The OJ Simpson trial

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

O.J. Simpson

What do you know about O.J.  already?

O.J. Simpson

Pupils fill in what they might already now about O.J.

Who is O.J. Simpson

Who is O.J. Simpson 

• started playing American football in uni, was good at it. Won some awards and prizes. This is how he first got famous in America. 
• when he quit playing, he started acting. Played a few roles in tv-series and movies and made several cameos. 

Sources to use 

• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.J._Simpson
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case
• https://www.latimes.com/local/la-oj-anniv-verdict-story.html
• https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-16-mn-35784-story.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/08/us/evidence-is-powerful-but-he-s-still-oj.html
• https://www.eonline.com/news/1047537/absolutely-100-percent-not-guilty-25-bizarre-things-you-forgot-about-the-o-j-simpson-murder-trial
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/09/19/simpson-defense-team-launches-its-rebuttal/1ce7fec8-f898-4caa-8991-4b53ed81a2f0/ 

Talk to pupils about reliabilty of the sources. We gave some that are reliable, some that are less reliable. 

What was the accusation against O.J. Simpson?

Things to discuss:

• What do you think about him saying he's innocent?

What evidence was found against O.J?

What famous line did the glove inspire?

Things to discuss

• the glove had been frozen a couple of times to preserve the evidence. Do you think that could've been an influence on the glove not fitting?

Who led the prosecution team and what is notable about her?

things to discuss:

• What do you think about the sexism this woman faced?

Who led the defense and how did they rebut the prosecution case?

Things to discuss;

• Do you think that the rebuttal which claimed racism against O.J. was fair?
• Do you think the police planted the evidence?

What role did the Los Angeles Police Department's Mark Fuhrman play?

Things to discuss:

• Do you think it is fair that his policework is judged upon because of the use of vocab?

Discussion time

• What do you think of the case in general?
• What sources did you find? Do you think they are reliable? Why or why not? 

Dividing the groups 

• The defense
• The prosecution
• The judge (1 person)
• The jury 
• The testifiers