Johnnie Cochran Dies at 67

[kansasskydiver 0]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20050329/ap_on_re_us/obit_cochran&sid=84439559

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Superstar Lawyer Johnnie Cochran Dies

4 minutes ago U.S. National - AP


By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., who became a legal superstar after helping clear O.J. Simpson during a sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous quote "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," died Tuesday. He was 67.

Cochran died of a brain disorder in Los Angeles, said law partner Randy McMurray.

"Certainly, Johnnie's career will be noted as one marked by celebrity cases and clientele," his family said in a statement. "But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on behalf of those in the community."

With his colorful suits and ties, his gift for courtroom oratory and a knack for coining memorable phrases, Cochran was a vivid addition to the pantheon of great American barristers.

The "if it doesn't fit" phrase would be quoted and parodied for years afterward. It derived from a dramatic moment during which Simpson tried on a pair of bloodstained "murder gloves" to show jurors they did not fit. Some legal experts called it the turning point in the trial.

Soon after, jurors found the Hall of Fame football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

For Cochran, Simpson's acquittal was the crowning achievement in a career notable for victories, often in cases with racial themes. He was a black man known for championing the causes of black defendants. Some of them, like Simpson, were famous, but more often than not they were unknowns.

"The clients I've cared about the most are the No Js, the ones who nobody knows," said Cochran, who proudly displayed copies in his office of the multimillion-dollar checks he won for ordinary citizens who said they were abused by police.

"People in New York and Los Angeles, especially mothers in the African-American community, are more afraid of the police injuring or killing their children than they are of muggers on the corner," he once said.

By the time Simpson called, the byword in the black community for defendants facing serious charges was: "Get Johnnie."

<--- See look, pink dolphins DO exist!

[TypicalFish 0]

No kidding... I just saw his TV commercial with his "hand picked team of professionals ready to help you"...

Rest in Peace, Mr. Cochran.

"I gargle no man's balls..." ussfpa on SOCNET

[SkyDaemon 0]

If Cochran is dead, we must be ahead
If Cochran has died, his ashes will be fried
...

This could get ugly...

find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;

[Duckwater 0]

I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes on judgement day.

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[divnswoop 0]

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I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes on judgement day.

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Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

TRUST ME...I'm not a Cochran fan but....

[freeflyz 0]

Karma finally caught up to him,funny how that works!

[AggieDave 6]

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Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

TRUST ME...I'm not a Cochran fan but...

There's a certain amount of ethics that tend to go before people selling their soul for money.

The reverse was true for the late Cochran.

Its sad he has passed and I feel for his family, but I had no respect for his professional life.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[happythoughts 0]

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Cochran died of a brain disorder in Los Angeles, said law partner Randy McMurray.

No irony there.

He was supposed to live another 12-15 years, but got out early with a plea bargain.

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Justice for sale just got a little harder to get...

[kai2k1 0]

Who's Johnnie Cochran?

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[Casurf1978 0]

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Justice for sale just got a little harder to get...

I couldnt be a defense attorney, but before you go blasting Cochran he was only doing his job. A lot of people sound pissed at him, but the ones you should be pissed at are the DA's. They f-ed up, they didnt do their job. Hell I'm glad there are lawyers like him around. Heaven forbid anyone of us get wrongly accused. Who would you want standing by your side? An attorney who's going to do a piss job of defending you or someone who will give you 110+%. Google Cochran. He was an LA country DA from 1978-1982 and helped set up a Domestic Abuse Board in LA.

[Duckwater 0]

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Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

Umm....Hit men get paid, so do hookers, drug dealers and politicians.

How does 'gettin paid' remove you from being an honorable person?

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[JoeyRamone 0]

OJ just announced that he's hot on the trail of the REAL BRAIN TUMOR, which has been rumored to be loose on a Florida golf course.

[happythoughts 0]

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Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

Umm....Hit men get paid, so do hookers, drug dealers and politicians.

How does 'gettin paid' remove you from being an honorable person? --

Is it really fair to lump hookers in with hit men and lawyers?

[jceman 1]

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Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

Umm....Hit men get paid, so do hookers, drug dealers and politicians.

How does 'gettin paid' remove you from being an honorable person? --

Is it really fair to lump hookers in with hit men and lawyers?

No, 'tis unfair to lend their respectability to lawyers.

Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money.

Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes on judgement day.

--

Because he did his job that he was paid to do?

TRUST ME...I'm not a Cochran fan but....

I don't think God would accept, "I was just doing my job," any more than he'd accept, "I vass just followink orderrrs!" from a Nazi.

People pick their jobs. So if your job has you do distasteful -- or worse, immoral -- you don't have to do it!.

-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[Ncrowe 0]

I feel the need to repeat it..... Karma's a Bitch ......he helped put a murder back on the streets .......Free Like OJ All Day

"Don't Mess Around With the Guy in Shades- Oh No!!! "

[Dead4Life 0]

I will miss him. He was a true player in the game of life. Don't disrespect the man because he was a legal genius.

The dead, shall dead remain. He's probably up in heaven defending Hitler, Arafat, Bundy and all the other misfits. Sometimes we need to look towards the real enemies in these situations.

[Frenchy68 0]

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So if your job has you do distasteful -- or worse, immoral -- you don't have to do it!.

Ahhh... The beauty of defining morality.
And the amazing power of a dead man to inspire animosity from the living...
The world would be so much better without defense lawyers...
Don't be bitter because he hit the "right" angle, people... Lawrocket, I need some backing up here...

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[divnswoop 0]

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I don't think God would accept, "I was just doing my job," People pick their jobs. So if your job has you do distasteful -- or worse, immoral -- you don't have to do it!.

