Why the O.j. Simpson Trial Can't Happen Here

• Publication year: 1995
• Pages: 1749

24 Colo.Law. 1749 Colorado Lawyer 1995.

1995, August, Pg. 1749. Why the O.J. Simpson Trial Can't Happen Here

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1749

Vol. 24, No. 8, Pg. 1749

Why the O.J. Simpson Trial Can't Happen Here

by Phillip S. Figa

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Many lawyers and judges in Colorado look at the O.J. Simpson murder trial with horror and fascination. Horror because it reeks of much that is wrong with our nation's legal system. It sometimes appears that our profession, with all its vulnerabilities and frailties, is what is on trial---and we are losing. Fascination (when we admit to watching it) because the spectacle and drama is on occasion too compelling to ignore. We are not alone. During the past year, I have spoken on behalf of the Colorado Bar Association to schools and civic groups about the case. No matter how much is said or printed, the public's interest in the case and the legal issues surrounding it continues.

As lawyers, we can lament many aspects of the case. Its incredible (and unnecessary) length is hard to accept by the Colorado Bar. Over three months ago, a few state judges commented to me that if they had tried the O.J. case, a verdict would have been reached already. Certainly, the camera in the courtroom has not helped. While many, if not most, publicized cases are not unduly affected by television cameras in the courtroom, cameras have adversely impacted this one. The live television coverage and incessant media scrutiny have caused all sorts of putative witnesses to come out of the woodwork, the courtroom to be subjected to grandstanding theatrics by lawyers playing to a worldwide audience, and a circus-like atmosphere to erupt inside and outside the courtroom, tainting the truth-gathering process.

While the federal courts may be too restrictive in refusing to allow for televised proceedings under any circumstances such a ban makes sense at least in those cases such as the O.J. trial where the camera itself becomes an intrusive player. The South Carolina judge who barred cameras in the Susan Smith child drowning case learned a lesson from what has happened in Los Angeles

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Our newest Colorado Supreme Court justice, Rebecca Love Kourlis, exemplifies our state judiciary's "big stick" approach.

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Trial Errors

Judge Ito can be faulted for many mistakes. He originally gave the lawyers too much leeway. Can you imagine opening statements in any kind of trial going on for several days in a Colorado courtroom? What Colorado jurist would keep any jury---whether or not sequestered---twiddling their thumbs for a week while a deposition of a possible witness (Rosa Lopez) was taken in open court outside the jury's presence? Constant delays in the proceedings, especially sidebars ("approaching the bench," in this state's...