Cochran speaks on race in America, not on Simpson

Lawyer Johnnie Cochran lectures in Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall April 24. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

By John Wilson '98

Long before he was asked to head O.J. Simpson's legal defense team, Johnnie Cochran achieved high distinction as a trial lawyer. However, what rocketed him to international fame was the Simpson murder case, which ended in an acquittal of the former football star in October 1995. Since then, Cochran has published his autobiography and now hosts a show on Court TV, but is reluctant to discuss Simpson's trial.

When Cochran delivered a lecture in Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall April 24, he declined to refer to Simpson, speaking instead about the problem of race and America's prospects for the future. And when the time for the question-and-answer period arrived, the event's organizers sought to dissuade the more than 200 people in attendance from mentioning Simpson.

"No questions about O.J. will be answered tonight," said Ronald Johnson, president of the African Latino Asian Native American Students Programming Board, one of the event's sponsors. "If you intend to ask any, you might as well stay in your seat."

For the most part, the audience members complied with the restriction. But a few found a way to flank the subject, and Cochran even volunteered a little direct information about it during an hour's worth of questions.

Freshman Matthew Greenbaum asked Cochran, "In the cases you've defended, do you think that any of your clients ever received an acquittal because of wealth?"

"Yes," Cochran answered with a wry smile, and explained that it is possible to build stronger cases for affluent defendants because of their ability to pay for expert witnesses, among other things. He used as an example Dr. Henry Lee, the Connecticut forensic scientist reputed to be the best in the world at what he does and whose opinion on DNA evidence suggested Simpson's innocence. Obviously, Cochran said, Lee's testimony strongly influenced the Simpson jury.

Because trial outcomes can be shaped by wealth, Cochran opposes the death penalty, which he said is applied "capriciously" and most often to poor defendants. Observing that some state governments allocate as little as $1,000 for the defense of accused persons with no assets, Cochran asked what sort of case could be assembled with such a small sum. In the Simpson trial, "That wouldn't have even bought us lunch on the first day," he said.

Another student asked, "To what extent are you an actor in the courtroom?"

"Sometimes you have to do preposterous things," Cochran said. In general, however, he said that he prefers not to engage in courtroom trivialities but instead to present cases in a thoughtful manner. "You have a better chance to win if they think you're serious," he advised the several questioners contemplating law school.

Cochran's 45-minute lecture broadly addressed America's racial divisions, which he said need to be acknowledged and then brought together. Repeatedly he urged students to work actively for social change.

"A black male is five times more likely to be murdered than to be accepted to the University of California. It's not until the 22nd century that brown and black people are going to be on economic parity with white people. You are our best hope to do something about this 'other America,'" Cochran said.

His concrete proposals included reversing legislative trends that earmark more money for prisons than schools, restoring affirmative action programs in places where they have been eliminated and looking toward religion to augment personal vigor.