The Race Card The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

But, Daddy, what if I sit up front on the way

and she sits up front on the way back?

No.

I don't want to have to figure this out every time

I want to take my girls to dinner.

-Can't we negotiate it, Daddy?

-COCHRAN LAUGHS

SIREN BURST

Oh, man. Here we go.

HE SIGHS

All right, girls. What do we say to the police?

-GIRLS:

-Nothing.

-And who talks to the police?

-GIRLS:

-Our lawyer.

-That's right.

Officer, I'm just going to get my registration.

Please keep your hands on the wheel, sir.

Where you headed tonight?

Just taking my daughters to dinner.

May I ask why you pulled me over?

You seemed to change lanes without signalling two blocks back.

Oh, I assure you, I always signal - especially with my girls in the car.

This is the third time this week

someone's pulled me over for no reason.

Is this your vehicle?

If you let me go in the glove box, I'll show you my registration.

-Is this your father's car?

-Hey, hey. Don't talk to my children.

-Sir...

Look, I know the drill.

I'm black. I'm driving in a fancy white neighbourhood,

nice car, you pull me over.

So leave my children out of it, thank you!

-Sir, out of the car now.

-Oh, come on! Got to be kidding me!

Sir, because of your hostile attitude,

I'm going to have to cuff you.

Officer, please. Take my licence and call it in.

Find out who I am.

If you don't take this opportunity for yourself,

I guarantee you will regret it!

Stay right there. Do not move.

Girls...it's going to be all right. You hear me?

We're going to be at Hamburger Hamlet in five minutes. OK?

OK.

It's going to be fine.

Turn around.

Have a nice night, Mr Assistant District Attorney.

All right. Like I promised you, let's go get some burgers.

I'm starving.

Daddy, what did he say to you?

Oh, just grown-up talk, honey, grown-up talk.

Daddy, did he call you a nigger?

No, he didn't.

He didn't have to.

And don't you girls ever use that word.

Ever.

It's a terrible word. You hear me?

CAR ENGINE STARTS

Now, let's go.

As you know, the OJ Simpson trial will start soon,

and we want to pray with our member and friend, Johnnie Cochran,

who is litigating the OJ Simpson case. Johnnie, come forward.

APPLAUSE

Let us pray.

-Lord, for this day, we are thankful.

-Yes, Lord.

For Johnnie Cochran, we are appreciative.

We pray for Johnnie Cochran,

as he accepts this challenge to litigate the OJ trial.

King Jesus listens when we pray.

-Amen.

-ALL:

-Amen.

-APPLAUSE

# King Jesus is a-listenin' when you pray

# King Jesus is a-listenin' When you pray... #

Great. Now Jesus is on their side, too(!)

-TV:

-'After the service, Mr Cochran addressed reporters.'

'Of course, we all know Mr Darden is a fine attorney.'

Mm-hmm.

'But all of a sudden, he shows up now?

'After we've got eight African-Americans on the jury?

'Why is that?

'It's obvious to me

'Mr Darden is being used as a tool by the DA's office

'because he's black.

'Thank you. Honey...'

I appreciate your concern,

but I refuse to be in the same room with a particular individual,

and I think you know why.

No, I don't. I don't even know who you're talking about.

-Is it... is it Johnnie?

-No, it's Lee!

Why did you drive all the way over here if you weren't going to go in?

You don't understand. He is the godfather of one of my children.

Bob, what do I tell the team?

OK. What you tell them is that I know that he is the source

who leaked it to the New York Daily News

that I was "in over my head", that I was "steamrolled".

-It's inflammatory, it's a lie!

-HE SIGHS

Where... Never mind, don't tell me. Don't tell me.

-Just sit down and come on, let's go.

-OK.

-I got things to do.

He'll get here - if he gets here - when he gets here.

All right, gentlemen. COCHRAN CLEARS THROAT

Ah, there he is.

Judas.

I suppose that makes you Jesus?

Why don't you blow it out your ass, Bob?

Now that we've resolved that,

everybody got it out of their system, we got work to do.

