In the latest recap for The People vs. OJ Simpson, jury selection begins for the trial of the century and OJ finally makes a crucial call regarding his ‘dream team’ of attorneys….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer @DamonMartin
The latest episode of American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson might go down as one of the most important of the series considering the ramifications of a few major changes in the case that took place before the opening statements were given and the first witness was cross examined.
Jury selection got underway for the trial and there’s not a lawyer on Earth who won’t admit that choosing the wrong group of people to render a verdict on a case can be absolutely disastrous. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the District Attorney insisted on hiring a ‘jury selection’ expert — which is very much a real job in case you were curious — who totally muffed the people he believed would help them win the case.
On the other side of the aisle, Johnnie Cochran and his team not only took over as lead counsel at this point in the trial — maybe the single most important moment in Simpson’s eventual freedom away from the courtroom — but they also identified the right way to choose jurors who would give their client a chance to walk free when this case was finished.
It was fascinating television and in the middle of that, Nicole Brown-Simpson’s former best friend Faye Resnick dropped a trashy, virtually X-rated autobiography that nearly crashed the case for both parties, Ron Goldman’s father gives one of the most heart wrenching diatribes you’ll ever hear uttered in television history and Christopher Darden gets called up from the bench to play alongside the first string.
Like I said, one of the most important episodes of the entire series — so let’s recap the latest episode of American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson titled ‘100% Not Guilty’…
Runaway Jury
Following the selection of Judge Lance Ito to oversee the trial, jury selection begins for the case with very different approaches by the prosecution and the defense about choosing the people responsible for returning a verdict of guilty or not guilty for OJ Simpson.
District Attorney Gil Garcetti is convinced that a jury consultant is a necessary piece of the trial so he hires a guy to not only do ‘audience’ testing to find out how prospective jurors see the lawyers in the case but also to identify the strongest advocates who would return a guilty verdict as well as those raising a red flag who would potentially set Simpson free.
The defense uses the same approach except right away Johnnie Cochran injects some real wisdom after being brought on as the last weapon as part of the dream team when he reminds his fellow attorneys that while African-American men are definitely strong, the African-American women might be one group to avoid during the selection process. Cochran argues that the African-American women don’t particularly like seeing a strong, influential black man like Simpson marrying a white woman — and while this revelation seems shocking to everybody else in the room, this particular piece of the case is crucial because the prosecution seems to think that African-American women will be one of the groups identified to eliminate because the thought is they would be sympathetic towards Simpson.
Add to this the fact that Marcia Clark refuses to use any great number of her challenges that would allow her to eliminate potentially dangerous jurors from landing on the final panel and the entire process really begins to favor the defense.
At one point after the final 12 jurors are selected, Simpson leans over to his attorney and smiles while saying that if he’s convicted by this group then maybe he did do it. It’s a jarring remark but one that must be remembered considering the eventual outcome of this trial.
Tell All
While the attorneys are focus on jury selection and winning the case, Nicole Brown-Simpson’s ‘best’ friend Faye Resnick is prepping a tell-all book that gives an inside look at her friendship with OJ’s ex-wife that doesn’t paint anybody involved in the case in a very good light.
The quick to print book lands on Judge Ito’s desk and soon into the hands of both the prosecution and defense and it leaves them reeling to the point where the trial is actually delayed while they all deal with the fallout.
From Resnick talking about doing coke with Nicole on ‘every other page’ to her revelation of the ‘Brentwood Hello’, which was her little euphemism about what the real housewives of that gated community called a blowjob.
She told stories about OJ and Nicole’s twisted relationship that involved a lot of sex both before and after they were divorced as well as abortions, lesbian acts and all kinds of other craziness that had all of the attorneys reading the book with eyes wide open, mouths gaped and jaws hanging off the floor.
To add to the misery, Resnick even does a TV book tour where she appears on shows like Larry King Live and only dumps more gasoline on an already raging trash fire that set everybody ablaze with her tabloid tales about the Simpson marriage from a family friend.
Two Victims
Another powerful moment in the episode comes courtesy of Joseph Siravo — best known as Johnny Boy Soprano aka Tony’s father on The Sopranos — who gives a powerful speech as Ron Goldman’s father Fred.
