Attorney Plays The Race Card Early In O.J. Simpson’s Civil Trial

The issue of race arose during jury selection for O.J. Simpson’s civil wrongful-death trial Friday as the defense accused the plaintiffs of trying to have blacks excluded from the panel.

The claim arose when the plaintiffs questioned the objectivity of a black woman who said she had a “very strongly held” opinion that Simpson was not the killer of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ronald Goldman.

“This person has weighed the evidence already. We are going to have to prove otherwise,” said Daniel Petrocelli, attorney for Goldman’s family.

Simpson attorney Robert Baker, trying to keep the woman from being excused, pointed out that the plaintiffs had challenged four black prospective jurors, saying they could not be fair.

But Superior Court Jude Hiroshi Fujisaki dismissed her, saying he was “greatly troubled” by her opinions on Simpson’s innocence and a police frame-up.

The judge didn’t immediately address the defense claim about the plaintiffs. But later when Baker sought to ask a white woman more about her questionnaire responses on race, Fujisaki told Baker to stick to the issue of how much prospective jurors had been exposed to news coverage of the case.

He has reminded lawyers previously that race would be included in general questioning scheduled for October.

Of the first 19 questioned, opinions seemed to break down along racial lines with blacks saying they believed Simpson innocent from the start and whites more prone to believe he was probably guilty.