Johnnie Cochran
American attorney (1937-2005) · United States · On the map · Lawyers · Died at 67
He turned the O. J. Simpson trial into a referendum on the LAPD, led a defense that made "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" a national refrain, and walked his client out of what looked like an unwinnable case.
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A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
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Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr. spent 38 years taking civil rights and police brutality cases in California, building a practice around clients the system had already written off. In 1995 he assembled the "Dream Team" for O. J. Simpson's murder trial and dismantled the prosecution's case piece by piece, securing an acquittal that split the country. After Simpson, his roster read like a who's who of trouble: Sean Combs, Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Riddick Bowe, Todd Bridges, Jim Brown. He also defended Reginald Denny, the truck driver beaten during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and Geronimo Pratt, the inmate and activist. Cochran died on March 29, 2005, having rewritten the rules for what a defense attorney could do on a national stage.
