This episode introduced viewers to the before unseen members
of the active jury and alternates. It
provides a view of the courtroom different from that of the attorneys and law
enforcement. The long sequester has
taken its toll on the once enthusiastic participants of the “trial of the
century.” Their mental health threatens
to unravel the entire trial process as both defense and prosecution tries to
tip the scales of justice in their own favor.
(Please note, introducing the audience to previously
background cast members is challenging so late in the series. Their names have been gleamed from IMDB and
some are only identified by nicknames, which do not necessarily reflect my
impression of the characters.)
It is day one hundred and twenty four of the trial and
sheriff’s deputies scold the members of the jury for being late for court. Tempers flare until another deputy steps to
defend the jurors, reminding his colleague that everyone is weary. One man complains the trial was supposed to
last two months but it’s been eight. The
jury members feel frustrated like they are the ones being punished.
The clock rewinds to eight months before when the jury first
arrived by van to the Intercontinental Hotel. They chat excitedly about having time away
from their nagging wives or a chance to relax and watch football games. A woman comments on another woman’s vast
amount of luggage asking, “Do you know something I don’t?” An older African-American man flops down on
his hotel bed and opens the cabinet to find the television has been removed
from the room. Another man tries to head
down to the swimming pool only to be stopped by an officer telling him the pool
is off limits. Another woman has her
“Reader’s Digest” confiscated.
The members of the jury meet in a hotel conference room to
review their instructions. They are not
allowed to visit each other in their hotel rooms, they must stay on their room
floor at the end of the day and will be supervised at all times. Newspapers and television are strictly prohibited. The jurors are swore in by Judge Ito and are
seated in court for the first time.
At the defense office, Bailey speaks about his assessment
that four jurors will find Simpson “not guilty.” Johnnie Cochran celebrates the glove testimony
and hopes he can achieve an acquittal. The
defense drinks champagne to toast their presumed victory.
It’s a far different scene at the D.A.’s office. Gil Garcetti yells at Clark and Darden for
the glove fiasco. Clark offers, “We will
rally. We have the DNA and forensic
evidence, that is our silver bullet.”
Garcetti isn’t impressed and yells, “No one understands DNA Marcia, but
everyone can tell when a glove doesn’t fit!” He slams the office door shut as he
leaves. Darden mumbles something about
the gloves to Clark but she orders him out of the room.
The jurors assemble for “TV time” in which they can chose
from pre-recorded tapes from Blockbuster. (Memories!) The choice is between sitcoms
Seinfeld and Martin. The predominately
African-American audience chooses Martin to the dismay of the white jurors,
including an older white man nicknamed “Santa Claus.” The scene highlights the tensions between the
two races in this racially charged case.
O.J. plays poker with some old friends and Robert Kardashian
for Skittles. O.J. is in high spirits
and reports it almost feels like he’s back home again with his friends. He bluffs his friends and wins the game. The men ask him what happens next in the
trial. O.J. laughs, “The DNA evidence,
whatever that is!”
Mr. Fung, the prosecution’s DNA expert takes the witness
stand. Clark has to steer the scientist
away from his technical jargon repeatedly.
Mr. Fung explains DNA is many times more accurate than a
fingerprint. Clark confirms with him the
blood samples from O.J.’s home, the crime scene and his Ford Bronco all
matched. Fung states the probabilities
of the matches are 1:170 million people.
Robert Kardashian looks uncomfortable confronted with this
statistic. Fung points to Mr. Simpson as
the link between all the recovered samples.
Robert Kardashian visits O.J. Simpson by himself in prison. Robert makes excuses for the friends’ absence,
but admits they are probably staying away after hearing the DNA testimony. Robert asks O.J. how Nicole’s blood could
have been inside his Bronco. O.J.
becomes defensive, “How the hell do I know?”
He seems eager to deflect the blame off himself. He questions whether its his “friends”
raising these doubts or Robert himself.
Robert won’t admit to his doubts and adds, “Yes, it’s them asking.”
The jurors are at court when they are dismissed due to
another postponement. The jurors know
their minders well by this stage. A
juror named Knox is summoned to Judge Ito’s chambers. Ito asks him about a kidnapping incident in
his past. The man explains it was during
a custody battle for his children and the incident was a “misunderstanding.” Johnnie Cochran defends the juror upsetting
Clark. She says, “I can see how you
would want to put a history of domestic abuse in your rearview like Mr.
