Section 2.  The American Criminal Law Procedure Seen Through the “O.J. Simpson Case”

 

In June of 1994, a double murder occurred in California that shocked the entire nation. Two corpses lying in a pool of blood were found on the doorstep of a home in west Los Angeles. Later, the famous former football star O.J. Simpson was charged with killing his ex-wife and another man named Ronald Goldman. 

 

On October 3, 1995, to the shocked amazement of the people throughout the nation seriously looking on,  the jury concluded the nine month trial with a verdict of acquittal for Simpson after less than four hours of deliberation. Afterwards, some of the jurors said this was because the evidence the government (the prosecutor) provided failed to meet the proposed "beyond reasonable doubt"  standard. Simpson was set free.  But the families of the deceased immediately filed a civil lawsuit, in the West Los Angeles court, and accused Simpson of wrongfully causing the deaths of their loved ones. As long as they could provide 51% or more of the proof that O.J. Simpson injured his ex-wife, they could win the civil lawsuit. 

 

We shall set aside the “media circus” effect in the United States and emotional excesses and dramatic evolution but still find the cases to have a very high educational value. There are three reasons.

 

First, from the discovery of the two bloody corpses until the verdict at the completion of the trial, people became familiar with the whole process, including the arrest, arraignment, the preliminary hearing, trial, and verdict. Using this case to introduce criminal procedure is a good choice.

 

Second, because the prosecution and the defense never compromised in the process and fought to the end, almost all criminal procedures were utilized. Therefore, this case is very appropriate to introduce criminal proceedings.

 

Third, this was not only the trial of the century in America, the media in the entire world competed to cover the case. Friends from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan also know something about this case. Thus to illustrate America criminal law using this case is better than a case the general public is not familiar with or not interested in.

 

Criminal cases in the United States cover thousands of topics. There are severe cases such as the double murder of the O.J Simpson case, or drug-trafficking cases or the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. The lighter cases are seen in daily lives, such as drunk driving (not the same as drinking while driving) or parents who beat their children. Although there are differences between simple and complex cases, or between minor and serious cases, the legal principles, procedures, and individual rights under the law are the same. Therefore, understanding the procedures of criminal cases also helps to understand individual rights under the law.

 

To put it simply, the procedures of a criminal case from its inception to the conclusion in court include the occurring of the case, the arrest of a suspect by the police, the filing of criminal charges, arraignment and bond posting, and then the defendant is brought to court where the prosecution announces the charges. The case may be tried by the judge or by a jury, with the verdict finally determining if the defendant is guilty, and if so what the sentence will be, and so on.  In the following sections we shall use the "Simpson Case" to illustrate the legal procedure in an American criminal case. 

 

First, let us narrate simply the proceedings of the "Simpson case" to illustrate and explain.

 

Subsection 2.1 The Case Begins

 

On June 12, 1994, in the depth of night, a small dog barked nonstop in a luxury residential area of west Los Angeles, arousing the attention of the neighbors. Let by the small dog, the people found two blood soaked corpses in front of a home. A deceased female was later confirmed to be Nicole, Brown Simpson. Lying next to her was a restaurant waiter Ron Goldman. The two bodies were covered with injuries, but the principal cause of death was the throats being slashed into halves by a sharp weapon, evidencing the cruelty of the killer. Later the time of death of the two individuals was confirmed to be around 10 pm that evening.

 

In the evening of the outbreak of the case, Nicole brought her children to the restaurant where Goldman worked to dine. After she left she called the restaurant to report that she had left behind a pair of sun glasses in the restaurant. After he found the glasses, Goldman told his co-workers that he would return them to Nicole at her home when he got off work. Never did it occur to the co-workers that henceforth they would go different directions in life and death.

 

In the early morning of the day after the case erupted, four police detectives arrived at the luxury residence of Nicole, whose ex-husband was the famous football star Simpson. Outside the door the police discovered blood stains on a white vehicle belonging to Simpson. Blood stains were also found on the driveway. There was no response to the ringing of door bell. The detectives then climbed into the luxury home. One of them, detective Fuhrman, found a blood stained glove and other evidence in the corner of the rear garden.

 

The principal witness of the case was Kaelin, a friend of Simpson who was living in the guest room. He testified that on that particular evening he heard some kind of loud noise like an earthquake outside by the he wall of the guest room. Another witness, a limousine driver who had been booked to pick up Simpson and take him to the airport, testified that around 10 o'clock he arrived at the Simpson home. He pressed the doorbell but no one answered. He waited outside the gate until almost 11 o'clock, and then he saw a tall, large black man (the description fits the body shape of Simpson) hurriedly enter the house from the street. The driver rang the door bell again. Simpson responded from inside the house. The driver waited for six minutes. Simpson emerged and said to him that he had slept. Simpson took the ride to the airport where he changed to a flight for Chicago.

