Abstract

This article analyzes the racial implications of O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial. The former football star, actor, and broadcaster was charged with the 1994 murder of his ex wife and the latter’s friend and alleged lover. The fact that the defendant was black, while both the victims and the leading investigators were white, provoked allegations that Simpson was the target of racism. It also polarized public opinion along racial lines. Many African Americans celebrated Simpson’s eventual acquittal as a form of redress for blacks’ past mistreatment in court, but overall the outcome of the trial failed to open an era of judicial fairness for them.