During the trial of O.J. Simpson for wife murder in 2004, there was a pivotal moment when a member of the jury cried out, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit!”
The remark was made by a juror during a break, after they had decided not to vote for Simpson because of his alleged role in wife murder Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
After this comment was made, many people assumed that juror was put off by what they had heard and decided not to convict Simpson of his crimes. However, this is not the case at all.
What really happened behind the scenes was that this juror contacted the defense team to see if there were any new clues they might have missed. This person then met with other jurors to discuss what they thought went into their decision making regarding Simpson.
Marcia Clark
Marcia Clark was the chief assistant district attorney on the O.J. Simpson case who claimed she was the one who called for the charge of armed robbery against Simpson. She later admitted that she didn’t do that, but instead spoke with a supervisor about charging Simpson with that crime.
When charged with obstruction of justice, Clark claimed she didn’t know what charge to put on Simpson at first, but her supervisor told her to put him on trial for armed robbery because he was the only one in custody at the time.
After being acquitted due to a poor quality witness testimony, many people believe this played a major role in his sentencing: He was given no prison time and had to spend decades in an expensively operated prison after only being acquitted of armed robbery.
This may be true, as he wasn’t actually charged with that crime and convicted on another one. Still, it seems wrong that someone who wasn’t even convicted of an actual crime should spend years in prison for something else.
Christopher Darden
During the o.j. Simpson trial, a juror asserted that a white man shouted, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” during the deliberations. The man was not identified, but news reports identified him as Christopher Darden, a defense lawyer during the trial.
The assertion was made by an unidentified juror during an interview with NBC News after he or she had been publicly identified as being part of the jury that acquitted Simpson of murder charges in 2007.
The man said he believed Darden was speaking when he said if there was one piece of evidence that would prove Simpson guilty, it would be his wife’s jewelry box. The jewelry box was found inside the Simpsons’ home and prosecutors claimed it belonged to Nicole Simpson, who lived with her husband before she married another man shortly after the marriage ended.
The anonymous juror told NBC News that when he or she listened to testimony from witnesses and defendants during deliberations, they “put their faith in the system.” After watching evidence from both sides of the case, they came to their own conclusions about whether Simpson committed murder.
Johnnie Cochran
Former prosecutor and legal analyst Danial Barlowe, in his book The Truth About the O.J. Trial, describes a discussion between former district attorney Johnnie Cochran and defense attorney Jim Fluhasker during which the two discussed who should be referred to as an eyewitness.
According to Barlowe, Cochran suggested that if a witness was extremely helpful to the prosecution and if it was possible for the witness to be acquitted by reasonable doubt, then the jury should acquit.
This was an extreme suggestion, considering that if a witness were not helpful to the prosecution and was found guilty by reasonable doubt, it would likely affect their ability to help in the future. However, there were many cases where a small help could result in a conviction by jury.
Shapiro
During the o.j. Simpson trial, a defense witness was called to testify. This witness was asked to describe a crime that had been committed in the past. When this person described what they did as a young adult, many people in the jury gasped.
The person he referred to as a “kid” when he was younger, had done something very serious and illegal. This old-looking person mentioned that they had been arrested several times when they were younger, which was news to the rest of the audience.
This news surprised many of the jurors, who were looking for someone with experience to give testimony on their behalf. Who Said It: Robert Shapiro, former Attorney General of California (during the o.j. Simpson trial), said during the trial, “If It Doesn’t Fit, You Must Acquit.”?
He continued by saying that if it looked like an arrest was made too quickly, then it would be considered an unjust conviction and should be vacated.
Did they really say it?
O.J. Simpson was one of the stars of the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial, where he was tried and convicted of murder in Nevada for the death of his wife, Nicole Simpson.
During this trial, several statements were made about Simpson’s sanity during his time on trial. Some people claimed that he shouted out ridiculous claims such as “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” or “if it doesn’t kill me, at least I won’t go to prison for a long time.”
Although these statements were made by only a few people at the time, they stuck in people’s memories as signs that he was mentally unstable and could not be trusted with important evidence or testimony.
Did anyone actually say these things? It is hard to say for sure because there weren’t many witnesses at the time and no recordings were made.
The context of the quote
Who uttered this sentence during the o.j. Simpson trial? It was read as an aside, but it could be interpreted as a direct order to the jury.
“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”?
This enigmatic comment came from the mouth of a federal judge during the trial of a wealthy man accused of murdering his wife. The judge was discussing whether or not there was enough evidence to bring someone to justice for her murder.
The comment went viral, being replayed and discussed on every television program and radio station in America. Many were left wondering who said this cryptic remark and why it had such an impact.
The answer can be found in past cases where judges make similar remarks about evidence and case law.
Who said it?
O.J. Simpson did not appear as sympathetic as he could have during the trial of his former friend, Simpson. During several moments, he appeared to be looking down and concentrating on something else.
Who said it? Many people did during the trial. One of them was Johnnie Cochran, who served as lead attorney for Simpson at the time.
During a television interview shortly before closing arguments were made, Cochran said, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
He was referring to one of the main points that defense attorneys had been making during their argument: That because Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were killed in an open-carry incident in 2003, their bodies had not been properly identified and buried with dignity.
“If it doesn’t fit there, replace it,” he added in reference to why he had made those comments earlier in the presentation.
Were they part of the jury?
O.J. Simpson’s defense team made a big deal of his statements during the trial, questioning his veracity and credibility.
He was called a liar numerous times by the prosecution, but his defenders said he was only answering questions asked of him by police at the time he said it happened.
His lawyers also pointed out that many people say similar things to police, sometimes years later.
This theme came up again during the recent trial of former North Carolina governor James Hunt, who was accused of sexually assaulting several women decades ago. Many people told police about him long after the fact, defense attorneys said.
Defense attorneys pointed out that one key question asked of their client wasn’t answered by either man during the trial. That was whether or not they believed what they said in court when confronted with evidence to the contrary.
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