Cochran.” Johnnie is upset by her
personal attack. Ito dismisses the juror
because he lied about his criminal record.
Following his dismissal, a deputy heads into the court
conference room to gather up Knox’s belongings.
The other jurors are shocked by his departure. “Queen Bee” a middle age African-American
woman, decries racism as the real reason for his dismissal. Tracy, a younger African-American woman
complains they are filming her in her hotel room and has clearly become
paranoid. Armanda, an older
African-American woman, defends the deputies stating they are “Just doing their
jobs.” She seems to be a leader and a
brown-noser of the group. Other jurors
mock Armanda’s attitude towards the deputies, “Master Adam sure is good to
you!”
Robert Kardashian visits with the defense’s DNA expert Mr.
Scheck. Robert voices his dismay at how
the DNA evidence looks so far. Scheck
assures him he’ll take care of it by casting doubt on how the crime scene was
tainted. Scheck adds, “Leave it to me.”
The alternate juror “Santa” is selected. He’s an older white man with a beard that
advocated for Seinfeld instead of Martin. He’s eager to be rotated in.
Scheck goes on the attack in court. He claims the LAPD conduct was deplorable. He forces Fung to admit he was handed a blood
specimen from Mr. Simpson by Detective Lange at the crime scene where the blood
was found. This event was highly
unusual. Scheck notes there is a portion
of the blood sample, which is now missing. Scheck complains the blanket used to cover up
Nicole’s body at the crime scene was a blanket from her bed. He alludes to the fact her blanket could have
had some of Mr. Simpson’s hair present and that was how his DNA was transferred
to the crime scene. Scheck goes in for
the kill by asking Fung if, “He’s made bad choices in this case?” Fung is flustered and replies helplessly, “I
don’t remember.” The witness is
dismissed. Fung shakes Darden’s hand but
Clark refuses him. Fung goes to shake
the hand of Mr. Simpson and the entire defense team. Is this an apology? Cochran laughs, “We’re having some Fung now!”
Alone in her office, Marcia drops her bags on the floor. (“Natural
One” by Funk Implosion plays in the background.) She looks on her desk and sees the vast files
of containing Fung’s testimony. Clark
pushes the files to the floor as the music punctuates her angst.
At the defense office, word is received another juror may be
at risk for dismissal. The juror is 462 or “Queen Bee.” Judge Ito asks her if she had ever accused
her husband of domestic abuse. Queen Bee
tries to avoid answering the questions referring the incidents as “difficulties
in a marriage.” When she is out of the
room Clark argues the juror was a victim of several marital rapes. Bailey notes, “That wasn’t a crime in 1988.” Clark can’t believe he’s defending the juror’s
husband. Ito decides to dismiss Queen
Bee, but wonders out loud if the prosecution would have been so eager to
dismiss her if she were white.
Alternate juror numbers are placed in an envelope and
selected by the court clerk. Johnnie bemoans the fact he has lost two “not
guilty” jurors. The alternate selected
is a middle aged white woman. Cochran
murmurs, “Shiiiitttt!”
On the courthouse balcony Cochrane finds Clark smoking. He says, “I know what you’re up to!” She scoffs at him, pretending not to know what
he’s talking about. She fires back,
“Back alley deals are your thing! You
better toughen up, this is the smoker’s lounge, day-care is on the first floor!” She appears more confident than ever that she
can beat the defense by tweaking the jury.
Johnnie meets with his defense team back at the office, hot
after this encounter with Clark. “Clark
thinks she can steal this verdict, we need to start punching back!” The question is how to stop the jury roulette.
Bailey notes they need to be sure that
no more surprises pop up amongst the remaining jurors. The defense looks closely at the remaining
alternates. One woman is identified as
the “Demon” an older white lady with a history of steering juries towards
guilty verdicts.
Another juror is summoned to Ito’s office, an older white
woman. Her conflict with the case is she
unknowingly shares an arthritis doctor with Mr. Simpson. She is dismissed. Next, “Santa” is called into Ito’s chambers. He is accused of taking notes on other juror’s
conjugal visits in order to pen a memoir on his jury experience. He is dismissed. Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” pumps in
the background as Clark calls another African-American juror into question. There is a photo of him shaking hands with Mr.
Simpson. He is dismissed and the “Demon”
is selected as his alternate. Darden and
Clark smile as they leave the courthouse, sarcastically wishing Mr. Cochran a
good evening.
