American Crime Story · Season 1
[On Larry King] Oh, Bob Shapiro is the lead attorney, make no mistake. All that sniping in the media that says Bob Shapiro is in over his head, Bob Shapiro is an empty suit, Bob Shapiro can’t handle a case of this magnitude – well that twaddle is truly unfortunate
[Back in Shapiro’s home, Shapiro is watching the interview]
Well, then don’t say it, asshole! Fuck!
Mr. Dunne, I’ve read some of your past coverage of murder trials in Vanity Fair magazine.
I’m lucky I write for a magazine that allows me to take a stand, Your Honor.
Well, there’s no mistaking how you feel.
No. That’s something I’m proud about.
I am, uh, assigning you a permanent seat in the front row. You’ll be next to the Goldmans. And the seat is yours for the length of the trial.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Without, uh, being too forward, I sense that you’ll be able to sympathize them in a way that the rest of us cannot, that you’ll know how to deal with them, not intrude or ask inappropriate questions.
Because of my daughter’s murder?
[embarrassed] Yes. Well, I apologise for dredging up what I imagine is a deeply painful memory, but I felt it was important that you know why.
I’m sure that the Goldmans will appreciate the gesture, Your Honor, I know I do. The trial of Dominique’s killer was torture enough. But then the way he got off with a slap on the wrist… Let’s hope this one goes better.
Your Honor, Detective Fuhrman’s gonna play a very small role in this case, but we believe when he’s called to the stand, we’re gonna be forced to go back 15 odd years to ask him about completely irrelevant statements that people have claimed he’s made. These statements are racially insensitive and divisive. The question is: why bring them up? They’re gonna ask him if he made a racial slur or repeated a racial epithet. But why ask? There’s no legal purpose for it. But Mr. Cochran and the defence have a purpose for entering this area, and that purpose is to inflame the passions of the Jury and ask them to pick sides. The – the “N” word is a dirty, filthy word, Your Honor. It is so prejudicial and inflammatory, that the use of it in any situation will evoke an emotional response from any African-American. We’re talking about a word that blinds people. When you mention that word to this Jury, it will blind them to the truth. They won’t be able to discern what’s true and what’s not. It will impair their judgement. It will affect their ability to be fair. It’ll force the black jurors to make a choice: whose side are you on? The Man? Or the Brothers?
[whispering to Shawn] Is he serious?
So, the People strongly urge the court, respectfully, not to allow that vile word to be uttered at any time during this trial.
[He takes his seat]
Your Honor, I did not plan to speak on this matter, but I would be remiss if I did not respond to my good friend, Mr. Chris Darden. [gets up and takes the stand] Mr. Darden’s remarks this afternoon are perhaps the most incredible remarks I’ve heard in a court of law in my 32 years of practice. His remarks are deeply demeaning to African-Americans. And so, first and foremost, Your Honor, I would like to apologise to African-Americans across this country. It is preposterous to say that African-Americans collectively are so emotionally unstable that they cannot hear offensive words without losing their moral sense of right and wrong. They live with offensive words, offensive looks, offensive treatment every day! And so, Your Honor, I am ashamed that Mr. Darden would allow himself to become an apologist for Mark Fuhrman. [Chris gets to his feet, but Johnnie continues] Who are any of us to testify as an expert as to what words black people can or cannot handle!? Your Honor, across America, believe you me, African-Americans are offended at this very moment. And so, for a friend that I deeply respect, I would say that this was… outlandish, unfortunate, and unwarranted. Thank you, Your Honor. [quietly, to Chris] Nigga, please.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” And so here… we embark upon a search for justice. A search for truth. None of us were there on June 12th, 1994. We must rely upon the witnesses to get a full picture. But let me talk about those witnesses the prosecution didn’t mention. Witnesses who will exonerate O.J. Simpson. One might wonder why the prosecution didn’t bring to your attention: Mary Anne Gerchas. Or Rosa Lopez. [Marcia and Bill go from confused to somewhat agitated, and Bill starts flicking through his notes] Or Joe Stellini. Or Alan Austin. Or…
[Bill leaps to his feet and interrupts him]
[quickly, in obvious agitation] Your Honor, I hesitate to interrupt another lawyer’s opening statement, but it appears that, for some reason, these witnesses have not been turned over to the People!