Everybody take a folder, please. Here we go. Thank you so much.

Pass it on, please.

We begin with domestic violence.

We have 62 instances of Simpson beating, degrading

and stalking Nicole over the course of their 17-year relationship.

He was a serial abuser - that proves motive.

We know they're going to hone in on OJ's past abuse.

He was a ticking time bomb.

Ron and Nicole's murders were a natural escalation of a pattern.

We have a solid timeline to work with.

They are doing us a huge favour,

establishing such a small window for OJ's alleged attack.

Everything starts with the plaintive wail of the Akita.

I'm guessing everyone's aware their bombshell witness is a dog?

LAUGHTER

There was blood in his car, in his driveway.

Her blood was on his socks in his bedroom.

There's no way they call Fuhrman to the stand. He's damaged goods.

It's too big a risk.

And if they do call him, we've all seen his personnel file.

-We'll rip him apart.

-Mm.

The amount of physical evidence is overwhelming.

There's mountains of it.

Frankly, it's more hard evidence

than I've ever seen in a murder case.

The truth is, the LAPD rushed to judgement in targeting OJ.

The mere fact that we find blood where there should be no blood

is devastating proof.

-LEE BAILEY:

-Look, the haphazard manner

in which the evidence was collected and handled

gives us a significant advantage.

I've seen it before.

Officers start down a misguided path and refuse to turn back.

Then somebody realises they need a better case.

We have motive, evidence and opportunity.

Evidence doesn't win the day.

Jurors go with the narrative that makes sense.

We're here to tell a story.

Our job is to tell that story better than the other side tells theirs.

He would take it better if it came from you.

I think you have a warmer relationship with him,

-and he might be more understanding.

-Then I'll do it.

Hello. Everyone, this is a list of who you'll be responsible

for putting on the stand. Hank, you've got the crime lab guys.

I couldn't think of anyone more suited

to sort through all that blood evidence.

Bill, I know your hands are full with discovery. You take the coroner.

I'll take the dog bark witnesses, the cops at the crime scene.

Woody and Rock, you obviously have DNA,

and, Chris, you've got Vannatter and, uh... Fuhrman.

OK. We all know what we need to do.

Let's go.

-Marcia?

-Yeah?

What?

Nothing.

Let's get to work.

ELEVATOR DINGS

-Mark Fuhrman.

-Chris Darden. Have a seat.

Is Bill Hodgman's office still on this floor?

It's upstairs. You know Bill?

Yeah. Yeah, he's a smart guy.

Well, he won't be joining us.

That's fine with me, sir.

How would you describe yourself on the stand?

Pretty comfortable - I've done it before.

Are you going to be putting me up?

If that's not a problem.

Well, I imagine that's not for me to decide,

but I definitely don't have a problem with it.

You should know the defence plans to raise some incidents from your past.

Allegations of things you said. They're going to come at you.

Uh, what type of incidents?

Well, we've seen their list of witnesses.

They're going to claim you're a racist.

That's not going to be an issue with me.

Ask around - I work with black cops every day.

I think your SID investigated one of my black buddies.

OK.

I met with Fuhrman.

Good. You can fill me in tomorrow.

He says all the appropriate things.

-But?

-But, uh...truthfully...

guy's not right.

I get a really bad vibe from him.

Chris, no one's asking you to date him, just prep him.

He's one of those people that thinks

that you can't see how he really feels because he acts polite.

Well, that makes no sense, because when someone acts polite,

then they ARE polite.

Am I out of line, saying you're bringing a preconception to this

because you're black?

All right, Marcia, I don't expect you to understand.

But there's a way that certain white people talk to black people.

It's disingenuous. Fuhrman doesn't have to be a witness.

-What?

-He's not even the cop who entered the gloves into evidence.

-He doesn't have to take the stand.

-Yes, he does.

You are playing into the defence.

I understand that this guy has had his troubles,

but his psych records have been ruled inadmissible.

So, we are not panicking,

and we are not going to let the police go on trial here.

This is not SID. The cops are our allies.

Chris...

