The People V. . . Where Are We?

Before we move into the last episode on Tuesday, April 5, we may want to look again at the time line of the murders and the actions of the LAPD.  We will need to review the evidence against OJ and any of the grounds for reasonable doubt, the standard of proof the jury must meet in order to not convict.

The drama depicted in the series has been wonderful TV but it is definitely not a documentary.

Let me do as simple a timeline as possible based on details offered by the series:

June 12, 1994

10 or 10:15 pm  OJ's Bronco was seen at the Rockingham gate.

10:15 pm  A "wailing dog" was heard near the Bundy murder site.

10:40 pm  Kato Kaelin heard three bumps coming from his back wall.

Between 10:20 and 10:54 pm, the limo driver saw no Bronco at Rockingham, but did see a black man approach the mansion door about 10:54, and when the driver called inside, someone finally answered.  OJ then left for a flight to Chicago.

11:55 pm  A barking dog led to the discovery of Nicole's body and the calling of the police.

June 13, 1994

Soon after midnight, police arrived on the scene of the murders.

Dets. Fuhrman, Vannatter, and Lange begin work on the crime.

Before sun-up, the detectives arrive at Rockingham to tell OJ his ex-wife is murdered and to get his children.  Fuhrman finds a drop of blood on the Bronco door and they decide to enter the estate over the wall, fearing someone may have been hurt here as well.  Kato Kaelin meets them saying OJ is out of state and tells of the three bumps in the night.  While the others contact OJ in Chicago, Fuhrman finds the bloody glove laid out on the ground on a pathway beside the mansion.  (At the trial, Fuhrman takes the Fifth when asked if he planted the glove at Rockingham.)  Vannatter sees blood drops running from the Bronco to the front door of the mansion.

OJ returns from Chicago, is invited to talk with Vannatter and Lange at the police center in downtown LA.  OJ does not know where the cut on his finger is from.  Nor does he have anyone who can vouch for where he was between 10 and 11 the night before.  Vannatter takes a blood sample from OJ.

Blood on socks that DNA tests show were from OJ, Nicole, and Ron are found at Rockingham that evening.  (At trial, Vannattter admits he does not turn in all of OJ's blood sample.  At trial, Lange admits he takes OJ's shoes home overnight.  At the trial, Criminalist Dennis Fung admits several errors were made during the investigation at both sites.)

Sometime  OJ does poorly on a lie detecter test.

Sometime  The Bronco is taken into custody.

Sometime  The funeral of Nicole is held.

Sometime  A warrant is signed to arrest OJ.  

June 17, 1994

In the morning, OJ is examined by his doctors and found to have no sign of bruises or injury.

When OJ is to be taken in for arrest, he and Al Cowling leave in Al's white Bronco and OJ threatens suicide when they are approached by police.  They return to Rockingham after a long slow chase on the LA freeways.  After spending a little time with his mother and family, he turns himself in.

At the trial, there is some question as to whether the motive of extension of spousal abuse is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.  The sloppiness of the investigation is shown by the detectives' responses to questions about their possible errors.  The weapon and bloody clothes are not found.  The bloody gloves that were found at Bundy and Rockingham do not fit OJ.  Fuhrman's racism is confirmed and may lay behind what was done by the LAPD in their handling of the case.  

OJ's "escape" in the Bronco is not brought up at trial.  Nor is his lie detector test.  The decision of the civil trial is still months off and no one on the mixed racial jury is aware the wrongful death suits are in the works nor are they aware of the efforts to keep OJ from custody of his children. 

Is that enough grounds to believe the jury wisely voted not guilty because of reasonable doubt?  Or were they influenced by their prejudice against the LAPD and Johnny Cochran's "effective use of the race card?"

We await closing arguments, the verdict, and how the series' writers dramatize them.