[There is murmuring in the gallery. Ito bangs his gavel for silence]
All right. Maybe we should excuse the Jury. Bailiff? [the Jury are escorted out, while Marcia tries to calm Bill] Mr. Hodgman?
Your Honor, what is this? Opening statement by – by ambush!? This is a complete surprise, A-a horrible breakdown. The People have not received reciprocal discovery!
[to Cochran] Counsel, can you address these issues?
I will, I will try, Your Honor.
I have to say, Mr. Douglas, I’ve known Mr. Hodgman as a colleague and as a trial lawyer, and I’ve never seen the expression on his face that I see right now. Mr. Hodgman, why don’t you take a few deep breaths?
[Johnnie Cochran is preparing to call his witness, Ms. Rosa Lopez, out of order. The previous day, Marcia had been forced to concede because of her personal childcare issues]
Mr. Cochran, is Ms. Lopez present here today?
She is, Your Honor.
And do you anticipate that we can hear what she has to say in one day?
I would expect so, Your Honor, barring any acts of God, or further childcare crisises from Ms. Clark.
[O.J. chuckles to himself, but an outraged Marcia gets to her feet]
Your Honor. I am offended by Mr. Cochran’s remarks, as a woman, and as a mother. Mr. Cochran may not know what it’s like to work a 70-hour work week and also take care of a family, but I do. And many other people do, too. To belittle my childcare issues in your courtroom is unconscionable and totally out of line.
Ms. Lopez, just to confirm your occupation, you are the housekeeper of Mr. Simpson’s neighbour, is that correct?
Yes.
Mr. Cochran has moved the court to disrupt our schedule because you threatened to leave the country, since you’re being hounded by the press.
I stay just for today for Mr. Johnnie. Tomorrow, I fly.
Uh-huh. So when did you make this flight reservation for El Salvador?
This morning.
Really? Yesterday, Mr. Cochran stated that you had had one then.
I did. And I didn’t. I make it today.
[smiling to herself] Ms. Lopez, we called the airlines. They don’t show any reservation for you, at all. Not for yesterday, not for today, not for tomorrow.
Because I’m going to reserve it, as soon as I leave here.
So then, Ms. Lopez, could you please explain to the court why you are filing for unemployment when you say you’re leaving the country forever?
[whispering to Johnnie] You need to get this woman off the stand. What the hell is going on?
[continuing] In your first statements, you saw the Bronco at 10pm, but now you say it’s 10:15. So which is it? Did you see the Bronco at 10, or 10:15?
Does it matter?
Yes, it matters very much. It’s why you’re here. Please answer the question.
[Rosa shrugs]
Ms. Lopez, a shrug is not an answer.
So which is it? 10 or 10:15?
Whatever Mr. Johnnie says I said.
No. Not what Mr. Cochran says. We need to be told what you saw.
[after a moment] No me recuerdo.
Ms. Lopez, in English please, unless you need a translator.
I say I don’t remember.
You don’t remember? Hmm. [smiles] Good enough for me. No further questions.
[She takes a seat, while the Defence team look embarrassed]
[quietly] “Mister Johnnie?” Jesus.
[seeing Marcia’s new hairstyle] Goddamn. Who turned her into Rick James?
[Marcia enters the courtroom, smiles to herself and enters. The gallery conversations noticeably die down as they all see her, while O.J. does a double-take. Marcia takes her seat]
Good morning Ms. Clark. I think.
[After searching through the bag that O.J. gave him, Robert discovers nothing incriminating inside]
[laughing] Ooh, I knew it. I knew it! I knew there was nothing funky in that bag, Bobby. He didn’t do it! You see that, right? There’s even more proof he didn’t do it.
Who do you think did do it? You know, my kids… at school, the other kids… the-they tease Bobby. Tell him his dad’s…
Hey. It’s a tough time right now. I… I know it’s hard to be strong, but, Bobby you got to stick in there!