..he's what we've got.

Fuhrman has something to contribute, and you need to get him ready.

So, you know...

Massage it.

Do whatever is necessary to make him come across as credible.

Do you see what you've done? It's after 8.00.

My babysitter's going to kill me. I will see you tomorrow.

"Massage it."

Mr Dunne, I've read some of your past coverage of murder trials

in Vanity Fair magazine.

I'm lucky I write for a magazine

that allows me to take a stand, Your Honour.

Well, there's no mistaking how you feel.

No. That's something I'm proud about.

I am assigning you a permanent seat in the front row.

You'll be next to the Goldmans,

and the seat is yours for the length of the trial.

Thank you, Your Honour.

Without, uh...being too forward,

I sense that you'll be able to sympathise with them

in a way that the rest of us cannot,

that you'll know how to deal with them -

not intrude or ask inappropriate questions.

Because of my daughter's murder?

Yes. Well, I...

apologise for dredging up what I imagine is a deeply painful memory,

but I felt it was important that you know why.

I'm sure the Goldmans will appreciate the gesture, Your Honour.

I know I do.

The trial of Dominique's killer was torture enough.

But then, the way he got off with a slap on the wrist...

Let's hope this one goes better.

Well...

Uh, hey, you're a Hollywood guy.

I know that you worked in showbiz.

You want to see who sent me a fan letter today?

Uh, who?

It's, uh... That's Arsenio Hall.

CHANTING: Let the Juice loose! Let the Juice loose!

OJ, OJ, you can't hide! They'll charge you with homicide!

Let the Juice loose! Let the Juice loose! No justice! No peace!

-Let OJ go!

-He's a rapist! He's a wife-beater! He's a murderer!

OJ is innocent until proven guilty!

There's blood on his hands! He beat her ass the whole time!

OJ is innocent until proven guilty!

Hey, Johnnie, can I have a minute?

Big day today. Hey, you holding up?

I don't want you to take this the wrong way.

But, uh... that press conference you gave about me -

that was a cheap shot.

It was unfair and beneath the both of us as professionals.

In this trial, we're equals.

Everything from our past is out the window.

So it's my sincere hope that we can agree from this point forward

to treat each other with respect.

Brother, I ain't trying to be respectful.

I'm trying to win.

Your Honour, we have submitted a motion

to exclude all 62 allegations of domestic violence.

This is a murder case.

This is not a domestic violence case, nor is it an inquiry

into the characteristics and personality of Mr Simpson.

And all this evidence that was submitted is not relevant.

Your Honour, counsel's reasoning is flawed

and their logic is specious.

The defendant's character and prior history are the point.

Let's do a hypothetical.

Let's pretend that we're not even going to tell the jury

that Nicole and Mr Simpson were married.

Our jurors would naturally ask,

"Why would OJ Simpson kill a perfect stranger?"

It wouldn't make sense.

It's only when you understand the context and their relationship

and Mr Simpson's jealousy

that his motive for committing these brutal murders can be understood.

Knock 'em dead, Darden.

Your Honour, I'd like to address a separate issue.

All right.

Your Honour,

Detective Fuhrman's going to play a very small role in this case,

but we believe when he's called to the stand,

we're going to be forced to go back 15-odd years

to ask him about completely irrelevant statements

that people have claimed he's made.

These statements are racially insensitive and divisive.

The question is, why bring them up?

They're going to ask him

if he made a racial slur or repeated a racial epithet.

But why ask?

There's no legal purpose for it.

But Mr Cochran and the defence have a purpose for entering this area,

and that purpose is to inflame the passions of the jury

and ask them to pick sides.

The...

The "N" word is a dirty, filthy word, Your Honour.

It is so prejudicial and inflammatory

that the use of it in any situation

will evoke an emotional response from any African-American.

We're talking about a word that blinds people.

When you mention that word to this jury,

it will blind them to the truth.

They won't be able to discern what's true and what's not.

It will impair their judgment.

It will affect their ability to be fair.

It'll force the black jurors to make a choice -

"Whose side are you on, the Man or the brothers?"

