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".
Read more about this topic: Lance Ito
Famous quotes containing the words simpson, murder and/or trial:
“In my grandmother’s house there was always chicken soup
And talk of the old country—mud and boards,
Poverty,
The snow falling down and necks of lovers.”
—Louis Simpson (b. 1923)
“Chinese do not repay friendship with death.”
—Joseph O’Donnell, and Clifford Sanforth. Ah Ling, Murder by Television, when he is accused of Perry’s murder (1935)
“You may talk about Free Love, if you please, but we are to have the right to vote. To-day we are fined, imprisoned, and hanged, without a jury trial by our peers. You shall not cheat us by getting us off to talk about something else. When we get the suffrage, then you may taunt us with anything you please, and we will then talk about it as long as you please.”
—Lucy Stone (1818–1893)