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 Washington, D.C., defense lawyer Greta Van Susteren, who will rotate with other experts as the case moves forward. Today’s topic: Further examination of LAPD Detective Tom Lange, lead investigator in the Simpson case.

PETER ARENELLA

On the prosecution: “If the prosecution loses, they can thank the LAPD and the coroner’s office. The prosecutors’ task would have been much easier if the LAPD preserved the ice cream, to help resolve the debate about its nature and melting time. Life would have been easier if the victims’ hands had been bagged, blood drops on Nicole’s back and her stomach contents preserved and if a different pathologist had testified than Dr. Golden.”

On the defense: “It was a superb day. Johnnie Cochran used the pathologist’s preliminary hearing testimony that two knives might have been used and that bruises were found on Ron Goldman’s knuckles to attack Lange’s conclusion that a single assailant, who was not struck by Goldman, committed the murders. Cochran invoked the specter of Faye Resnick as well as allusions to “Colombian neckties” to undermine Lange’s contention that these could not have been drug-related murders.”

LAURIE LEVENSON

On the prosecution: “The prosecutors were frustrated. Not only did Judge Ito give the defense portions of Detective Mark Fuhrman’s personnel file, which may be useful for cross-examination, but Cochran used their witness, Lange, to raise his drug theory for the murders. Although the drug theory had been floated previously, it didn’t appear that Lange was the best prosecution witness to deal with the issue.”

On the defense: “Cochran has stopped tip-toeing around with Lange. Cochran forced Lange to admit that he and other officers made mistakes, even if some of them seemed rather minor. After seeing that the prosecutors had used Lange Tuesday to opine on their theory of the murders, Cochran took advantage of the opportunity to use Lange to develop the defense’s theory that the murders were drug-related.”

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN

On the prosecution: “Marcia Clark did a terrific job with her use of the videotape. She showed how the defense used a sleight-of-hand and may have manipulated photos of the evidence to make the jury think the crime scene was contaminated when it wasn’t. The still photos Cochran showed came from a videotape made after the crime scene had been broken down. But Clark didn’t have a perfect day: She opened the door to a further examination of theories of the murder.”

On the defense: “Cochran spent the afternoon putting the ball in the net, sowing reasonable doubt. Jurors learned about the “Colombian necktie.” They also heard questions about Resnick’s drug problems and their possible connection to the murders, which police didn’t investigate. The theme of Cochran’s examination was that the police didn’t probe other plausible theories and were so locked in to their theory by June 17 that they became blinded by tunnel vision.”

Compiled by HENRY WEINSTEIN / Los Angeles Times