Is he serious?

So, the People strongly urge the court, respectfully,

not to allow that vile word to be uttered

at any time during this trial.

Your Honour, I did not plan to speak on this matter,

but I would be remiss if I did not respond to my good friend,

Mr Chris Darden.

Mr Darden's remarks this afternoon

are perhaps the most incredible remarks I've heard in a court of law

in my 32 years of practice.

His remarks are deeply demeaning to African-Americans.

And so, first and foremost, Your Honour, I would like to apologise

to African-Americans across this country.

It is preposterous to say that African-Americans collectively

are so emotionally unstable that they cannot hear offensive words

without losing their moral sense of right and wrong.

They live with offensive words,

offensive looks,

offensive treatment every day!

And so, Your Honour, I am ashamed that Mr Darden would allow himself

to become an apologist for Mark Fuhrman.

Who are any of us to testify as an expert

as to what words black people can or cannot handle?!

Your Honour, across America...

..believe you me,

African-Americans are offended at this very moment.

And so, for a friend that I deeply respect,

I would say this was outlandish...

..unfortunate...

..and unwarranted.

Thank you, Your Honour.

Nigga, please.

Can I see?

"76% of African-Americans

"do not believe Darden was doing a good job...

"..often, at times, referring to the ADA as an Uncle Tom"?

Uh, yeah. OK. Yeah. That's fine.

Hey, Gil.

-I'm in a hurry.

-I'd like to do a few interviews with the black press.

-Why?

-I think it's important that people understand

-what my role is on this case and who I am.

-Is this about the poll?

-Marcia said there was some poll.

-76%...

-No-one's doing press, Chris.

If I had to respond every time some crabapple said something about me...

You're just going to do more harm, drawing attention to yourself.

DAs don't go on talk shows. It's a sensitive case. No press.

Marcia?

-We need to reconsider Fuhrman.

-MARCIA GROANS

Look, he's wrong for this case.

You have had a rough couple of weeks.

We're not changing our trial strategy because of it.

Toughen up.

You're letting Johnnie get into your head.

Can I share something with you?

As long as I don't have to get out of this chair.

I'm wiped.

In the '70s, when I was in law school,

affirmative action was a big deal.

-I remember.

-No, you don't. You're white.

I busted my ass.

I had the grades to get into that school.

But every time I entered a classroom,

I felt like people were staring at me.

Like I took some more worthy person's spot.

And that bullshit hurts.

And those feelings never leave.

And now, almost 20 years later,

I'm expected to sit and swallow

those same kinds of accusations all over again.

I mean, Johnnie's out there trashing me

in front of every TV camera he can find.

But he's wrong.

Just like all those idiots who doubted you back then.

You are on this case because you are creative, dedicated and smart.

DARDEN SIGHS

That's why I wanted you.

Thanks.

You're going to help us win.

And Johnnie can go screw himself.

This case is about an obsession to win at any cost.

And we are confident that the evidence will reveal

that the LAPD is a "blunders in blue" operation.

-Mm.

-No?

No, it sounds like you're trying to be funny.

Baby, I'm not trying to be funny.

-But that's what it sounds like, honey.

-OK.

-You can do it.

-Go on now.

-All right, all right. Let me try. Hold on.

-Uh... we will reveal...

-Mm-hmm.

..that the evidence collected by the LAPD was contaminated...

Mm.

..compromised and corrupted.

SHE CHUCKLES What? That is it.

Oh, baby. That's it. That is it.

-Nice alliteration.

-Mm-hmm.

-Three Cs.

It has a flow, honey, it's perfect. You got it.

I'm glad you're on this.

It's like it's my destiny, baby.

Mm.

Well, destiny...

..has a powerful attraction.

-What you doing?

-I closed my book.

-No, you didn't.

-Yes, I did.

-No, you didn't.

-What you doing?

I'm taking off my robe.

You bringing it to me?

-Let a brother...

-Uh-oh.

-I'm trying...

-Ooh.

..to bring you... it.

-Mmm.

