Q & A

Here are some common questions related to the Simpson case, and their answers:

Why did Tuesday’s $8.5-million damage award go only to Ronald Goldman’s parents?

Only Goldman’s parents had asked jurors for damages intended to compensate them for the loss of their son’s love and companionship.

The Brown family did not file a compensatory damage claim, perhaps because it would have put the Simpson children in the awkward position of suing their father to compensate them for killing their mother. As legal heirs to their mother’s estate, only the children could have filed such a claim.

Who divides the compensatory damage award?

Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki will have to divide the final judgment--which now stands at $8.5 million but is subject to appeal--between Goldman’s long-divorced parents, Fred Goldman and Sharon Rufo. It is unclear when Fujisaki will make that decision.

What happens next?

The trial moves on to a brief punitive damage phase in which jurors will hear testimony about Simpson’s financial assets. They were not supposed to consider Simpson’s net worth at all during their first round of deliberations, but they are obligated to consider it in this phase to determine the size of the damage award.