Role in the O. J. Simpson murder trial
Background During Simpson's and Brown's eight-year marriage, Simpson repeatedly physically abused her and threatened to kill her, leading her to call the police on several occasions. Fuhrman responded to one of these calls and encountered Brown hiding in her Mercedes as Simpson was trying to break the windshield with a baseball bat. In a 2016 interview with
Ezra Edelman in
O.J.: Made in America, Fuhrman claimed that he twice asked Simpson to put the bat down, and when Simpson refused, Fuhrman got his baton out and threatened him with violence if he continued. Simpson then obeyed and apologized, and Fuhrman offered Brown the chance to press charges so he could arrest Simpson; when she declined, Fuhrman went away telling her, "It's your life." Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered outside Brown's
Brentwood, Los Angeles, condominium on the night of June 12, 1994. Robert Riske and his partner were the first police officers on the scene in the early morning of June 13, and Riske found a bloody left-hand glove at the scene. At least 14 officers and supervisors, some of whom arrived on the scene before Fuhrman, reported seeing only one glove. Fuhrman and his superior, Ronald Phillips, were the first detectives to arrive; Fuhrman's partner, Brad Roberts, arrived later. Fuhrman was familiar with Simpson and Brown because of the 1985 domestic violence call. Fuhrman left Brown's condominium with Ronald Phillips and lead detectives Tom Lange and Philip Vannatter, and went to Simpson's Rockingham residence. At the Simpson residence, Fuhrman found a number of blood drops in and on a white
Ford Bronco parked outside. The glove found on the Simpson estate, which – according to
DNA testing – was soaked with the blood of both victims, was considered to be one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the prosecution. When Simpson was asked to put on the gloves during the trial, they appeared to be too small for him. The reasons for this have been debated; leather can shrink if exposed to water and heat. Simpson was arrested on June 17. On July 8, a preliminary hearing determined that there was sufficient evidence for Simpson to stand trial. On July 22, Simpson pleaded
not guilty. the
New Yorker article was published before
jury selection was finalized or
jury sequestration had taken place. Potential jurors were asked how much exposure to the Simpson case they received from
The New Yorker (among other media outlets) as part of the jury selection process. They were also asked their opinions of Fuhrman and other witnesses who had testified at the preliminary hearing. and Fuhrman took the witness stand for the prosecution on March 9. During cross-examination on March 15, attorney
F. Lee Bailey asked Fuhrman whether he had used the word "nigger" in the previous 10 years, to which Fuhrman replied that he had not. The defense tried to introduce witnesses and audiotape evidence to prove that Fuhrman had lied under oath, that he had a particular animus against interracial couples, that he had a history of perpetrating violence against African-Americans, and that he had a history of being willing to fabricate evidence or testimony. the prosecution sought to exclude this evidence by arguing that it was too inflammatory and could prejudice the predominantly black jury. Although they conceded that Fuhrman used racial epithets on the tape, the prosecution suggested that the remainder of the material was merely exaggerated "puffing and blowing". On August 31, Judge
Lance Ito ruled that evidence could be introduced to prove that Fuhrman had lied about use of the word "nigger", but that claims of violence and police misconduct were inadmissible. On September 5, the defense produced multiple witnesses and audiotapes to establish that Fuhrman had used the word "nigger" within the last 10 years. The tape eventually resulted in a perjury charge against Fuhrman, to which he pleaded no contest. First, Laura Hart McKinny took the stand. Between 1985 and 1994, Fuhrman gave
taped interviews to McKinny, a writer working on a screenplay about female police officers. Fuhrman was working as a consultant for McKinny on the understanding that he would be paid $10,000 if a movie were produced. The recordings contain 41 instances of the word "nigger" used as recently as 1988, In the recordings, he also says he thinks it is sometimes necessary to lie as a police officer and that he has given testimony about events he did not actually witness. where she claimed that he expressed animus against interracial couples and said, "If I had my way, all the niggers would be gathered together and burned." Next, witness Natalie Singer, whose roommate had dated Fuhrman around 1987, testified that Fuhrman had told her, "The only good nigger is a dead nigger." However, Ito restricted her from giving her complete statement during the trial. Roderic Hodge then testified that while he was in police custody in 1987, Fuhrman had said to him, "I told you we would get you, nigger." Ultimately, the jury was allowed to hear only two excerpts from the Fuhrman tapes, which did not include the inflammatory violent content or material related to potential misconduct. Jurors heard Fuhrman say, "We have no niggers where I grew up", and "That's where niggers live." During his
closing argument, defense attorney
Johnnie Cochran called Fuhrman "a lying, perjuring, genocidal racist," likening him to
Adolf Hitler. He argued that Fuhrman had planted the bloody glove on Simpson's estate as part of a racially motivated plot against Simpson, which could be traced back to Fuhrman's first encounter with the interracial couple in 1985. and has been cited as one of the main reasons Simpson was acquitted.
Aftermath Fuhrman's words on the tapes resulted in his being widely condemned, including by the prosecution. His use of racial epithets and accusations that he had planted evidence became a focal point of the trial and attracted enormous media attention that for a time eclipsed coverage of the crime itself, such that Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, told the media, "This is now the Fuhrman trial. It is not the trial of O. J. Simpson, the man accused of murdering my son and Nicole." After the trial, there was widespread pressure on
Los Angeles County district attorney
Gil Garcetti to bring perjury charges against Fuhrman. Garcetti initially refused, saying that Fuhrman's use of racist language was "not material to the case", a major element of proving perjury. As many members of Garcetti's office made public statements on the issue, Garcetti, citing the high emotions in his office about the case, opted to give the decision to prosecute to
Dan Lungren, the
California attorney general, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. On July 5, 1996, Lungren announced that he would file perjury charges against Fuhrman and soon thereafter offered Fuhrman a
plea bargain. On October 2, Fuhrman accepted the deal and pleaded
no contest to the charges. He was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $200. Fuhrman is the only person to have been convicted of criminal charges related to the Simpson case. His probation ended early in 1998, and his felony charges were expunged 18 months later. In an October 1996 television interview with
Diane Sawyer, Fuhrman said he did not plant evidence in the Simpson case. He said he is not a racist, and apologized for his use of racist language. He said he had forgotten about the existence of the audiotapes and that they were merely part of a misguided effort to have a fictional screenplay produced. A police investigation of the claims of violence on the tapes found that Fuhrman had grossly exaggerated, and many of his minority former coworkers have expressed support for Fuhrman and said they do not believe he is a racist. states that anyone who fabricates evidence in a
death penalty as the Brown and Goldman murder case might have can be sentenced to death themselves. Bugliosi further argues that Fuhrman was one of the victims in the case and that his lying under oath about racial epithets did not rise to the level of indictable perjury, because it was immaterial to the actual facts of the case. ==Post-trial career==