In and out of court, emotions flow Response to verdict mixed but strong

Jonathan T. Lovitt , Debbie Howlett; David Leon Moore

02/05/1997

USA Today

FINAL

Page 04A

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- When the jury came in at 7:08 p.m. PT, the

courtroom was whisper quiet.

And hot.

All 80 seats were filled. But the air conditioning had been turned off at 6 p.m.

The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, brutally killed 21/2

years ago, held hands.

O.J. Simpson's jaw shook.

Then the first verdict was read finding Simpson responsible for the death of

Goldman. Kim Goldman, Ron's sister, was the first to react.

``Oh, my God,'' she shouted, jumping out of her seat.

Shortly after the last verdict was read, Denise Brown, Nicole's sister, said, ``Let

me get out of here or I'm gonna kill him . . . finally, finally, finally.''

As the verdicts were read, Simpson stared straight ahead toward the front of the

courtroom, displaying little emotion.

Simpson's family -- his sister, Shirley Baker, and her husband, Benny, and her

daughter, Teri -- sat stoically, also showing no reaction.

Nearly all the Goldmans and Browns had tears in their eyes by the time the last

verdict was read, and they weren't alone.

The two court reporters quietly sobbed. Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki appeared to be

misty-eyed.

And lead plantiffs' lawyer Daniel Petrocelli, when he looked behind him toward

the gallery, had a tear in the corner of his eye.

Petrocelli then hugged Dominique Brown, another sister of Nicole's. ``I'm so

sorry about what happened to your sister,'' he said.

Then the participants left the courtroom. Simpson left quickly, and when he

exited the side door, he was jeered by the large crowd that had gathered. He

smiled slightly.

The Goldmans were greeted outside by raucous cheers. A wedge of motorcycle

cops broke through the crowd, with the Goldmans -- father Fred, his wife, Patti,

and Kim -- walking down the street behind the wedge, arm-in-arm, triumphantly.

The Goldmans and Browns then held brief news conferences at the Doubletree

Hotel.

``After 21/2 years, we finally have justice for Ron and Nicole,'' Fred Goldman

said. ``And it was done with honesty and dignity and complete truth. Our family

is grateful for the verdict of responsibility, which is all we ever wanted.''

In Room 211 of the Doubletree, where the Brown family and their lawyers

celebrated, Denise Brown led a cheer of ``Hip, hip, hooray'' for lawyer John

Kelly.

When she emerged from the room, she said, ``I'm ecstatic.''

The Goldmans' dramatic street procession was viewed by perhaps 1,000

observers who had gathered at the courthouse by late afternoon.

Shortly after 4 p.m. PT, word was out that the jury had a verdict. By 4:30, all

other cases were halted and the courthouse was cleared.

Outside, police arrived by the dozens, blocking off streets surrounding the

courthouse. Two dozen Santa Monica policemen guarded the side door where

trial participants would enter.

Los Angeles County sheriff deputies took positions on the roof of the courthouse.

Just before 5 p.m., Robert Baker and three other defense lawyers arrived amid an

audible buzz caused by more and more observers and from a growing armada of

TV helicopters overhead.

Twenty-five minutes later, Petrocelli and the Goldman family arrived, escorted

by police and surrounded by a large entourage. The crowd cheered and shouted,

``good luck,'' but the Goldmans didn't react.

Then came a lull, broken only by word that the Brown family wouldn't arrive

until at least 6:30.

At 6:25, Simpson arrived in long black GMC truck. When he stepped out, there

was a mixture of applause and boos. He, too, made no gestures to the crowd.

After he entered the door, some of the crowd chanted, ``Guilty . . . Guilty . . .

Guilty.''

But not everyone. ``Go O.J.,'' said longtime Simpson trial-watcher Linda

Johnson, 40, who had called in sick on what was supposed to be her first night as

a driver on a new job. She sat in on the civil case seven days, the criminal trial

44 days.

``It's a revenge verdict,'' she said, predicting, correctly as it turned out, a decision

against Simpson. ``How can you bring civil charges if he's been acquitted?''

She said people will still be divided on Simpson's guilt.

``It's just going to open things back up,'' she said.

At 6:50, the Brown family arrived.

Less than half an hour later, at 7:15, the barrage of verdicts against Simpson

began.

And, mixed reaction.

``It's a travesty,'' Johnson said. ``It's going to make it bad. Which verdict is right?

Which one has meaning? Now, nothing is settled.''

Not so, said observers Matt and Dee Fozard.

``Fred Goldman and the Browns are going to sleep good tonight,'' Dee Fozard

said.

Her husband added, ``I think everyone will sleep a little better. . . . He just

blatantly lied, like everyone was a moron and he could get away with whatever

he wants. That's over for him now.''

Appeals likely await, but Shania Motruk, 38, a financial consultant from Santa

Monica, was feeling a sense of closure.

``It's come full circle,'' she said. ``I remember the helicopters the night it

happened. Now there's helicopters and it's over.''

Except for one more overhead shot from a TV helicopter: Simpson, not in a

white Bronco, but in a black truck, heading up the San Diego Freeway toward

his Brentwood home. Before he got there, he stopped at a Baskin-Robbins to buy

ice cream for his daughter waiting at home.

PHOTO, B/W, Gary Hershorn, Reuters; PHOTO, B/W, Nick Ut, AP; PHOTO,

B/W, Sam Mircovich, Reuters