Cochran, Johnnie
COCHRAN, JOHNNIE
Born October 2, 1937, in Shreveport, Louisiana, died March 29, 2005, in Los Angeles, California. Johnnie Cochran will be chiefly remembered for his part in one of the most high-profile murder trials in United States history, the trial of former football star O.J. Simpson. Cochran earned degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Loyola Marymount University School of Law. From early in his career, Cochran took cases in support of the African-American community, fighting abuses by authorities and police. He saw a series of successes in winning damages from various California municipalities and police districts in judgments for his clients. His highest profile case came in defending O.J. Simpson against charges he had murdered his wife and her friend, Ron Goldman. In a racially charged trial, an unapologetic Cochran was accused of "playing the race card" in getting Simpson acquitted by a largely African-American jury. Following the Simpson trial, Cochran continued fighting against racism, but the diagnosis of a brain tumor in 2003 led to his eventual death.