So ALL defense laywers are going to "hell"? Because I'm sure they all have defended someone they thought/knew was guilty.
I thought I was in SC with all this talk about god and karma....... And the karma comments absolutely kill me!! I can tell you all have studied western ways for years!

[masterrig 1]

That glove thing, went right over everyone's head. Take a good pair of gloves, like those. Get 'em wet... they shrink! Cochran knew what to do and how to do it for his clients. He was good at his job. In this country, we are innocent till proven guilty. We have the right to defense council.
(this thread is gonna get moved to SC... just watch!)


Chuck

[lawrocket 3]

I met Johnnie Cochran on two occasions. The first was actually in the elevator to my office back when I was working in downtown LA. He was coming down and I hopped in - the two of us sharing an elevator. "Good afternoon, Mr. Cochran." He reached out his hand and said, "Johnnie."

I was initially struck by two things about the man. The first was his size - he seemed rather tall, and I'm 6'1". He may have been 6'4". He was rather imposing. Despite that, there was a definite frailty to the man. He did not look "healthy." He seemed gaunt and tired, but still upbeat, as if outwardly friendly but armed with the knowledge that the glimmer in his eye was fading.

The second time was at a function where I had the chance to talk to him some more - all of a couple of minutes. He didn't remember our prior meeting, but was friendly. Having met a number of high-powered lawyers, he did not have the outward arrogance of most of them. He never sold himself to me - he did not seem a braggart. HE seemed real, and an altogether different character than his public persona. This is not unique among public figures. Indeed, a man of his intelligence is well-aware of not only who he is, but also who he is not.

Which brings me to what he was not. His difficulties with past relationships were well known in the public. Cochran v. Cochran II (there are a couple of these cases) was about Johnnie's emotional abuse of his former lover. The court found the IIED action to be without merit (Johnnie prevailed) but he did have many lurid details abotu his private life made very public in the legal community.

He had skeletons in his closet (who doesn't?). But his closet was rather large, had more skeletons than most, and above all was made of glass. Everyone could see them. That's a very tough burden for anybody. Johnnie found out that it all comes back to you - even that stuff as an anonymous assistant DA can be very public when preparation meets opportunity, and the private man becomes a public figure.

Often with brilliance comes arrogance. No doubt he was. There simply is no way he could have reached his levels without being that way. This got him into trouble and certainly left him his share of enemies. It is the arrogance that led him to what so many people despise - his "win at all costs" instead of "ensure the prosecutions meets its Constitutional burden."

"It comes back to haunt you." Johnnie couldn't prevent his own past deeds from coming back to haunt him. But he could sure as hell try for his clients. As a criminal defense attorney, Cochran was one of the most effective - regardless of my personal opinion of some of his tactics. Of course, I am speaking of OJ.

His first line of defense was brilliance. OJ never took the stand. How many remember that, or hold it against him? OJ's defense? "Prove it." OJ's past abuse? Johnnie kept that out by making sure that OJ never testified to anything. Legally, strictly legally, OJ's past became irrelevant. Brilliance.

But, the second tactic - the race card - drew the greatest ire. We attorneys typically look for any way to impeach an adverse witness. That's fine. But most agree that Johnnie probably went too far. In fact, it was probably unnecessary for Johnnie to destroy witnesses the way he did.

But do we blame Johnnie for the OJ trial? I don't. While I do not believe that he was "just doing his job," I do believe that he was, far and away, superior to the prosecution. Looking back now (I was not even contemplating being some asshole lawyer when that trial was going on) the prosecution team was simply horrendous. They let Johnnie walk all over them.

So Johnnie became despised. He was that guy you hated, and if you got in trouble, he was the guy you wished you could afford. In the Army, we all hated the medics as those who sat in a hummer all day doing nothing. But when something happened, beforeyou called God, you called a medic. You hated Johnnie, unless he was your guy.

But Johnnie was not alone in his role. There were other attorneys, like Robert Shapiro and F. Lee Bailey. Shapiro is, in person, more down to earth, but more outwardly arrogant. A nice guy, calm, not boisterous, but knows he's a top dog. Still, Shapiro got a great sense of public support. He blasted the use of the race card.

And yet, Shapiro gets the forgiveness when every believed that he knew OJ was guilty. There is a very real sense that Shapiro defended someone he knew was the killer. Nopbody accused Cochran of that. In fact, I believe Cochran truly thought OJ didn't do it.

So, if anyone, Shapiro should be the bad guy. But he isn't, because Shapiro approached his job as "criminal defense attorney" to simply show that the prosecution did not and could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that OJ killed. Shapiro was the noble lawyer who was just doing his job. People sensed the moral dilemma in Shapiro. But Shapiro took an oath, and was a man of his word.

Johnnie took the heat. He took it right to his grave.

Ultimately, Johnnie Cochran's impact will last for decades in the legal community. Evidentiary rulings and defenses take on a new meaning due to him.

As an graduate of his alma mater, I mourn his loss. As a fellow attorney, I mourn his loss. As a person, I do not celebrate his death or find him destined to burn in hell. Rather, I find him resting in peace that was sorely lacking through the last 15 years of his life.

Celebration of Cochran should be limited to his litigation genius. But, in the end, he was just a man with triumphs and failures just like anybody else.

RIP Johnny...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[ffejdraga 0]

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In this country, we are innocent till proven guilty.

Chuck

This is not true in Louisiana. It is the other way around.


jeff D-16906

[masterrig 1]

Aw hell, I forgot all 'bout Louisiana!


Chuck