Proper Move in Fuhrman Case

Mark Fuhrman lied under oath in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The now-retired Los Angeles Police Department detective testified he had never used a slur denigrating black people during the last 10 years, but his tape-recorded interviews with a writer showed he used the epithet many times in that period. That certainly appears to be perjury. But, under the law, perjury is committed only if a person knowingly lies and the lie is proved to be material to the case. State Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren will make that determination.

Fuhrman should be prosecuted. It’s important that the public know that lying on the stand, particularly by police officers, will not be tolerated.

L.A. County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti finally and appropriately turned the investigation over to the state because county prosecutors initially vouched for Fuhrman as a witness. After Fuhrman was found to have lied in open court, those same prosecutors discredited him. Some in the district attorney’s office have attributed the prosecution’s loss of the Simpson case to Fuhrman’s untruthful testimony. So an investigation by the district attorney easily could have been seen as prejudiced against Fuhrman and as a legal conflict of interest.

Traditionally, investigating police misconduct has been difficult for local prosecutors because they work closely with cops and depend on them in court. Because of the reluctance of some local prosecutors to prosecute police misconduct cases aggressively, federal authorities sometimes take on these investigations.

The U.S. Department of Justice is already investigating Fuhrman for evidence of civil rights violations during his police career. That investigation was prompted by Fuhrman’s tape-recorded boasts of beating suspects and manufacturing evidence. In addition, the LAPD’s Internal Affairs Division is looking into cases handled by the retired detective. The Police Department’s continuing effort to root out abusive cops demands that action.

The state inquiry will be limited to the perjury issue. Lungren will function like a special prosecutor who takes on a federal case because the Justice Department cannot investigate an Administration member without causing the appearance of conflict of interest. This investigation will provide an opportunity for Lungren and his able team to demonstrate that no one is above the law.