Only Black Man On O.J. Jury Ousted Over Drinking Problem

In an upheaval reminiscent of O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, the only black man on the jury in Simpson’s civil case was removed Friday because of a drinking problem and replaced with a white man.

The move to dismiss the man - who believed Simpson might have been framed by police - came less than a day after the jury was seated.

His removal required a brief reopening of jury selection, during which two white jurors were removed and replaced by two whites.

By the end of the day, the jury had one less black member than it did a day before.

It consisted of nine whites, one black, one person of mixed race and one Hispanic. The only black member is an elderly woman.

Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki sent the new jury home with a warning to avoid information about the case.

“There are numerous experts out there that have their fingers in the past case or this case,” he said. “They are flooding the media. I don’t want you to be affected by any of that.”

He told the jurors to return for opening statements Wednesday. Eight alternates remain to be chosen.

The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are suing Simpson for unspecified damages, claiming he is responsible for their slayings.

The only black man on the jury sworn in Thursday, Edgar Allen, was removed after four others in the jury pool told the judge they smelled alcohol on his breath.

The judge found him “incapable of and unsuitable for jury service in this case. Because of his use of alcohol he is excused from this case.”

Allen, a black postal worker retired from the Air Force, acknowledged to reporters: “I’m an alcoholic.” But he denied he had been drinking while on jury duty.

Allen said he went home Wednesday night and drank gin and beer, which left a smell on his breath the next day.

Asked what he planned to do when he got home Friday, he said he planned to have a drink.

Allen told attorneys during the questioning phase that he’d been married several times and he is now in an interracial marriage. And he thought Simpson might have been framed by the police.

The white man who replaced him is an unemployed cement finisher in his 40s or 50s who said he had doubts about the evidence presented in the Simpson case.

Nine blacks were on the jury that acquitted Simpson last October in the 1994 slayings. But in that trial, two jurors were removed before testimony began and a total of 10 were replaced by the end of the trial.