A. O. J. Simpson Case: New Trial of the Century.
C. Civil Trial Judge Concluding Remarks.
E. Summary of Issues Determining Criminal Trial Outcome.
1. Requirements for Conviction in Civil Cases.
2. Requirements for Conviction in Criminal Cases.
D. Civil & Criminal Case Distinctions
2. Education & Persuasion of Jurors.
3. Media Frenzy During Simpson Trial.
1. Voir Dire Research on Simpson Jurors.
2. Factual Evidence vs. Media Interpretations.
3. Emotional and Psychological Impact on Jurors.
4. Outcome of Prosecutorial Voir Dire Efforts.
I. Different Approaches to Criminality.
7. Retribution Theory of Punishment.
8. Personal Deterrence Theory of Punishment.
1. Summary of Concepts Causing Criminal Law Conflict.
2. Relationship Among Concepts & Trial Outcome.
The O. J. Simpson trial replaced the Lindbergh kidnapping as the trial of the century. Charged with the homicide of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, Simpson was acquitted of both charges in a criminal trial. However, in a following civil trial, Simpson was found liable for the deaths of both Brown and Goldman with the jury awarding Brown’s two children by Simpson and Goldman’s parents $8.5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages (Allen 3). The civil trial judge found it necessary to comment on the outcome of the case, “The amount of the award in this case may be considered insufficient rather than expensive when compared to live in prison or death” (Allen 1).
Despite the outcome of the civil trial, the criminal trial ended in what many considered a travesty of justice. However, the outcome of the criminal trial was the result of a variety of factors incorporated into the adversarial nature of the criminal justice system in the U.S. From voir dire and the Fourth Amendment to jury nullification and the media, Simpson’s criminal trial demonstrates that many...