-degree murder, and first-degree murder. The brothers, both adults, admitted that they had killed thei
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