Juror Taken Off Simpson Case*

The Simpson case is disgusting in many areas, but is truly personified by the ex-juror Jeanette Harris who stated, “Whether he did it or not,” she was “quite impressed” with Simpson because “he’s gone through a lot” (April 6). The fact that two young people were deprived of their lives in a violent and vicious way does not bother this woman or Simpson’s attorneys or various members of the Los Angeles community. The idea that accountability is unimportant is the theme of the ‘90s, and we see that this woman perceives that Simpson is not getting a fair trial because she cannot tolerate hearing evidence against him.

PATRICIA CHIARELLI

Thousand Oaks

*

Whether or not dismissed Simpson case juror Harris was ever a victim of domestic violence is a relatively minor issue. She deserved to be thrown off the jury because she lied to the court and counsel when she promised, under oath, to be fair and impartial in judging the evidence in the case. It’s quite obvious from her public comments (“from day one I didn’t see it as being a fair trial”) that this woman never intended to be impartial in her judgment of Simpson. She wags her tongue disdainfully about LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman’s alleged racism, while conveniently failing to acknowledge her own.

MARCIA GOODMAN

Huntington Beach

*

It was disheartening to read the words of Harris. Every utterance confirmed that (Simpson defense attorney) Johnnie Cochran has won the fight to make this a trial with racial implications. While admiring O.J.’s brave demeanor and feeling sorry that he had no chance to grieve, she dismissed Denise Brown’s real tears as acting.

This was not an impartial juror. She saw everything in black and white and one can only hope that the others have not succumbed to the same defense tactic. It is evident that justice plays no part in our present judicial system. Harris made judgments on personality likes and dislikes and they ran true to racial lines.

IAN BERNARD

Santa Ynez

*

The Simpson trial may go down in history as one of this century’s most significant trial, not because of the notoriety of the defendant, but because this trial may finally convince our legislators that our jury system no longer works. With a mountain of evidence pointing to the guilt of the defendant, and with no substantiated alibi, it is absolutely beyond belief that a juror just dismissed from the jury panel would say that the prosecution’s case so far has amounted to “a whole lot of nothing.”

With the outrageous verdict in the Simi Valley Rodney King beating trial and with jurors in the Simpson case apparently basing their judgments on how Simpson looks while sitting in the courtroom instead of on the facts presented in this case, it is obvious that something must be done to eliminate the system of the guilt or innocence of an accused being determined in a trial by his peers.

ROBERT H. CONGELLIERE

San Pedro

*

How appropriate that, on the same day The Times runs an article on the Japanese American soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 522nd Field Artillery Battalion who liberated the Nazi death camp at Dachau while their families were being held in American internment camps, Sen. Alphonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) goes on a radio show to attempt to belittle Judge Lance Ito by dragging out that vintage WWII alleged Japanese accent, as if to remind us that this type of ignorance and bigotry still exists (April 4).

If good comedy is truth, then D’Amato proved himself, in his lame, inaccurate attempt to denigrate the stature and achievements of a person of color, an American of Japanese ancestry who could teach Alphonse lessons in diction and erudition, all in the name of a cheap laugh, to be the unfunniest man in America. Over and over, like he really thought he was being funny, until the host mercifully cut him off.

Gee, Alphonse, a racist and unfunny, and no respect for others. Can you sink any lower?

PERRY MIYAKE

Los Angeles

*

If proficiency in the English language is the only criterion of American citizenship, Judge Ito of Los Angeles probably can score higher than D’Amato, in terms of speaking, writing, literature, grammar and law. Who is more American, even by D’Amato’s own standards? D’Amato has demonstrated his immaturity. His childish behavior is not comparable with his age. Grow up, Sen. D’Amato.

STEVE LAU

Huntington Beach

@Selling the CIA*1

I read with delight and amusement your article describing the “thoughts” being given to the proposition that the CIA should be privatized (March 26). Well OK, but why stop there? Why not sell the FBI and the NSA while we’re at it. We ought to be able to get better prices for them than for the mismanaged CIA.

And what about the biggest spender of them all? Let’s sell the military complex to the highest bidder! On second thought, we ought to repackage them so we could sell the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps as separate corporations. We could probably get a lot more for them that way. And it would keep any one corporation from monopolizing the defense of our country. Wow! Think of the taxes we’d save! Why, it would send the Dow Jones through the ceiling.

I wonder what we could get for the Supreme Court. And the Interstate highway system. Do you thing anyone would make an offer on the presidency? If we sold that off we wouldn’t have to be voting or putting up with yearlong, mudslinging campaigns every four years.

And finally, the Congress has been doing a particularly bad job. Why not sell it, too, to the highest bidder? Oops! I guess that’s already been done. Over and over again.

SAM PHILIPS

Tarzana