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Old 08-21-2007, 09:22 PM   #6 (permalink)
highway80west
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Quote:
Originally Posted by forester814 View Post
Boy, is it ever skewed. My first real eye-opening realization of that came with the OJ Simpson trial.

The Saturday after the verdict, Norm MacDonald was doing Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. He put up a picture of OJ and said "It's official! ... Murder is now legal in the state of California."

The audience laughed, but nervously and not very hard. I think they were feeling what I was feeling... this wasn't a joke, it represented a public declaration of loss of faith in the justice system.

See Lady Justice in my avatar over there? That blindfold she wears is supposed to symbolize "Justice is blind," meaning that everyone is treated the same. Well, it's a wonderful ideal, but you are right... it is far from reality.

Back to your point... I don't know that judges are totally to blame, but surely, they share some of the blame for this mess. They are human, after all, and they make mistakes.
Forester, the OJ trial pretty galvanized much all of SoCal. I have always said that OJ's lawyer Johnny Cochran ran the trial, not Judge Ito. Cochran turned that trial into a circus, much less the media.

The trial should have been held in Santa Monica, the city closest to the scene of the murder. It went to L.A. because the lawyers felt that a bigger courtroom was needed.

Now, with the exception of Barnes and Nobles stores, OJ's book is going to get marketed. Never mind the rift between the Browns and the Goldmans.

To me, it was the most dissappointing trial I saw, even if it was 120 miles away. To the jurors, it is as if they thumbed their noses at the system when the four cops were let off by another jury in the Rodney King beating. They were later found guilty by a federal jury for civil rights violations.

Just like a civil jury nailed OJ for $$$ damages in Santa Monica.

I know OJ committed the criminal acts, and he got away with it, just like his wife predicted he would.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

Last edited by highway80west; 08-21-2007 at 09:25 PM.