Johnnie Cochran Dead?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Agreement here. I can't possibly feel sorry for him.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Gn2Dlnd

I don't feel for the man. "Don't speak ill of the dead," is nice and all, but Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were hacked to death by a man "Mr. Johnny" managed to get off, scot-free. Do a little reviewing of the case on google. Remind yourselves of what, exactly, O.J. Simpson did.
Sure, Cochran was only doing his job, and he did it well (or in Mr. Johnny-speak, "splendoriferously.") But, even Robert Shapiro walked away from this one.

Are you sure Shapiro took a walk? I'm almost positive that he was there to the end.

Every person has a right to legal counsel. That includes murderers. Concerning the Simpson trial, I'm pretty familiar with the details. Read Vincent Bugliosi's book on the subject some time. The defense did their job, which is what they are supposed to do. The prosecution did not. That is why OJ walked. Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden were absolutely pathetic. I don't see why Cochran should somehow get the blame for this. If the prosecution had presented their case with any competence whatsoever, OJ would be in prison.

Slight clarification, Johnny Cochran was known for representing families of victims of police abuse, and winning millions of dollars. You can characterize this as "doing work for the civil rights of the underprivileged," but it was mighty lucrative.

No doubt that it was lucrative, that doesn't mean that he wasn't right to defend those people. Sorry, but if the police are going to sodomize someone with a broomstick, I have no problem with them having to pay for that. And the cases you refer to would, I imagine, represent a small fraction of the many cases he worked on. They just got the most publicity. The man probably represented hundreds, if not thousands, of clients that did not get million dollar settlements. I would be interested to know how many pro bono cases he was involved in, that may not have had large settlements or any settlements. Probably more of those than the high profile cases everyone associates with him.

My personal opinion is that people like to trash him because he represented OJ Simpson and other celebrities and was successful. That's only a small part of the picture, at least according to those that worked with him and knew him best.

[Not Afraid]

I guess I don't have much of an opinion of Cochran death. I figure that wherever he goes after life on earth will give him what he deserves - good or bad. Who knows, maybe it's just a casket full of worms like everyone else. Beyond that, it is none of my business.

[wendybeth]

Wrong, MBC. I trash him because he was an immoral jerk. I have no problem with anyone being successful in their field, except when it comes at the cost of others. He trashed Nicole and the entire Brown family, the Goldman family and any others who stood in the way of his clients freedom, and then he played, as Shapiro so succinctly put it " The race card, from the bottom of the deck". The man was not a hero, not a mentor, and not a decent human being. Oh, and he doesn't sound too great in the personal life area- having two families at the same time?

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Wrong, MBC. I trash him because he was an immoral jerk. I have no problem with anyone being successful in their field, except when it comes at the cost of others. He trashed Nicole and the entire Brown family, the Goldman family and any others who stood in the way of his clients freedom, and then he played, as Shapiro so succinctly put it " The race card, from the bottom of the deck".

Can you give me an example of him trashing the Browns or the Goldmans. I recall his criticism was primarily towards the police and investigators, such as Mark Fuhrman and Phillip Vannatter. Considering the not-so-stellar record of the LAPD in the past concerning their interactions with minorities, casting doubts as to their methods was fair game, as far as I'm concerned. The job of the defense is to show reasonable doubt. That is what he attempted to do and I don't see how that makes him an immoral jerk.

You obviously believe that OJ was guilty and guess what, so do I. No argument there. Still, if what Cochran did was so unethical and sleazy, why wasn't he disbarred? I don't ever recall anyone suggesting that he should be.

Again, I fall back on the fact that if the prosecution presents its case well, there should be no reasonable doubt in the mind of the jurors. As it stood, the prosecution failed. You don't have someone try on a glove in front of the jury unless you are damn well sure it is going to fit, for example. How can you blame any attorney from jumping on that when the prosecution makes it so easy? How can you blame an attorney from introducing evidence that shows Mark Fuhrman using the "N" word some 100 times when he has testified that he didn't use it? If Cochran had not jumped on these things, one could argue that he wasn't doing his job.

Anyway, if you can show me some examples of him trashing the Goldmans or Browns, I might be swayed in my opinion. I don't recall this happening though. I recall him attacking the evidence that was presented. I'm willing to keep an open mind if you present anything to the contrary. Otherwise, I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Betty]

I just saw Marsha Clark on tv! OMG! She's got short, flippy, blonde hair. I would have never recognized her.

[wendybeth]

MBC, I get what you're saying- I really do- but the fact remains that he got a guilty man off -and hurt a lot of people in the process- using dubious tactics. I agree that the prosecution pretty much sucked in this case, but the defense doesn't get a pass just because Cochran was intent on saving OJ's ass. He played the race card, accused the LAPD of some pretty horrible things, said that Goldman was only after OJ's money and that he was never close to his son (implying that he was milking the trial for money and fame) and also worked very hard to connect Nicole and Ron to drug dealings, which he was unable to prove. He was the legal world's Al Sharpton.

[Prudence]

Perhaps lawyers should only defend innocent clients.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yeah, I don't understand faulting him for defending his client. That's a defense atorney's job, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

[wendybeth]

Lawyers on both sides should stick with the facts, not manufacture scenarios and grandstand. It really is as simple as that.