OJ Simpson and Bruno Magli's
One of the most influential pieces of evidence in the OJ Simpson civil lawsuit was his rare Bruno Magli limited edition shoes. These shoes were a key piece of evidence incriminating OJ. Evidence that neither he or his defense team could excuse or discredit. It was clear that the shoes were at the crime scene. The hard part about this was proving that OJ had worn these since OJ was saying that he would never wear those "ugly ass shoes".
How They Did It:
The prosecution began by calling Bloomingdale's associate buyer for men's shoes, Sam Poser. Sam Poser was well known around the celebrity community for being a shoe fashion advisor. Sam remembers advising OJ between two pairs of shoes for the cold Buffalo Bills game he was going to attend. OJ was looking for a pair of casual stylish shoes to wear at the game. Sam remembers trying to not sell OJ the Bruno Magli's because he felt that they were not well suited for the weather that they would be exposed to in brutal cold Buffalo New York. However, OJ really wanted that look. This pair
of shoes could have been the missing piece of evidence to lock up OJ. However, it surfaced shortly after the criminal trial was over. Only 200 Bruno Magli's size 12's were imported to the US and Bloomingdale's was one of only 5 retailers to carry it. This made it extremely likely for OJ to have bought and worn them at the game.
How They Did It:
The prosecution began by calling Bloomingdale's associate buyer for men's shoes, Sam Poser. Sam Poser was well known around the celebrity community for being a shoe fashion advisor. Sam remembers advising OJ between two pairs of shoes for the cold Buffalo Bills game he was going to attend. OJ was looking for a pair of casual stylish shoes to wear at the game. Sam remembers trying to not sell OJ the Bruno Magli's because he felt that they were not well suited for the weather that they would be exposed to in brutal cold Buffalo New York. However, OJ really wanted that look. This pair
OJ claimed that a photo of him wearing them at the game was photoshopped. This was a last-ditch attempt at discrediting the evidence. It failed however and the Bruno Magli print played a big role in the decision. A decision where OJ owed 12.5 million dollars to the Goldman family and 8.5 million dollars to the Brown family.
The history behind the Bruno Magli shoes and and how they served as a key piece of evidence–but not until after the criminal trial had ended–is very interesting. The fact that such an important piece of evidence to incriminate OJ Simpson was found after the criminal trial brings up the Fifth Amendment and the significance of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The idea that someone cannot be tried for the same crime twice is intended to protect people when they are accused of crimes and to enforce the idea that the American justice system should work properly and achieve justice the first time around. However, cases such as this one, where new evidence is brought to light afterwards, expose the downside to this protection.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting that evidence like a pair of shoes that may seem insignificant can become so important in a trial. However, the timing of the evidence was very unfortunate as it surfaced after the criminal trial which meant that OJ could not be sent to prison because of it. Instead it helped prove him guilty in the civil trial where he ended up facing huge fines for his actions. I agree with Brynna that the Double Jeopardy Clause in most cases is a good thing and avoids someone being harassed by the same case over and over but in a case like OJ's where important evidence came up, they should have a policy where they can retry the case in order to ensure justice is properly served.
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