THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL

UCLA law professor Peter Arenella and Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson offer their take on the Simpson trial. Joining them is Los Angeles defense lawyer Gigi Gordon. Today’s topic: Gloves, gloves, gloves and unexplained cellular phone calls.

PETER ARENELLA

On the prosecution: “The new gloves fit, but will it matter? For jurors who have been persuaded by the DNA evidence, both glove demonstrations are unnecessary sideshows. But jurors looking for a reasonable doubt have already found one: What matters is that the killer’s gloves are smaller than the new ones, and they didn’t fit.”

On the defense: “Defense lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. used the new demonstration to enhance the impact of what jurors saw last week. He attacked Darden’s shrinkage explanation by noting that the larger glove was more blood-stained. And he left the jury with another image: prosecutors and their expert witness meeting late into the night trying to rectify the irreparable.”

LAURIE LEVENSON

On the prosecution: “Back on track. The second time was the charm as prosecutors showed that an unbloodied pair of gloves would fit O.J. Prosecutor Marcia Clark teased the jury with phone and hotel records, but what do they show? Either O.J. flipped out when he couldn’t find his girlfriend or he used his cell phone while chipping golf balls in his front yard.”

On the defense: “Cochran fought hard to keep on the jurors’ minds the image of Simpson not fitting into the bloody crime scene gloves. But a new pair fits, and jurors can see in the glove demonstrations what they want to see. Cochran noted that 99.5% of Americans can fit into extra large gloves, but how many of them have their DNA at the crime scene?”

GIGI GORDON

On the prosecution: “To quote Mr. Rubin: “Perception becomes reality.” The perception remains that the crime scene gloves didn’t fit O.J. Establishing that Simpson and 99.5% of the population fit into brand-new, extra large gloves does nothing to change the jurors’ original reality. It’s not surprising, nor is it incriminating.”

On the defense: “I don’t think they lost any ground. Cochran established that even though only 240 pairs of these gloves were sold, they could fit 99.5% of the population--except those at the crime scene didn’t fit O.J. His questions about meetings between prosecutors and Rubin revived the idea of conspiracy: either the gloves fit or they don’t.”

Compiled by HENRY WEINSTEIN / Los Angeles Times