The following morning, only four alternate jurors remain, as
another member of the present jury is called into question. Judge Ito vents his anger at the attorneys on
both sides as he announces he received a letter from a book publisher regarding
“an older white juror” shopping for a book deal. Clark accuses Cochran’s team of fabricating
the letter. Ito cries, “Enough, I’ll
meet with the jury myself and make the decision.”
Later that day, a middle-aged white female juror is
dismissed. The paranoid juror Tracy
pleads with Judge Ito, “I can’t take it anymore!” She airs allegations that the white jurors
get longer shopping trips to Target, while the blacks are only allowed thirty
minutes at Ross Dress For Less. Tracy
admits blacks do like Ross better than Target.
Ito implores the woman to remain patient. Ito decides to rotate the deputies charged
with sequestering the jury.
The next morning at the hotel buffet, the other jurors
gossip when Armanda arrives dressed all in black as if going to a funeral. The courtroom is in recess when a deputy arrives
to alert the clerk the jury is refusing to report for duty. Judge Ito is livid and threatens the jurors to
come to work or be held in contempt of court.
The jury files in dressed all in black with two exceptions. It appears Armanda has organized this
protest. Mr. Dunne whispers, “It just
gets curiouser and curiouser!” Armanda looks triumphant as Judge Ito decides to
suspend testimony for the day. (Fight the Power plays as a fitting anthem for
the jury’s protest.)
Larry King speaks with Mr. Dunne on his CNN program. Dunne characterizes the jury as “being in
revolt.” Johnnie Cochran is angered by
the jury’s actions, noting two protestors were on his “not guilty” side. Bailey hopes their actions aren’t because of
a newfound sympathy for law enforcement.
O.J. phones Cochran worried about rumors of a mistrial. Robert Shapiro tries to calm him. O.J. expresses a desire to testify in his own
defense. The attorneys are divided on
this, with Shapiro dead against it and Cochran open to the idea. Bailey suggests a compromise; give Simpson a
mock-cross examination. They pitch the
idea to O.J. as a rehearsal and he agrees.
The jurors gather for their daily breakfast at the hotel
buffet. Tracy sits alone and the others
gossip about her in low tones. Tracy
slowly removes her shoes and coat then proceeds to jumps over tables
screaming. Armanda doesn’t seem too
surprised by her actions, “That’s one way to do it.” It looks like Tracy got her “Section 8” dismissal.
Bailey scolds Cochran about the jury crisis. He views it as a competition between Cochran
and Clark. Bailey fears if a mistrial is
declared, the case could not be won in a second trial.
Cochran heads to the “smokers den” to find Clark. He has brought her a “peace offering”, coffee
the way she likes it. It is doubtful
that will sway the formidable Clark.
A Clark look-a-like questions O.J. while the other attorneys
watch. She asks, “Is it true you were
married when you met eighteen-year-old Nicole?” Simpson admits he was married but that the
marriage was “over.” He can’t help
smiling at the mock Clark. She presses
him further about the arguments that became physical. O.J. describes those incidents as “scuffling
around.” The mock Clark follows up about
an assault on Nicole, which landed her in the hospital in ’89. Robert Kardashian looks horrified by his
friend’s demeanor. O.J. side steps the
question and says she must have fallen after they had been drinking. The defense team has seen enough. O.J. would greatly damage their case with his
casual attitude about violence.
Robert Kardashian arrives at his ex-wife’s home to pick up
the children. He pleads for a moment to
talk with her. He says, “We might get
him off.” Kris sarcastically replies,
“Congrats.” Robert is on the verge of
tears as he admits he can’t even look at his friend of twenty years. What he doesn’t say is he doubts his friend is
innocent. Kris advises him to quit the case, but Robert worries that would
“convict him” and make things harder for their family as well. He apologizes to Kris and they embrace.
A call comes into the “O.J. tip line.” The caller claims he has a tape recording of
Mark Fuhrman saying, “Frame N@ggers.”
The preview for next week involves this explosive new
information on Detective Fuhrman. The question remains, how does this solve the
case? Even if O.J. was framed, there are
still two unsolved murders. As for
Kardashian’s statement, he can’t convict O.J.; if his friend is guilty then he
convicted himself. As the prosecution
falls apart, Darden accuses Clark of racism. It seems that once the “race card” had been
dealt in this case, it can’t be reshuffled back into the deck, regardless of
the truth.
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