-Mmm. LAUGHTER

PHONE RINGS Ooh!

-That bat phone didn't ring!

-It did ring. Go ahead, answer it.

-Oh.

-Be quick.

Good evening. Johnnie Cochran.

We have a problem.

What time is it? Are you still at work?

-You're kidding.

-All right, all right, go ahead. What you got?

Shapiro's staff messed up

and didn't submit 12 of our witnesses into discovery.

-Really?

-You're going to have to remove those names

out of your opening statement tomorrow, Johnnie.

I'm sorry to do this to you.

I'm not removing those names, brother.

What? No, no, Johnnie, we can't do that.

Here's the thing, Carl.

There comes a time when you got to fall on your sword for your client.

Tomorrow is your day.

PHONE GOES DEAD

Stay on the sidewalk!

Let's go, let's go! Back up, gentlemen! Back up!

SIRENS WAIL

Go! I told you, back up!

I said, back up. Do not cross this line. Hey!

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK

PRESS CLAMOUR AND CALL OUT

Over here, Johnnie!

Come on, Bob. Pretend we're at the Oscars.

All rise! Court is now in session.

Judge Lance Ito presiding.

Good morning.

All right, why don't we bring in the jury?

We've watched OJ Simpson win the Heisman Trophy.

We've watched him in movies and commercials.

We think we know him.

But what we've been seeing is a public face...

..the face of the athlete, the actor.

But like many public men, he also has a private side.

The OJ Simpson you've never met.

The face of a batterer.

The abuser.

The murderer.

I would like to summarise the results of our evidence

from these...heartless slayings.

The blood trail at the Rockingham property matches the defendant.

The blood found on the glove recovered at Rockingham

matches the defendant.

The blood drops at the Bundy murder scene match the defendant.

And the blood found in the Bronco

matches a mixture of the defendant,

Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown.

The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr said it best...

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

And so, here...

..we embark upon a search for justice.

A search for truth.

None of us were there on June 12, 1994.

We must rely upon the witnesses to get a full picture.

But let me talk about those witnesses

the prosecution didn't mention.

Witnesses who will exonerate OJ Simpson.

One might wonder why the prosecution didn't bring to your attention

Mary Anne Gerchas...

..or Rosa Lopez...

or Joe Stellini...

-..or Alan Austin, or...

-Your Honour...

-What?

I hesitate to interrupt another lawyer's opening statement,

but it appears that, for some reason,

these witnesses have not been turned over to the People!

MURMURS

GAVEL BANGS

All right.

Maybe we should excuse the jury. Bailiff?

You need to calm...

Mr Hodgman.

Your Honour, what is this - opening statement by...by ambush?

This is a complete surprise, a...a horrible breakdown.

The People have not received reciprocal discovery!

Counsel, can you address these issues?

I will... I will try, Your Honour.

I have to say, Mr Douglas,

I've known Mr Hodgman as a colleague and as a trial lawyer,

and I've never seen the expression on his face that I see right now.

Mr Hodgman, why don't you take a few deep breaths?

Give me a few minutes, Your Honour. I just... I need...

I need to slow myself down a bit.

Mr Douglas?

It's regrettable, as I stand before you, Your Honour,

that we have not coordinated our efforts

as well as we would have liked.

I say that, because I have some documents

that I do intend to give over to the People.

I tell the Court with all seriousness

that I am embarrassed by this and take full responsibility.

Your Honour, while I'm delighted and appreciative

that Mr Douglas is taking full responsibility,

the fact remains that the People

have been denied their right to a fair tri...

I... Forgive me, Your Honour. I'm just...

I'm not quite f...

Bill?

I got some ch... chest pain.

-GASPS Doc... Doctor!

-Bailiff!

MURMURING

Bill, you OK?

Somebody call 911!

He's OK.

-I'm sorry.

-It's OK. Just breathe.

Well, um...

Why don't we adjourn for the day?

Court will resume at 9.00am tomorrow. We now stand in recess.

Bill isn't coming back.

-It's like this building is cursed.

