The O.J. Simpson trial in the mid-1990s brought newfound fame to people in the fields of law, forensics and entertainment. Names such as Marcia Clark, Lance Ito, and Mark Fuhrman became widely known and discussed during the nearly year-long trial.
Simpson, who died on Wednesday at age 76, was acquitted after being charged in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
No other high-profile trial has catapulted people into the spotlight the way the Simpson trial did. Here’s a look at some of the key figures from the trial.
Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark
Clark’s first high-profile case came when she prosecuted Robert John Bardo in 1991 for the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. One of the only women working Simpson’s case, Clark’s fashion choices and custody battle with her estranged husband received national media attention. Many of Clark’s decisions during the trial were also scrutinized. Clark resigned after losing the trial and wrote a book about the case, “Without a Doubt.” She has appeared on multiple TV shows, including “Pretty Little Liars,” and as a cable news commentator.
Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran
Cochran was head of Simpson’s “Dream Team” of defense attorneys. He passionately said the black glove found at the crime scene couldn’t have belonged to Simpson because it was too small for his hand. His famous line during closing arguments of the trial — “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” — became an iconic motto in pop culture that was parodied in television shows for years. Before the Simpson trial, he defended superstar Michael Jackson against molestation allegations and Tupac Shakur on weapons charges. But the Simpson trial made Cochran a household name. He’s credited for bringing the issue of race to the forefront of the trial.
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He wrote in his 2003 memoir that the Simpson trial “changed my life drastically and forever in ways impossible to even imagine.” After the trial, he appeared on “Martin,” “Family Matters” and “JAG.” He went into private practice and opened a personal injury law firm. Cochran died of a brain tumor in 2005 at the age of 67.
Prosecutor Christopher Darden
Darden set up one of the famous trial scenes of all-time when he asked Simpson to try on the bloody glove from the crime scene in front of the jury and a national TV audience. Simpson struggled to put the glove on, prompting the famous line from Cochran. Darden’s colleagues said at the time that the courtroom moment was a textbook example of what prosecutors should not to do. He left the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office after the case and became a law professor.
Detective Mark Fuhrman
Fuhrman was a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department who was assigned to Simpson’s case and testified that he found a bloody glove near the crime scene. But his credibility was challenged by Simpson’s attorneys, who argued that he might have planted evidence after they uncovered tapes of Fuhrman making racist comments. Fuhrman retired from the LAPD the same year Simpson’s trial ended and was charged in connection with claiming false information in court statements. He pleaded no contest in 1996 and received three years of probation. He has appeared as a guest on multiple news channels, including as an analyst for Simpson’s parole hearing on Fox News in 2017.
Judge Lance Ito
Ito began taking on high-profile cases for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in the early 1990s, when he presided over financier Charles Keating Jr.’s trial. Ito allowed TV reporters to broadcast inside the courtroom for Simpson’s trial, a controversial decision that ultimately changed media coverage of major trials. Ito considered stepping down late in Simpson’s trial after Fuhrman made disparaging comments about the judge’s wife, which led to concerns over whether he could remain impartial. Ito continued to preside over other Los Angeles cases after Simpson’s trial but removed his name plate from his courtroom door after it had been stolen multiple times. He retired in 2015.
Brian “Kato” Kaelin
Kaelin stole the spotlight during the trial with his memorable testimony for the prosecution. A struggling actor who, at the time, lived in a guesthouse at Simpson’s home, “Kaelin appeared jumpy and jittery from the moment he entered the courtroom, racing to the witness stand, shifting in his seat,” Washington Post reporter Nell Henderson wrote in 1995. Kaelin gave conflicting accounts about Simpson’s behavior in the hours before and after the killings. Judge Ito ended up declaring him a “hostile witness” to the prosecution. After the trial, Kaelin successfully sued the National Examiner for libel after they ran a front-page story with the headline “Cops Think Kato Did It!” He settled the $15 million lawsuit outside of court. Kaelin continued working in show business and appeared on “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2019.
Defense attorney Robert Kardashian Sr.
Kardashian was Simpson’s close friend and business partner. The two met while attending University of Southern California and later reconnected on a tennis court.
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Kardashian worked on the “Dream Team” as one of Simpson’s attorneys during the trial. Kardashian’s ex-wife, Kris Jenner, was one of Brown’s good friends and sat alongside her family during the trial. Kardashian and Jenner shared four children, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Robert Kardashian Jr. His family became reality TV stars and entrepreneurs following their hit show that premiered in the mid-2000s, “Keeping Up with The Kardashians.” Kardashian died in 2003 from esophageal cancer at the age of 59.
Faye Resnick
Reality TV fans know Resnick from her appearances on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” or hanging out with Kris Jenner on “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” But Resnick was one of Brown’s friends and co-authored the 1994 book, “Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted.” Judge Ito halted jury selection to read the book and weigh its possible impact on prospective jurors. The book portrayed “Simpson as a jealous, obsessive man whose cocaine and alcohol abuse unhinged a temper that led him to beat, stalk and threaten to kill his wife,” The Post reported at the time. Resnick was not called to testify in the case.
Defense attorney Barry Scheck
Scheck changed how DNA evidence was examined in trials after arguing that there was no scientific evidence that showed Simpson had been at the crime scene. While prosecutors claimed at the time that Simpson’s blood matched drops at the scene, Scheck argued that was impossible to conclude and the samples were collected properly. Some scientists and attorneys later disputed Scheck’s claims, but he told the Los Angeles Times in 2014 that investigators began collecting and preserving crime scene evidence more carefully after the trial. Scheck now helps run the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that uses DNA testing to help exonerate people wrongly accused of crimes.
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