The Search for Justice Read Online Free PDF

to get our own people in the field before
     any more time passed. There was no time to lose. Time was of the essence and we were already two days behind.
    There was no way to know for certain if O.J. was the primary suspect, the only suspect, or if in fact he would be charged
     at all. At this point, it appeared to me that he believed the whole matter would be dealt with and cleared up simply and quickly.
     I didn ’t want to dampen his natural optimism; I knew he would need to draw on it as events unfolded. However, as his advocate,
     it was my job to be pragmatic and prepare for the worst. First, there was the matter of Taft and Kardashian and their roles.
    Taft, as O.J. ’s business attorney, was certainly covered by the attorney-client privilege and had separated himself because
     of his professional representation. However, Kardashian ’s status, because he knew all the important players intimately, was
     crucial to us. Kardashian ’s ex-wife, Kris, now married to former Olympian Bruce Jenner, had been Nicole ’s close friend;
     they shared the same circle of girlfriends and their children played together. Kardashian, as a lawyer O.J. had been relying
     upon for advice, had and would continue to have access to information that would be difficult for me to get; conversely, this
     information would be invaluable to the prosecution. Although he hadn ’t practiced law in years, his knowledge of the case
     and people involved were essential. I wanted his help.
    It was then decided that Howard Weitzman, whose firm specializedin civil cases and who had been primarily doing civil litigation, would be asked to step aside. Skip immediately met with
     Weitzman to tell him that I ’d been retained by O.J. I then talked to Weitzman, who was extraordinarily gracious. We discussed
     the transition, and he subsequently issued a public statement that in the interests of his client, given both their close
     personal relationship and his own professional commitments, he thought it was best to withdraw. There were rumors at the time
     that the reason Weitzman left the case was that O.J. had made a confession to him. That is categorically not true.
    There were also rumors (which continue to this day) that at one point we were prepared to enter a plea bargain. This, too,
     is categorically untrue. Since my client steadfastly maintained his innocence from the beginning and never once wavered, there
     was never a plea bargain considered, by anyone.
    The words “plea bargain” are right up there with “legal loophole” and “technicalities” in their negative connotation; they
     make it sound like the courts are helping criminals get away with something. Prosecutors, on the other hand, refer to the
     process as “case resolution” or “case disposition.” These terms more correctly reflect the role of lawyers, which is to resolve
     a case to everyone ’s satisfaction. Nobody holds it against either party when a settlement is negotiated in a civil case,
     but when you try negotiation in a criminal case, the media takes it to the street. However, plea bargaining is
not
detrimental to the justice system; in fact, the system would completely founder without it. Ninety percent of cases are resolved
     by pleas. Imagine if they all went instead to trial. The court system would bog down almost instantly, and cases would be
     systematically dismissed, one after the other.
    That said, it doesn ’t mean that prosecutors give away cases. Each case has a certain value in terms of what can be proven,
     what the real offense is, and what the fair sentence should be based on the individual, the individual ’s record, and the
     likelihood of recurrence. When a case comes up, judges, defense, and prosecuting lawyers ask what the logical end result of
     thecase will be—and if we can get there without a trial. First of all, is the defendant willing to plead guilty and admit responsibility
     to something? And if so, to what? These are the