The O.J. Simpson trial is one of the most closely-analyzed legal cases and media events in recent history. When you started in on this series, were you concerned that there was nothing left to say?
No, because I looked at it as being a vehicle for exploring how time has changed peoples’ opinions. I was excited to see what Mark Fuhrman is like now—is he still bitter? And he absolutely is. We also leaned into Court TV’s archive and it’s amazing the gems you find that you didn’t realize you had. Also, the more time that has gone by, the people who that thought the jury got it right at the time have changed their minds. When you look at the evidence they had against O.J., the fact that we was found not guilty is astonishing now. But it made perfect sense then, because there were so many contributing factors.
From the first episode, the series is very critical of the prosecution in particular, pointing out what they did wrong.
If the prosecution could go back and do it again, they would absolutely do a number of things differently. The decision to move the trail from Santa Monica to downtown L.A., the bloody glove, the post-racial tension of the city post-Rodney King—you pull out any of those ingredients and I think you have a different result.
One of our most fascinating interviews was with Lon Cryer, a juror in the case who took notes. You can tell that he was really swayed by Furhman and the idea that someone could have planted evidence. I don’t think that hit home with him until the depth of Fuhrman’s racism came out. Then he was like, “As crazy as it sounds, maybe he did plant that glove.”
You weren’t on the court beat at the time, but were there things about the tenor of the media coverage that jumped out at you as a journalist?
It was really the gavel-to-gavel aspect and the fact that was the country’s first real inside look into a criminal trial. It was a window into a world that you would maybe hear about or see highlights of, but this was the first time that a good chunk of the country sat down and watched the legal system play itself out in a courtroom. It was a slow burn over eight months with tedious moments and dramatic moments. I was fascinated by Judge Ito, by the attorneys, by Kato Kaelin—I was totally hooked.
There’s been a lot of talk in the three decades since about how the heavy media presence impacted how the legal teams behaved in court. Do you think it was a factor?
