Two For The Show

But in a way it did. The plaintiffs found an ally on the bench. Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki issued a series of rulings that limited the defense from fully pushing its theories of a racist police frame-up. Mark Fuhrman's racist murmurings weren't mentioned. The LAPD wasn't lampooned as much. Fujisaki allowed the plaintiffs to introduce new evidence against Simpson, such as testimony from Nicole's diaries. The plaintiffs also got lucky. An old photograph of Simpson apparently wearing Bruno Magli shoes, like the ones worn by the killer, was found by a photographer who gave it to the plaintiffs--after selling it to the National Enquirer. Given the new evidence, the jury would be presented with questions of a different vintage than the last one. A look at some:

Do the shoes fit?

The image of Simpson wearing the designer shoes at a 1993 Buffalo Bills football game is to the civil trial what the gloves were to the criminal trial--perhaps the single most important piece of evidence. ""If those photos are real, O. J. Simpson is the killer,'' Petrocelli asserted in his closing statement. Not only do they appear to link Simpson to the crime scene, but they may dent his credibility; he swore at his deposition he had never owned the ""ugly-ass shoes,'' still another phrase likely to enter trial lore.

The defense could only attack the photograph as a phony. ""It was store-bought evidence,'' contended defense lawyer Dan Leonard. Jurors may have a tough time buying that. The defense's alleged photo expert, technician Robert Groden, seemed to lose credibility when plaintiffs described him as a conspiracy buff. But worse, the plaintiffs later came up with more than 30 additional pictures of Simpson wearing the same shoes--adding to their authenticity.

What's Simpson's motive?

This may be the plaintiffs' weakest link. Petrocelli painted a picture of the troubled and abusive relationship between Simpson and Nicole, suggesting he killed her in a rage. Fujisaki helped. He allowed the jury to hear entries from Nicole's diaries, in which she wrote how Simpson had vowed to get her. Judge Lance Ito had barred the diary as hearsay evidence.