-His wife said he'll be fine.

Oh, Jesus!

Gil, you have to trust me.

The team will pick up the slack. We've got a good group.

Bill had a lot of responsibility, and you're only one person.

I mean, do we add another senior prosecutor?

Look, I think Chris is ready to step up.

He is.

He took Johnnie's best shot,

came back strong in opening statements - that's hard to do.

I think he would make an excellent co-prosecutor.

He's already on the team, Gil.

He's ready.

DIALLING TONE

PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

-It's me.

So, listen...

Bill isn't coming back.

DARDEN SIGHS

What?

Wow, that's, uh... That's terrible.

Who's Gil assigning?

No-one.

We talked this afternoon, and I told him the best way forward

would be to elevate you to co-prosecutor.

If you're comfortable with that.

My God. Marcia...

-Are you happy?

-You know I am.

I can't believe you did this for me.

I did it for the Browns and the Goldmans.

And now, it's on us.

The relationship between the two families is quite peculiar,

when you realise that the son of one is on trial

for murdering the daughter of another.

It's quite startling that they greet one another in court so warmly.

What about OJ's girlfriend, Paula? She can't still be with him?

The interesting thing about Paula is,

she had broken up with OJ the day of the murders.

I heard she was with Michael Bolton

at the Mirage in Las Vegas that night.

But once OJ was arrested, she returned to his side.

Naturally, the big question has always been,

why did Nicole return to him again and again?

I'm sure fear played a part,

but I heard that her parents pushed her

to reconcile with him every time they split,

and that OJ set her father up with a Hertz dealership.

She didn't know any better.

Did you realise she'd just turned 18 when they started dating?

What else?

Well, next week promises to be extraordinary.

The jury will visit the crime scene and OJ's mansion,

and OJ will be there, too.

Imagine - the first time he's been back since the Bronco chase.

This won't do at all.

MUSIC: Fantastic Voyage by Coolio

I like that. Oh, yeah.

That's perfect now. That's good.

Ah, that's good. That's good.

That's looking better.

We getting there. I like me some blackness.

There's Mama. All right. Good, good.

Ruby's in the house. Let's go.

Beautiful, beautiful. Right over the fireplace there. Thank you, sir.

Timing is impeccable.

Careful with that.

Nice. Ah...

-Sure looks familiar.

-It's on loan...

from the Cochran collection.

LAUGHTER

DOOR BUZZER

-How you holding up?

-OK.

Now, when the jurors tour the crime scene and Rockingham,

it's going to be important for us all to make a positive impression.

-Mm-hm.

-It'll be the only time they see you outside the courtroom.

All eyes are going to be on you.

Hey, you're OJ. You're used to it.

You put it on them, smile, and the people melt.

-OK.

-All right.

But I don't want you to be surprised

when you see that we've... redecorated.

Redecorated? Why would you do that?

We wanted to project the right image.

Someone our jurors could admire and fully relate to.

People do admire me, Johnnie. Everybody loves my house!

It was in Sunset Magazine.

OJ, the majority of our jurors are black.

Yeah? And?

Look, do me a favour.

Try to imagine your life before any of this happened.

How many black people did you interact with on a daily basis?

How dialled in were you to the community -

issues the average black person deals with?

How many blacks did you actually consider a friend?

AC - and he's darker than I am!

Are you trying to say something about me, Johnnie?

Absolutely not. Nobody's judging you, brother.

But let's be honest.

Being nicknamed the "Mayor of Brentwood"

doesn't forge any bonds with our jury...

..people you need to acquit you of a double murder.

-OK, OK.

-All right.

-I hear you.

-OK.

-I can go along with all of that.

-Good. Thank you.

But when they say "Mayor of Brentwood,"

I know what they mean when they're saying that.

I want you to know I never left anybody behind, Johnnie.

I did what I had the right to do.

I manifested myself out of a messed-up situation.

And don't think there weren't people back from where I came from

hanging on to the back of my shirts the whole time

with their hand out, trying to get me to drag them up, too.

But it don't work like that.

You got to get it on your own.

