D.A. Mounts Media Drive to Shape Opinion

The task facing Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti in the O.J. Simpson case is daunting and unparalleled: He must try to win murder convictions against an American sports legend well-known to the public for his charm and grace.

Rarely, if ever, has a murder suspect generated the outpouring of concern that has been expressed for Simpson. From freeway overpasses to radio talk shows, members of the public have voiced their support and disbelief that Simpson--a welcome visitor to their living rooms for a generation via the airwaves--could be capable of such a coldblooded crime.

The football hall of famer’s tremendous popularity poses an unprecedented challenge to the district attorney, one that is forcing Garcetti to take extraordinary measures.

Within hours of last Friday’s bizarre nationally televised spectacle of crowds cheering the beloved football superstar as he led police on a low-speed pursuit across Southern California freeways, Garcetti took to the airwaves himself, launching an unusual public relations blitzkrieg on national TV news programs.

ABC’s “Nightline.” “CBS Evening News.” “NBC Nightly News.” “Today Show.” Even a special nighttime edition of “Good Morning America.”

Garcetti, in an interview Monday with The Times, said that he recognizes that public perception is important in high-profile cases, and that he, like defense lawyers, must use the media to shape popular opinion.

Garcetti insisted that his primary goal during his interviews has been to stress the pressing issue of domestic violence. But he acknowledged that his high-profile initiative has also served as a means of meeting the unique challenge of the Simpson case by trying to focus attention on the homicide victims, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, rather than the retired football star.

“After seeing how the media was responding, how some members of the community were responding to the situation,” Garcetti said, he decided “to remind people that the real tragedy, the real sympathy should be extended to the two people who were killed and to the children of Nicole Simpson.”

“When you say well-known,” Garcetti said, referring to O.J. Simpson, “you mean superficially well-known. It is a daunting challenge perhaps (to try him), but I do have faith in the criminal justice system.”

By undertaking his public relations offensive, Garcetti risks a backlash that could create even more sympathy.

Garcetti’s public comments, which included an ultimately incorrect prediction on the “Today Show” that defense attorney Robert Shapiro would seek a postponement of Simpson’s arraignment, have drawn fire from Shapiro.

Calling Garcetti’s public discussion of the case unconscionable, Shapiro said that “to make any comments before an arraignment undermines the system of fair play.”

Legal experts contacted Monday said Garcetti could alienate members of the public who might feel that Simpson is being persecuted rather than prosecuted.

“It’s a fine line,” said Loyola School of Law professor Laurie Levenson, “because the defense will say the district attorney’s office is unfairly trying the case in the press and will also claim that it is doing so because it does not have enough evidence to win in the courtroom.”

But experts, including Levenson, agreed Monday that Garcetti has little choice in his public relations gambit, given the recent track record of the office that he took over from Ira Reiner last year.

Long before the Simpson case, several high-profile actions filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office have ended in acquittals or mistrials, including the McMartin child molestation case, the Rodney King beating case and the Menendez murder trial.

Some experts said that if Erik and Lyle Menendez, who admitted killing their parents, could win the sympathy of jurors, just consider the possible reaction to Simpson. With that in mind, the experts said, Garcetti’s high profile may be the only way to stay on a level playing field in this case.

“People reacted last week as if they were at a public sports event and O.J. Simpson was an athlete in a game,” said Southwestern University School of Law professor Robert Pugsley. “If a jury can get hung up on the Menendez brothers, a jury can get hung up on a national hero.”

In his round of national appearances, Garcetti has made several statements that could help deflate Simpson’s longtime image.

“We have a man who was fleeing, and that fact alone, in our mind, establishes a consciousness of guilt,” Garcetti told Ted Koppel on ABC’s “Nightline” shortly after Simpson was taken into custody at his Brentwood mansion Friday night.

Responding to a question Sunday from TV political talk show panelist George Will, the prosecutor also weighed in on Simpson’s potential legal strategies.

“Well, it’s not going to shock me if we see an O.J. Simpson, sometime down the road--and it could happen very soon, it could happen months from now--say, ‘OK, I did do it, but I’m not responsible,’ ” he told Will on “This Week With David Brinkley.” “We’ve seen it in Menendez. It’s going to be a likely defense here, I believe, once the evidence is reviewed by the lawyers.

On “CBS Evening News” Saturday, Garcetti linked the issue of spousal abuse directly to the Simpson case. In that appearance, he roundly criticized a municipal judge who allowed Simpson to pick his own psychiatrist and receive counseling by phone after pleading no contest to beating his then-wife Nicole in 1989.

The judge in that case, Ronald Schoenberg, “kissed . . . off” the case, Garcetti told CBS anchor Bob Schieffer. “It was almost saying, ‘OK. Look, walk out of here. Nothing’s going to happen to you.’ ”

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Conn, assigned by Garcetti to help prosecute the case, said Monday that the office’s high profile is only a matter of responding to the extraordinary public interest.

“I don’t feel that we’ve taken much of an offense. I think we’ve been very fair and neutral. We’re simply responding to concerns of the media and we haven’t tried to exploit the situation in any way.”

Making His Point

Here are some examples of the public comments made by Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti since the arrest of O.J. Simpson in the slayings of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman:

* Friday on “Nightline”

“We have a man who was fleeing, and that fact alone, in our mind, establishes a consciousness of guilt.”

* Saturday on “CBS Evening News”

“Unfortunately, the judge in (the 1989 domestic violence case involving O.J. Simpson) kissed it off. I don’t know why, I don’t know the judge, but there certainly was not a meaningful sentence. In fact, it was almost saying, ‘OK. Look, walk out of here. Nothing’s going to happen to you.’ ”

* Sunday on “This Week With David Brinkley”

“Well, it’s not going to shock me if we see an O.J. Simpson, sometime down the road--and it could happen very soon, it could happen months from now--say, ‘OK, I did do it, but I’m not responsible.’ We’ve seen it in Menendez. It’s going to be a likely defense here, I believe, once the evidence is reviewed by the lawyers. We don’t know. It’s speculation on my part, but we’ll be waiting.”

* Sunday on “NBC Nightly News”

“We in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office unfortunately are filing one domestic violence homicide case every nine days. That should shock everyone.”