Triumph of Justice : Closing the Book On the Simpson Saga [Hardcover]

Daniel Petrocelli (Author), Peter Knobler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 1998

When Daniel Petrocelli was first approached to represent the family of Ron Goldman in the O.J. Simpson civil trial, he was one of the few people in America who had paid little attention to the Simpson criminal trial. His first inclination was to turn down the case. But as friends and clients urged him to accept, as he got to know not only the Goldmans but the facts of the case and the human tragedy lurking behind it, Petrocelli realized this was something he had to tackle head on.

Never having tried a murder case, putting his firm's considerable reputation at risk, confronting a media swarm for which he was totally unprepared, and facing an overwhelming financial disadvantage, Petrocelli nonetheless went on a personal and increasingly passionate mission to bring about justice. Triumph of Justice is a chronicle of that mission.  Petrocelli's insights, observations, and inside information not only show us how he convinced a jury to find O.J. Simpson liable for $33.5 million in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman--proving to the American people that their legal system does indeed work--he also makes the story a compelling and exciting legal read.

Among the revelations detailed in these pages:
Petrocelli's ten-day, no-holds-barred deposition of O.J. Simpson
What Petrocelli learned from the incendiary depositions and interviews of Kato Kaelin, Faye Resnick, Marcus Allen, A.C. Cowlings, and others
The surprising realizations that emerged from a mock jury trial, which Petrocelli lost
His dramatic face-to-face courtroom confrontation with O.J. Simpson on the witness stand
What happened that night in Brentwood

Petrocelli also offers insight into the larger issues--of race, wealth, celebrity, and police competence--surrounding the case. He places the trial in its proper context and, in so doing, examines legal questions and issues about our justice system that affect and reflect upon every one of us.

Triumph of Justice proves, conclusively, that O.J. Simpson told lie after lie and that he did indeed kill his ex-wife and an innocent man. It is the story you haven't heard about the trial you didn't see and is the closest, most in-depth look at an important murder case since Helter Skelter.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Daniel Petrocelli is the attorney who represented Fred Goldman and his family in their civil suit against O.J. Simpson for the death of their son Ron. (As such, he also coordinated the simultaneous prosecution of suits brought by Ron Goldman's biological mother and by the estate of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.) In Triumph of Justice, Petrocelli tells readers how he was able to succeed where Marcia Clark and Chris Darden failed, convincing a jury that Simpson was indeed liable for the deaths of Goldman and Brown Simpson.

Petrocelli takes us behind the scenes, revealing how he got--and almost lost--the job soon after Simpson walked out of the criminal trial. He goes through rigorous depositions and cross-examinations in nearly complete detail, poking holes in Simpson's ludicrous alibi. Although he has very little good to say about Simpson (whose football exploits he admired before taking on the case), Petrocelli does have professional compliments for his legal adversaries. It's an important element to note--unlike other books from Simpson trial insiders, Triumph of Justice doesn't have aggrandizement or apologies for its author as the top priority. The mission here is simple--to tell the story of how justice was done--and Petrocelli achieves his objective nobly.

From Library Journal

The Goldman family's lawyer takes apart the Simpson case.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 644 pages
• Publisher: Crown; lst ed edition (April 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609601709
• ISBN-13: 978-0609601709
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Law > Current Affairs
  • #25 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Professional & Technical > Law
  • #45 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Criminology

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding, November 16, 2005

By 

A. Tindell "ajtlawyer" (Richland, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triumph of Justice : Closing the Book On the Simpson Saga (Hardcover)

The definitive book on the Simpson case. Daniel Petrocelli and his fellow lawyers brilliantly dissected and debunked every myth about the Simpson case. I found the book very entertaining and well written and an excellent primer on how to do direct and cross examination of a witness.

The book also demonstrated the powerful differences between a criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit. The plaintiff lawyers brilliantly used the civil rules of discovery to their benefit. They made a discovery demand for Simpson to provide all the evidence he had of any sort of police conspiracy, contaimination of evidence, evidence of any third party who did the murder, etc. Simpson could not produce a single piece of evidence to support any of these theories. And since he could not produce any such evidence, the court properly refused to allow him to argue those theories at trial. Trials are solely about what can be proven and disproven. They are not forums to throw out every cockamaimie theory you can come up with (the criminal trial in this case).

The civil rules also required Simpson to submit to "requests for admission" a powerful mechanism to reduce what has to be proven at a trial---if the opponent admits it, you don't have to prove it. Simpson had to admit that the blood collected at Bundy and in his car was his. And he had absolutely no evidence whatsoever to back up any claim that it was planted.