Up to this point in the trial, the focus has been solely aimed at Simpson’s guilt or innocence and a huge amount of chatter about his years of abuse that many believe led to the eventual murder of his ex-wife Nicole. Lost in the mix of this brutal murder trial is the death of Ron Goldman, a young waiter who ended up being butchered for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Goldman’s death isn’t lost on his father, however, who goes on a tear-filled tirade aimed at Marcia Clark when she suggests that she knows what they are going through. It’s clear by the shiver in his voice and the angry undertones that Goldman unleashes that he’s well aware that no prosecutor on this case truly understands the pain he’s going through much less what it feels like to watch your son get murdered and then instantly forgotten while the rest of the world focuses on the Simpson family drama.
As it turns out, Goldman’s ferocious and unrelenting pursuit of Simpson for the murder of his son ends up taking center stage after the trial is over, but this speech should give you a very clear indication of the venomous rage that festered inside of him as he watched his son’s murder get glossed over for the sake of good television and the man who he believed killed him eventually get off without a scratch.
Here’s Johnnie!
A major part of the focus for this episode showcases the brewing battle between Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran as they battle for the spot as lead attorney in the case to defend OJ Simpson. From the very moment Simpson was accused of murder and hired Shapiro to lead his defense, media and onlookers alike panned the decision because the famed lawyer was best known for settling cases — not winning them.
Shapiro never saw a plea deal he couldn’t agree to and that wasn’t the kind of attorney that would get Simpson free of these charges. In fact at one point, Shapiro paints a particularly grisly picture where he more or less convicts Simpson of the charges due to the case being an utter loser and offers to talk to the prosecution about a plea deal for manslaughter versus first degree murder.
That moment seemed to compound the growing problems Shapiro faced while Cochran continued to shine in everything he did to prepare Simpson for the trial.
Cochran gave Simpson the pep talk of a lifetime to wake him up from his dreary funk after living in a jail cell for several months. Cochran advised Simpson to hold his head up high and look like an innocent man rather than a guy just waiting to be convicted. Add to that, Cochran also had the idea to attack every single motion the prosecution made in the initial hearing after Simpson declared that he was 100% not guilty of the crimes he’s being accused.
The back and forth argument between Cochran and Clark about hair samples being collected only showed just how dedicated he was to making the prosecution go through hell to get anything over on the defense.
Eventually, Cochran’s strategy — which also included the vehement argument that this case absolutely dealt with race — started to see his colleagues come over to his way of thinking. One by one, all of the attorneys on the so called dream team began favoring Cochran’s approach to the trial versus Shapiro’s ham handed attempts to lead the defense. It didn’t help matters much that Shapiro fumbled at every opportunity he had to seize leadership, whether he was talking during press conferences or explaining to his old pal F. Lee Bailey that he’d be working this case pro bono because he needed to get back into the limelight with a case like this but the only way he’d be there is by working for free.
With each altercation, the evidence mounted against Shapiro that he was no longer fit to lead the defense in this trial. To make matters worse, Shapiro even took a vacation to Hawaii after jury selection and that gave Cochran along with Robert Kardashian the time to finally orchestrate the coup to make a change at the top. It’s clear Simpson is a man who fears change, but even he gives way in the end to name Cochran as his lead attorney, much to the dismay of Shapiro, who now sits the bench while the all-star team prepares for trial.
As for the prosecution, Clark eventually adds her old friend Chris Darden to the team after she takes away his Al Cowlings case — essentially saying that the entire crime would be rolled into Simpson’s trial — and the prosecution is ready for battle.
Unfortunately this episode only showcased all the ways the prosecution’s case was already unraveling from the appointment of Cochran as the lead defense attorney to the hubris regarding the notion that jury selection really didn’t matter to capital punishment being taken off the table before Clark even had a chance to try for it.
The prosecution’s air tight case is taking on a lot of water these days and if there was ever a clearer indication of the direction this trial is going before it begins it’s defined by the smug smile on Simpson’s face as the attorneys finally sit down across from each other before opening statements are given.
Let the trial of the century begin.
American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson returns next Tuesday night at 10pm ET on FX.
