Johnnie Cochran: The Lawyer Who Led O.J. Simpson’s “Dream Team” to a Historic Acquittal
When you genuinely love what you practice, you’re bound to shine. This is the case with Johnnie Cochran, who led the “Dream Team” in O.J. Simpson’s trial and got him acquitted.
How he moved, spoke, and defended his clients in court revealed so much of his passion for justice and commitment to his craft that he became one of the best-known names in American Legal History.
Ultimately, it was hard for me not to dive into his life to learn what shaped him to be such a force in the courtroom. So, are you ready to know about the man who won O.J.’s case?
Early Life
Johnnie L. Cochran Jr was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on October 2, 1937, into a hardworking, African-American family. His great-grandparents were slaves, and his grandfather was a sharecropper.
And if you know anything about the South in the 30s, then you know it wasn’t the place to be as an African American family.
His father, Johnnie Cochran Sr, and his mother, Hattie Bass Cochran, moved to Los Angeles with the second wave of the Great Migration in 1949.
Johnnie Cochran was only 12 years old at the time. Of course, you can imagine the type of injustices he faced as a child, which later forced him to leave his hometown in hopes of finding a better life.
Naturally, this had such a monumental effect on his psyche that we can see it now, clear as day, in his choice of profession and character.
Eager to prove himself, Cochran excelled academically. He attended local schools and graduated as the top Los Angeles High School student in 1955.
Four years later, Cochran earned a Bachelor of Arts in business economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His journey to becoming an attorney continues at Loyola Law School, where he obtained his Juris Doctor in 1962.
Johnnie Cochran’s Rising Career
Cochran’s career kicked off immediately after passing the California bar exam 1963. He started working as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles.
Luckily for him, he made his mark early on by prosecuting comedian Lenny Bruce on obscenity charges in 1964—a year after passing the exam!
However, Cochran’s ambitions led him to open his first firm, Cochran, Atkins & Evans, two years later.
Among his early cases was the widow of Leonard Deadwyler, an African-American man fatally shot by the police. This case, especially, was a turning point for Cochran.
He did his best with the case but, sadly, still lost. Despite that, Cochran realized the power such cases held in raising awareness within the black community about police brutality.
It solidified his resolve to fight for civil rights, and by the late 70S, his name was a shining star among high-profile police brutality cases!
In 1978, Cochran returned to public service as the First Assistant District Attorney in Los Angeles. However, that didn’t last long, as his heart was in private practice, and he soon opened his firm again.
Working The O.J. Simpson Case
Even though Cochran’s name buzzed with high-profile cases, O.J. Simpson’s case was the one to catapult him into the limelight.
Now, if you aren’t that old to remember the trial and its effects, let me paint a picture for you:
O.J. Simpson was a famous and loved football player and actor who, to this day, is still regarded as one of the best running backs in history.
Because of his fame and the implication of racial bias in the trial, the LA police department feared that, on the day of his trial, riots similar to the ones in 1992 would erupt.
As a result, LA police officers were placed on 12-hour shifts on the trial’s day in case riots broke out.
The trial had over 150 million people listening to the final verdict! Long-distance telephone calls fell by 58%, and electrical consumption leaped as everyone turned on their TVs or radios!
Did you know that even the trading volume dropped by 41%? As Business Insider so eloquently puts it, it was the day America came to a grinding halt.
The Trial
The trial for O.J. Simpson started in January 1995 and concluded in October 1995.
Despite the prosecution presenting significant circumstantial and physical evidence linking Simpsons to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, Cochran’s strategic defense he earned his client an acquittal!
The critical moment, which many would argue won the case, came during his closing arguments, when he delivered the now-iconic line: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
This was about the infamous glove that Simpson struggled to wear. The glove, stained with the victim’s blood, was meant to implicate Simpson.
However, Cochran used that exact moment to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case, arguing that the ill-fitting glove proved Simpson’s innocence!
The Reaction
The public’s reaction to O.J. Simpson’s verdict was as divided as the trial itself!
For some, especially within the black community, the verdict represented a triumph over systemic racism in law enforcement.
For others, it was a miscarriage of justice. Critics accused Cochran that he “Played the race card” when suggesting that racist police officers planted evidence.
His defense team became both celebrated and vilified.
Working on Other Prominent Cases
Cochran’s work on the O.J. Simpson case made him one of the most-known figures in American legal history.
Naturally, this meant handling more difficult, high-profile cases. Among the many he worked on was that of Abner Louima in 1997.
Louima, a Haitian Immigrant, was brutally assaulted by NYC police officers while in custody. In the end, justice prevailed, and Louima was awarded a $8.75 million settlement.
He also worked with Sean Combs ( P.Diddy), who was charged with bribery and possessing stolen weapons.
Cochran’s defense strategy focused on casting reasonable doubt, emphasizing the lack of direct evidence tying Combs to the charges.
Of course, Combs was acquitted and walked away free. After this trial, Cochran stated that it would be his last criminal case.
Personal Life
With such much drama in the courtroom, there was hardly any focus on Johnnie Cochran’s life outside of it.
However, we do know that he married Barbra Cochran Berry in 1960. The couple divorced in 1977 after having two children: Melodie and Tiffany.
Cochran also had a child, Jonathan, out of wedlock with his mistress, Patricia Sikora, around the same time.
Cochran married again, this time Sylvia Dale, in 1985. However, he didn’t have any more children.
His Final Days
In late 2003, Johnnie Cochran discovered that he had a brain tumor. So, a few months later, he underwent surgery, which led him to stay away from the spotlight for a while.
However, the brain tumor took his life on March 29, 2005. Many of his clients, including O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson, attended the funeral.
To Conclude
I understand that not a lot of people like Jonnie Cochran. To them, he’s the man who helped a murderer walk free. However, his career goes beyond this case.
Cochran dedicated his life to fighting for civil rights, defending the underrepresented, and bringing attention to police misconduct.
Regardless of personal opinions, his impact on the legal world is undeniable.