 

Subsection 2.2 Arrest

 

The next morning after the case happened, in a Chicago hotel Simpson received notification from the police that his wife had died. He rushed back to California that early morning. On the day he returned, over the strenuous objection of lawyer Weitzman, Simpson insisted on being interrogated alone in the police station for over an hour. The interrogation was video taped by the police. At that time the medical examiner discovered that Simpson's hand had been injured; the latter explained that he had been too excited upon receiving notification of his wife's death and broke a mirror, sustaining injury. After several days of additional investigation by the police, they decided to list Simpson as a prime suspect and arrested him.  

 

On June 17, Simpson's lawyer was prepared to accompany him to follow the police to the police station pursuant to a court issued arrest warrant but discovered that Simpson, who had been resting upstairs, had disappeared. The national audience then witnessed on the television screen the unforgettable footage of the helicopter team in the sky above and the fully mobilized patrol car convoy below. After several hours, Simpson's white vehicle was finally discovered. Several tens of police cars launched a car chase on the Los Angeles highway for several tens of miles. This type of flight behavior was deemed a resistance of arrest. In the end Simpson complied and drove home where the police arrested him.

 

Subsection 2.3 Booking, Arraignment, and Bail

 

After Simpson's arrest, accompanied by his lawyer, the police finger printed him, had him change to a prisoner's clothing, and a mug shot was taken. This process is called "booking".

 

The police then delivered Simpson to the court for "arraignment" proceeding. (The Chinese tradition calls it a "passing through the court" proceeding). After a suspect is arrested, the police must turn the suspect over to the court of processing within a generally required 24 hours; this is the same in America, Mainland China or Hong Kong. In America, arraignment must take place within 24 hours generally; unless there is a special arrangement under the law, the police would have violated the Constitution. However, different states and different cities could have different arrangements. Some locations have enacted laws that do not count weekend and holidays and only count twenty four business hours.  In some other places, such as Des Moines in the state of Iowa, a small court is set up with a judge always present to handle arraignment matters.

 

The procedure of arraignment is as follows: the police take the arrested suspect before the court.  The prosecution then formally presents the criminal charges before the judge. The judge reads the charges to the defendant and further announces and explains the rights accorded to the defendant under the Constitution. He then asks the defendant if he admits guilt. If the defendant admits guilt, the judge would give him another court date for sentencing. If the defendant pleads not guilty, a trial date is set. When Simpson was arraigned, the prosecution accused him of two counts of first degree murder. Simpson naturally pleaded not guilty, so a date was set for trial.

 

There followed a "bond" proceeding. After evaluating the seriousness of the case and whether the accused was a threat to the public and whether the defendant would be a flight risk, the judge assessed the amount of bond required. After Simpson's arrest, his lawyer immediately demanded his release on bond. But the case was serious and there was suspicion that Simpson had tried to escape, so the judge denied the bond request. Therefore, until October 3, 1995, when Simpson was pronounced acquitted by the jury, he stayed in prison pending trial.

 

Subsection 2.4  Plea Bargaining

 

There is a procedure in criminal cases that is not easily understood by the general public.  It is called "plea bargaining". From the time a defendant is arraigned until the verdict is reached, at any time or during any phase, the prosecution and the defense can negotiate a "plea bargain". For example, the defendant is willing to admit to one of the criminal counts; in exchange the prosecution will drop another count. Or, based on the principle that voluntary coming clean gets leniency, defendant may admit guilt to have his sentence reduced. In reality, about 80% of American criminal cases are resolved by the "plea bargain" procedure. This procedure is supported by the court because it tends to reduce the consumption of government resources.

 

Plea Bargaining is usually translated as "litigation transaction", but I insist that it should be translated as "guilty plea bargaining", because it is negotiated by the prosecution and the defendant (usually represented by counsel). Its important precondition is that the defendant is willing to plead guilty. For example in a murder case, the prosecution may conclude that there is insufficient evidence to convict the defendant with first degree murder but only enough evidence to find him manslaughter. At this point the defendant proposes that he would plead guilty if the charges are reduced to manslaughter; he would not admit first degree murder and is willing to go to trial in the court. Upon the competing evaluation by both side, the prosecutor changes the charge to manslaughter which the accused pleads to. An agreement is reached. A criminal trial with an uncertain result but consumes time and energy unnecessarily is avoided.

 

Therefore, the most important pre-condition of a plea bargain is that the defendant is willing to plead guilty and then an agreement is reached, and not a private "deal" between the prosecutor and the defendant. Most important, after the agreement is arrived at, it must follow a mandated procedure and review before the judge can decide whether to approve or not. If it is approved, another required court procedure must be adhered to before a formal decision can be pronounced.

 

Subsection 2.5  Misdemeanor and Felony

 

Like most states, criminal cases in California are divided into two kinds. Generally if the penalty after conviction is less than one year, it is a misdemeanor. If the penalty after conviction is more than one year, it is a felony case.  

 

What is note worthy and interesting is that burglary by a single thief is considered a misdemeanor, but working with accomplices is a felony. Another example is a pick pocket by one thief is a misdemeanor; if there is a team of two people, one acting to draw the attention of the victim such as bumping into his body while the other uses the opportunity to pick the wallet, the prosecutor can charge both of them with conspiracy to commit a crime. Upon conviction the sentence will exceed one year in jail.