O.J. SIMPSON . . . RACIAL ISSUES TAKE CENTER STAGE

Race was the main topic of an inconclusive day in court, as the defense and prosecution collided over the expected testimony of Detective Mark Fuhrman. Fuhrman found and collected several key items of evidence in the case, including a bloody glove on Simpson's estate. Defense attorneys have accused Fuhrman of bias against Simpson. Today the prosecution sought to bar the defense team from asking whether Fuhrman ever used the racial epithet "nigger." Deputy District Attorney Chris Darden, referring to "the n-word," said the use of the word in the trial would "blind the jury. It'll blind the truth. They won't be able to discern what's true and what's not." This elicited an angry response from defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, who characterized Darden's comments as "perhaps the most incredible remarks I've ever heard in a court of law in 32 years of practicing law . . . To say that our mostly African American jurors can't be fair is absolutely outrageous." At one point during the back-and-forth O.J. Simpson began to cry. The upshot? Judge Lance Ito said the motion to block the defense from questioning Fuhrman was "premature."