... because the People had lousy lawyers who misused the mass of evidence they had available, didn't use some of their best evidence and failed to engage the jury's attention to the evidence they did present.

I watched a substantial portion of the trial and was embarassed by what I saw in the way of lawyering on both sides. The defense won because of the burden of proof and the prosecution failures, not because they did anything particularly well. Only a few of the lawyers showed themselves off well (Jerry Uelman was excellent in his limited use). Christopher Durden brought passion and feeling to the prosecution, but made some horrendous tactical errors (the gloves! ohmigod!)

For a detailed discourse on how and why the prosecution lost this case, read "Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O. J. Simpson Got Away with Murder" by Vincent Bugliosi. Bugliosi was the LA prosecutor of the Charlie Manson case, is arguably the best prosecutor in the history of the State of California and is unquestionably one of the very best trial lawyers in the country.

Gerry Spence, the famous and engaging defense attorney, also wrote an excellent book on the subject: "O.J. The Last Word: The Death of Justice", in which he discusses the failings of the prosecution, the lawyers, the court and the criminal justice system in general. ----- jim o\-S