Lance Ito - O.J. Simpson's Murder Trial

O.J. Simpson's Murder Trial

Ito became familiar to American television viewers when he presided over the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson at which Simpson was acquitted.

Among others, crime author Jay Robert Nash disliked Ito's handling of the Simpson case because they felt he allowed his courtroom to be turned into part of the media circus to the point where Ito would invite attorneys and courtroom staff into his chambers to watch the previous night's Jay Leno footage; however, Ito and others present in the courtroom dispute this characterization, challenging critics to identify a proceeding that was not under control. Because the jury was sequestered, an attorney gag order would not have been supported by any appellate court, leading to often chaotic scenes outside the courthouse. Ito allowed a jury field trip through O.J. Simpson's home after it had been stage dressed by the defense team, in one case replacing an artistic nude painting of Simpson's girlfriend with a reproduction of Norman Rockwell's painting of Ruby Bridges being escorted to school in the New Orleans desegregation struggle. Ito was also criticized for the way that the jury was handled, bowing to defense team pressure to dismiss juror Francine Florio-Bunten late in the trial. Outrage by Vincent Bugliosi illustrates a broad range of judicial incompetence attributed to Ito. For his part, Ito notes that his demeanor in his trials was a result of the Japanese way of shikata ga nai, or "it can't be helped".