No. You-you don’t understand. I’m… I’m really struggling. I’m really struggling here, A.C. Even when it seems everybody else has stopped working to figure out who did it, I… I keep going over everything again and again. Everything I know about Nicole, everything I can learn about Ron Goldman. I mean, there’s never been more information, more-more media coverage, more detectives, more – even the kooks – all about one thing, one crime, ever. Ever! And there’s… just… nothing. No other suspect? No other answer? There’s nothing else.
Nothing else? Nothing else but what?
[there is a long silence]
I didn’t mean it like that.
Good.
[Marcia is in Oakland with Chris, celebrating the birthday of a friend of his, Byron]
Now, I’m not saying that he did it –
[clapping her hand over his mouth] Darrell! Darrell, we had a rule! First one who mentions the goddamn case drinks!
Fine by me. [downs his shot] I’m not saying that he did it. The jury’s still out.
Yeah, that is right.
But I heard he was making some TV show about Navy SEALs, or some shit, where he was trained to kill.
Yeah, yeah. Frogmen.
Yeah, that’s it! They showed him all these kinds of techniques, how to sneak around, and kill people with knives. Cut throats and…slash their legs, all that.
Why aren’t you talking about that in court?
Because the jury would be able to separate from TV and real life. Look, we’re strong enough without that kind of crap.
The cops framed his ass anyway.
[smiling] Is that right, Byron?
Oh, no. You’re on your own now, brother.
No, no, no, no, no. Come on, come on, come on, come on! What’s your theory?
Well, I think that cracker cop planted that glove. And they all did what they had to do to prove that O.J. did it. That’s what I think.
[Chris laughs, knowing what’s coming]
Okay. [stubs out her cigarette and clears a space around her on the bar. She holds up a shot glass] Here’s the crime scene, Bundy. [puts it down and picks up another glass] Here’s O.J.’s house. [puts it down some way away from the other shot glass] Okay. Fuhrman made up his mind at Bundy that Simpson did it. Even though he had no idea if O.J. had an iron-clad alibi that would then ruin Fuhrman’s career, and land him in jail. Fuhrman takes the glove at Bundy, makes sure it has Goldman and Nicole’s DNA on it, jumps in the car with the other detectives, heads to Rockingham with it, where he gets into the Bronco, somehow, getting all that evidence in it, including Simpson’s blood. Even though the police didn’t have Simpson’s blood until the next day. Then he goes over the wall, plants the glove behind Kato’s room. Then, with the help of the rest of his super-secret cabal of O.J. hating racist cops, he starts getting everything just so, just where it needs to be… Nicole and Ron, and O.J.’s blood, into O.J.’s bedroom. O.J.’s blood back to Bundy. Oh, and O.J.’s Bronco fibres back to Bundy, too. Oh, and they don’t forget to get rid of the real killer’s blood from the back gate – no, no, no – and replace it with O.J.’s blood. Then O.J.’s sock – they get that back to Bundy to pick up all the blood, and then get that sucker right back to Rockingham, too. These guys are a well-oiled conspiracy machine, after all. All this, during a time when everyone involved is under the most relentless media scrutiny in American history. [imitates explosion]
And all this for an unknown killer.
[smiles, and throws his hands up] Maybe.
[laughing] No!
The most colossal disaster I’ve ever seen in courtroom practice. And it’s ours, it’s all ours.
We will rally. We still have the DNA and the forensic evidence. That is our silver bullet.
[screaming] NO-ONE UNDERSTANDS GODDAMN DNA, MARCIA! But everyone can tell when a goddamn glove doesn’t fit on a goddamn hand!
[he storms out and slams the door behind him, leaving Chris and Marcia standing in an awkward silence]
[quietly] They did fit. It was the latex –
[frustrated] Get out!
So, again, the four pieces to DNA are adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine, abbreviated by their first letters: A, T, G and C. They also come in pair. Now, the non-Watson Crick base pairing is what really gets interesting. It, uh…
Mr. Fung, while all this can seem complicated to a non-scientist, the results are astoundingly accurate in terms of matching a suspect to tiny traces that have been left behind. Would you agree?
Oh, certainly. The matching process is many, many times more accurate than a fingerprint.
“Many, many times more accurate than a fingerprint.” And what were the results of the blood analysis from the Bundy crime scene.