The civil rules also required Simpson to submit to a deposition and to testify at the trial. If he had refused to testify, he would've forfeited the case. And of course in his deposition and in his trial testimony he lied continuously and in easily provable ways. For every lie he gave the plaintiffs had one and usually at least two different witnesses to impeach Simpson, often testimony from his close friends, Taft, Cowlings, Kardashian and his estranged girlfriend Paula Barbieri, amongst others.

Finally, and most devastatingly, they found the photos of Simpson wearing the same shoes that were worn by the killer at the murder scene. Simpson had previously denied ever owning such shoes. And to try and debunk the photo? He brings in a kooky JFK conspiracy buff as his photo "expert". Then when 30 other photos from a different photographer show up, one of them printed in a newspaper 8 mo before the murders, the game was over for Simpson.

An innocent man doesn't have to lie when he's on trial. Simpson lied. I thought the most powerful argument that Petrocelli made in his rebuttal was concerning the attempt by Simpson's lawyers to trash the reputation of Ron Goldman. If Simpson was truly innocent, why would he try to trash and debase the memory of Ron Goldman? According to Simpson's theory, Ron Goldman died fighting to save the life of the mother of Simpson's children! In fact, if there really someone else who did the murder, then Goldman's heroics might've prevented the killer from going into the home and murdering Simpson's children. But instead Simpson's lawyers ended up mocking Ron Goldman. Only a guilty man does that.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Important Book Yet on The Simpson Case, May 18, 1998

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triumph of Justice : Closing the Book On the Simpson Saga (Hardcover)

I was one of those few who had not closely followed the Simpson case. I purchased this book because I felt that it would report verbatim the testimony given in depositions and in the trial, and thus could not suffer too much from creative, biased writing. The author is, of course, biased. He represented the plaintiff, and felt Simpson was guilty, but I cannot conceive of anyone objectively reading this book and not coming to the conclusion that Simpson is a double murderer.

While many of this country's citizens may have legitimate concerns about their treatment by the police, this is not the case to represent those grievances. Simpson's side simply has no evidence regarding a police conspiracy. It is amazing to read about the mock trials conducted by Petrocelli's team wherein some Afro-American members of the mock jury indicated that while feeling Simpson guilty they would vote to acquit. As Petrocelli says, he wasn't trying to keep Blacks off the jury, he was trying to keep people with this sort of bias off the jury.

This book is important as history. It relates almost all the research done by the plaintiff's legal team, and the testimony presented in depositions and at the trial. For all of this, it is never tedious or dull; rather it reads like a courtroom thriller novel.

I have only one negative feeling about the book. While I am convinced that it is an important, necessary book, it seems odd that Petrocelli should make millions from writing it while the plaintiffs in the suit will probably see little of the 33.5 million dollar judgment. I had hoped that somewhere Petrocelli would say that he is giving some of his profits to the charitable organization founded by Goldman. Petrocelli also states how the Goldmans became like family to him. I guess he needed another family as it was obvious that he totally neglected his own for a year.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding perspective of legal management!, June 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Melrose, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Triumph of Justice : Closing the Book On the Simpson Saga (Hardcover)

Was drawn to this book because I had seen Daniel Petrocelli on various talk shows. His explanation and legal rationale relative to the important legal and social issues of this case caught my attention. Prior to the publication of his book, I had not read any books relative to the O J case. Petrocelli provides the reader with a behind the scene view as to the strength of his leadership and managerial skills. He was faced with a huge task of evaluating the mountains of legal testimony and evidence from the original case. Where to start? Where would the money to put on a first class case come from? Who should be involved? He takes the reader on his personal journey from the early stages as to whether he should take the case,through his approach to key individuals in his law firm, the rationale he used for delegation, as well as expressing the personal doubts he encountered both prior to and during the case. Soon the reader feels his obsession, his passion and distaste for Simpson, but is still able to become focused enough to develop a very cogent legal strategy. The book certainly is a must reading for any law student because of its awareness in how important it is to have good case preparation. Such an approach may be taught in law school, but when done in an effective way as outlined by Petrocelli, it can be a realistic learning experience. It is even recommended reading for experienced trial lawyers who have an opportunity to reinforce what it takes to develop a thoroughness of legal preparation whenever they represent a client. Petrocelli provides a high quality sense of reality for legal scholars and practioners as to what clients should expect from a legal team in a high stakes winner take all game. The purchase of this book is worth the investment.