OJ Back to Court

SANTA MONICA: Now that the Simpson jury has delivered its verdict, the endless courtroom miniseries moves to appeals of both the civil case and his child-custody decision. Up next: How much should he pay? Jurors will reconvene on Thursday for a punitive damages hearing where plaintiff witnesses will testify how much Simpson is worth and, subject to the judge's approval, how much he could be worth in the future. Trying to keep earning potential out of the equation, Simpson lawyers Wednesday fought to prevent testimony estimating the long-term market value (if any) of Simpson's name and image by celebrity marketer Mark Roessler. Punitive damages generally have been limited to about $200,000 in California. Simpsons attorneys may argue that Fujisaki allowed improper evidence and weakened their case by not letting them call former detective Mark Fuhrman, who played a crucial role in the criminal case and may have raised doubts in the jurys mind about the reliability of the evidence. Former Simpson counsel Alan Dershowitz charges that the whole trial was tainted by the presence of the juror who was dismissed Friday after news came out that her daughter works in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office that conducted O.J.'s criminal trial. Dershowitz, though, thinks an appeal isn't likely to succeed. "Elected judges in California will look long and hard before they think about reversing what will be a very popular verdict among their constituents."