Well, the RFLP pattern from item 47 shows us that…
Oh, let me rephrase. Other than the two victims, did this incredibly precise DNA matching show anyone else’s blood and DNA at the scene of the murders?
It did, uh, just one individual.
And does this same DNA match the blood you found on the back gate at Bundy?
Yes, it does.
And does it match the blood you found inside Mr. Simpson’s Bronco?
Yes, it’s all from the same individual.
And does it match the DNA and the blood you found leading up to Mr. Simpson’s house and on the sock at the foot of his bed?
Yes, it’s all from the same individual’s DNA profile.
Could it be anyone else’s DNA?
That blood has a particular set of characteristics that could only occur approximately in one in 170 million individuals.
[Robert Kardashian looks visibly shocked by this statement]
[to the jury] One person… in one hundred and seventy million. [To Dennis] Is that one person who matches all that DNA in this courtroom here today?
Yes, he is.
Could you please point him out for the Jury? [Dennis points at O.J.] Let the record show that Mr. Fung is pointing to the Defendant, Mr. Orenthal James Simpson.
[She takes her seat. Kardashian continues to look shaken by this exchange]
[Discussing Juror #462’s accusation against her husband of physically abusing her, which she did not disclose]
As she said, this was simply a misunderstanding.
She lied. She’s out!
She didn’t lie. She said…
She said no to the question “have you ever been a victim of domestic violence?” Her husband raped her twice.
Actually, it wasn’t legally rape in ’88. [Darden frowns in confusion] I mean, between a husband and wife.
[Ito rolls his eyes, while Marcia stares at Bailey in disbelief]
You just said that. Out loud.
All right, so let me get this straight. The defence is arguing to keep a victim of domestic abuse, and the People are arguing to dismiss her? Somehow, I get the idea if this juror were white, we’d be having a different conversation right now. I have no choice but to dismiss #462.
[leading Robert Kardashian into her kitchen] They’ll be ready in a minute.
[stares at his kids playing out in the garden, he turns and looks at his ex-wife] Hey Kris, can we… Can I just have a second?
Why?
I don’t know. I thought we could talk.
[scoffs] What do we have to talk about?
I think we might get him off.
[scoffs again] Congrats.
[Unable to stop himself any longer, Robert sits on a countertop and breaks down crying]
He was my friend for twenty years. I can barely look at him anymore.
[turns to face him, now crying herself. She goes to him] Robert, just… leave. Just quit the case.
You don’t think… You don’t think I’ve thought of that? I can’t. I-I mean, it would just become this-this huge… thing. I mean how would it look? It would convict him. I would convict him. And it would make everything else worse for us and for you, for them. I mean, it’s hard enough with half the country hating you. No, I just… I just have to sit there ‘til it’s over. And then he’s out of our lives forever. Okay? Okay? [he starts crying again, and Kris hugs him] I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Kris.
[At the appeals hearing]
Your Honors, may I state first what a pleasure it is to be practicing law once again in the great state of North Carolina. My heart gladdens with the promise of justice when I stand in one of the original 13 Colonies. From the Great Smoky Mountains to the Pamlico Sound, I know that fair consideration will be offered to all who set foot in a Tar Heel tribunal. As the Bible tells us, “Seek, and ye shall find,” and I thank the Lord for helping us to find these terribly troubling tapes.
A concern has been raised regarding the court’s ability to be fair and impartial. It could be argued that the court would not want the court’s wife to be embarrassed. And what’s unfortunate is that things are said about people all the time, things that are not accurate, not kind, disparaging. I love my wife dearly, and I am… wounded by criticism of her, as any spouse would be. And, uh… I think that it would be reasonable to assume that… could have some impact. Women who work in male-dominated professions, I think, are tougher than most. [Chris glances at Marcia as he says this] And if they are successful, they are almost always… targets for this kind of treatment. There is also an argument that this court, in ruling, might be motivated to punish Detective Fuhrman for making these statements about his wife. So it cuts both ways. This may be a conflict for me, which could trigger a mistrial, so… I think that another judge has to determine whether or not this case can remain before this court.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's American Crime Story pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
