THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL

UCLA law professor Peter Arenella and Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson offer their take on the Simpson trial. Joining them is Los Angeles defense attorney Gerald L. Chaleff, who will rotate with other experts as the case moves forward. Today’s topic: The care and handling of crime scenes.

PETER ARENELLA

On the prosecution: “Apart from the important revelation that O.J. Simpson’s blood was found on the rear gate at the murder scene, most of what the prosecution did Wednesday was to defuse or undermine defense attacks on their evidence. Far from rushing to premature judgment about Simpson’s guilt, Detective Phillips insisted that the police were trying to minimize Simpson’s ordeal when they arrived at his estate to notify him of his ex-wife’s brutal murder.”

On the defense: “F. Lee Bailey may have generated sympathy for Sgt. Rossi when he expressed skepticism at his inability to comprehend a defense schematic drawing of the Bundy murder scene. However, the defense may have fresh opportunities when it cross-examines Detective Phillips today concerning the as-yet-unexplained reasons for the tardy calling of the coroner and why Detective Mark Furhman went along for the ride to Rockingham.”

LAURIE LEVENSON

On the prosecution: “The prosecution handled everything the defense threw at it. Detective Phillips explained that the coroners were not called so that police detectives could investigate the scene, and he went along to notify Simpson because the police were sensitive to his tragedy. Marcia Clark was willing to take F. Lee Bailey to task for his attacks on the officers, and it worked. The defense has managed to make Clark and the police look like underdogs.”

On the defense: “The defense theory of a police conspiracy has begun to crumble. They are losing witnesses faster than Judge Ito is losing jurors. The question is whether these witnesses don’t want to testify because they fear harassment or because they’re afraid of cross-examination. Also, the defense now has to explain Simpson’s blood on the back gate. Their remaining hope is that they can show all evidence was tainted by the LAPD.”

GERALD L. CHALEFF

On the prosecution: “The prosecution’s theme was to show that the police acted professionally and that none of them had the opportunity to tamper with evidence. To a large extent, they succeeded. Marcia Clark’s redirect of Sgt. Rossi demonstrated his limited role, thereby negating F. Lee Bailey’s attack Tuesday on his conduct. Her direct examination of Detective Phillips was clear and detailed, particularly on the question of why they entered the Rockingham property.”

On the defense: “The defense still has the prosecution fighting on their battleground--the competency of the police. F. Lee Bailey continued that theme, though less effectively than on Tuesday. The novelty of his energetic and argumentative style had worn off. The prosecution was able to portray some of his tactics as misleading. The danger of the defense approach is that faulting everything diminishes the value of their substantive points. That is becoming apparent.”

Compiled by TIM RUTTEN / Los Angeles Times