A Day After Being Seated, 3 Jurors Are Dismissed From Simpson Panel

A black man who had voiced suspicion about a police cover-up was dismissed from the O.J. Simpson jury Friday because of a drinking problem, sparking a shake-up that brought three new faces onto a panel still dominated by whites and women.

Nine whites, one black, one Latina and one man of Asian and black descent will decide whether Simpson was responsible for the knife attack that killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman on June 12, 1994.

Although Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki bounced the juror who seemed most overtly sympathetic to Simpson, saying the man was “incapable and unsuitable for service,” several of the remaining panelists still harbor doubts about the police investigation that pegged Simpson as the killer.

The white unemployed construction worker who replaced the black military veteran in jury seat 9, for example, said of Los Angeles police officers: “Of course they cover up for each other.” From his tone of voice, he seemed surprised anyone would think otherwise.

Loyola Law School Dean Laurie Levenson, who has monitored the jury selection process, described the new panel as “a slight trade-up for the plaintiffs.”

She cautioned, however, that “it would be wrong to judge this jury by its color.” Noting that several panelists have voiced the very same doubts that Simpson’s defense raised in the criminal trial, Levenson added: “Those questions about the evidence are reflected in white jurors.”

The shake-up began when several jurors told Fujisaki they suspected that one of their colleagues had been drinking before court. Fujisaki interviewed five people in private, including the juror under suspicion, then announced his conclusion in public: The juror in seat 9, he said, “has conducted himself in such a manner with regard to his use of alcohol . . . that he is incapable and unsuitable for service in this case.”

With that, Fujisaki excused the man--who promptly held a press conference on the courthouse lawn to announce that he was in treatment for alcoholism, had an affinity for gin and was relieved to be liberated from the Simpson trial.

After dismissing the juror, Fujisaki let both sides reconsider the remaining panelists, allowing them to oust even those who had been sworn in Thursday.

Both sides took advantage of that opportunity. The defense bumped a white man who said he was worried about the children of Nicole and O.J. Simpson. And the plaintiffs excused a white woman who had met Simpson in a shoe store years ago and deemed him friendly. Looking confused and somewhat disappointed, those two left the courtroom, having served as Simpson jurors for less than 24 hours.

They were replaced by jurors who coincidentally matched them in race, gender and even approximate age--but not necessarily in outlook.

The new juror in seat 3 is a white man in his 30s who told lawyers: “Of course there are some police officers who are corrupt, the same as in all professions.” Inspired by “Jurassic Park,” he said, he once watched a television program on how DNA serves as a “genetic fingerprint.” Though he termed blood evidence “important,” he promised to look at it critically, noting that “you don’t know when or how it got there.”

Joining him on the panel is a white woman in her 60s whose daughter once was involved in a violent relationship. A clerical worker who handles invoices, she said she was too busy with her six children to watch the criminal trial. Pressed for any knowledge of the case, she said: “I remember Marcia Clark having a new hairdo.” The woman, who described herself as religious, told attorneys her husband was convinced of Simpson’s guilt. But she attributed that view to racial prejudice and said she could be more fair-minded.

Ironically, the white man who replaced the juror who had a drinking problem told attorneys he had once been arrested for drunk driving and spent some time in jail. Still, he said the experience did not sour his view of local law enforcement. A cement mixer by trade, the man said he did not pay attention to the criminal trial. Nonetheless, he did voice doubts about the blood drop collected from a gate at the murder scene two weeks after the slayings. “I wonder how it got there,” he said.

Selection of eight alternate jurors will begin Monday. Opening statements are set for Wednesday.

Before dismissing the jurors, Fujisaki ordered the seven women and five men to “stay safe and stay isolated.” But obeying that admonition may prove impossible. As they walked through the parking lot, the jurors passed an anti-Simpson demonstrator shouting, “Has the murderer come out of court yet?”

Times staff writer Duke Helfand contributed to this report.