THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Lawyers Clear Witnesses for Takeoff

Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark and defense counterpart Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. finally found something to agree on Wednesday: The murder trial of O.J. Simpson should not continue to ground American Airlines workers.

To prevent witnesses in the trial from being tainted by other testimony, Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito has ordered that they avoid all television coverage of the case. Given the extensive coverage of the trial, that’s hard for anyone, but it has been especially trying for about 10 airline employees who may be called to testify about Simpson’s demeanor during his flights to and from Chicago after the murders.

The problem: American Airlines routinely plays CNN on its planes, and the cable network is carrying the trial live. To keep from violating Ito’s order, American grounded all its potential witnesses, creating a hardship that neither side intended.

The solution: Both sides agreed that the employees could go back to work as long as they do their best to avoid the trial coverage.