Nobody can do it for you.

And I ain't never apologising for buying a beautiful house

in a beautiful neighbourhood.

A neighbourhood where you don't have people coming over the wall,

trying to get at me, take what I earned.

I ain't never apologising for that. Do you hear me?

Yes. All right.

I just want to make sure we both understand what we got to do.

You should see the house I bought my mama.

Had a pool and everything.

SPEECH IS INAUDIBLE

Everything all right?

What happened here?

Why did they clear out the place?

This doesn't tell them anything.

She was a mother.

There was a family.

SIREN BURST

Look at this.

Damn, is that the...? Ah!

HE LAUGHS That's what I'm talking about.

-That's the Heisman!

-Yup. Yes, it is.

The Heisman!

-Can you believe this?

-I can't believe any of this.

It's a complete misrepresentation. This isn't OJ.

These ain't even my kids.

I don't know who these people are.

At least they got the muscles right. CHUCKLES

Your Honour, may I ask why all of Nicole's personal effects

have been removed from Bundy before the jurors have been able to see it?

It's quite, uh... quite masterful.

What's with all the African art?

Where are all the pictures of OJ with his white golfing buddies?

This entire house has been staged.

Where's the naked picture of Paula Barbieri by the bed?

Oh, I know.

It's been replaced with a picture of his mother in a wheelchair.

Get off my bench.

I don't want you on my bench, hear me?!

-Come on. Officer. Come on, OJ..

-Shouldn't even be in my house!

-Come on. I'm sorry.

-You need to keep your defendant under control.

He gets emotional. He just gets emotional.

He's all right now.

-Now...

-Uh-uh. What?

There's something I've been meaning to tell you.

Whatever happens...

don't do Fuhrman.

Make the white people do him.

How dare he try and mess with my head!

-Chris, listen.

-I'm co-prosecutor, Pops.

-Come on, Chris...

It's ridiculous that I have to deal with this kind of garbage

-during a trial of this magnitude!

-Chris!

-I don't know.

-Maybe he's intimidated by me? I don't know.

-Chris!

Another strong, intelligent brother?

Look, the bottom line is, this has got to stop!

Son, you've been going on 20 minutes about how you're in charge now.

Well, then, fine, you're in charge!

So, act like it - and stand up for your damn self!

And how you know he's been trying to mess with your head?

What do you think he's trying to do, Pops?

Could it be possible that he's just trying to give you some good advice, black man to black man?

DARDEN SIGHS

-How do you feel about interracial couples, Detective?

-Don't care.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. What's there to care about?

I don't have an opinion. They're the same as anybody else.

Got any hobbies, Detective?

I collect World War II memorabilia, medals mostly.

What about sports heroes?

Uh... George Foreman and Magic Johnson.

I'm surprised to hear that.

In the past, haven't you expressed a dislike for African-Americans?

No, sir, I have not.

Have you ever unfairly targeted African-Americans while on the job?

-No.

-Have you ever been accused of unfairly targeting African-Americans?

Probably, at some point.

Suspects will say just about anything to get off.

Have you ever used a racial slur in describing an African-American?

No.

You're saying that you've never used the "N" word?

-What's this got to do with the case?

-Detective, have you used the word?

Has anyone told you that I've used the word?

So, if the defence calls a witness that testifies that you've used it,

-how do you respond to that?

-I haven't - ever.

Hmm.

I'm not putting Fuhrman on the stand.

And it's not because of Johnnie, and it's not because I worked SID.

-Aren't we past this?

-No. We're not.

Look, I'll take any of Bill's witnesses.

-Well, that's real noble(!) He had the coroner.

-OK.

Could you guys give us a moment?

I can't control who found the glove, Chris.

And the truth is, Fuhrman will present best if you have him.

And why is that?

Say it - go on. It's because I'm black.

Hmm?

Go on.

Fine!

Your dislike for him will read to the jury anyway.

I will take him.

What's so difficult?

He's just a cop on a stand.

Great. Thanks.

MUSIC: Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg - Overture by Richard Wagner