# Is the OJ case still open? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2000, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495 "2000-02-17T03:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/1 "2000-02-17T03:35:00Z")
Well?? Anyone know?? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/2 "2000-02-17T03:53:00Z")
The criminal case was closed with the not-guilty verdict. He’s aquitted of the charges and all lesser-included charges. The civil case might still be alive in the appeals system, but I doubt it. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/3 "2000-02-17T03:57:00Z")
OJ, however, is still actively pursuing his hunt for the real killer. The only lead he has, though, is that apparently the real killer is an avid golfer. ---
**Author:** ![PUNdit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@PUNdit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PUNdit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/4 "2000-02-17T04:00:00Z")
## Yeah, Bricker, but the other question is since OJ got a not guilty verdict, does the police case remain open, listed unsolved? In other words is OJ the only one looking for the real murderer now? [aside] I am sure he is hiding in the woods beside the 17 fairway at Oakmont. [/aside] I know they can’t charge OJ with murder again, but if new evidence came to light, could they charge him with a different crime, such as assault or improper disposal of hazardous waste? “You can be smart or pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” Elwood P. Dowd ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/5 "2000-02-17T04:04:00Z")
I hear he’s getting married. What woman in her right mind would…oh nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Babar714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Babar714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babar714)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/6 "2000-02-17T04:14:00Z")
There is no statute of limitations on murder. But I also thought you can’t be tried for the same crime twice… I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![NickyLarson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b2d939/32.png) [@NickyLarson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NickyLarson)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/7 "2000-02-17T04:22:00Z")
Unfortunatly, OJ will never face justice \*\* in a court of law\*\* for his crime, as Bricker said. He’s aquitted! And under the American justice system he cannot be tried again. (Double Jeopardy, and not part of a game show.) Sad, sad but true. The police have a problem, image-wise (like that’s unusual for the LAPD.) They can’t really re-open the case; they built it all around OJ. But hey, OJ’s guilty. I mean, we **ALL** know that. So even if he doesn’t rot in jail, he’ll never live a normal life again, and no one will ever really trust him. * * * Then we’ll turn our tommy guns on the screaming ravaged nuns and the peoples voice will be the only sound. -P. Sky ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/8 "2000-02-17T04:23:00Z")
Actually, I seem to recall an announcement from the LAPD, after OJ’s acquittal, that the case was officially closed. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/9 "2000-02-17T06:02:00Z")
[libertarian rant]While the specific instance of OJ being unable to stand trial for murder again may seem “sad, sad but true”, thank your lucky stars that it exists for the reason it does. Imagine a country without a prohibition against double jeopardy. Brrrrrrr. It’s better that a murderer gets to live an acquitted life than if we forfeit that right.[/libertarian rant] ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/10 "2000-02-17T06:15:00Z")
No offense, but plenty of us non-libertarians understand and appreciate the value of the Bills of Rights as well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/11 "2000-02-17T13:50:00Z")
I think the case is still open, but O.J. cannot be charged again if they find more evidence. BTW: With the announcement of the “Rampart Scandal” (police planting evidence, etc.), O.J. is publicly saying, “See? See? I told you!” ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/12 "2000-02-17T13:52:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Sycorax: > \*\*I hear he’s getting married. What woman in her right mind would…oh nevermind. \*\* Your statement says it all! IF she’s marrying OJ, THEN she cannot be in her right mind. Maybe, Monica Lewinsky? ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@Mojo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/13 "2000-02-18T06:20:00Z")
IIRC The L.A.P.D. considers the case closed because they found the right suspect. The fact that a conviction wasn’t acheived is a moot point. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/14 "2000-02-18T06:42:00Z")
I thought OJ was cleared when they found a Superbowl ring at the murder scene. 😃 * * * The word is no. I am therefore going anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/15 "2000-02-17T19:51:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by PUNdit: > **Yeah, Bricker, but the other question is since OJ got a not guilty verdict, does the police case remain open, listed unsolved? In other words is OJ the only one looking for the real murderer now? [aside] I am sure he is hiding in the woods beside the 17 fairway at Oakmont. [/aside] I know they can’t charge OJ with murder again, but if new evidence came to light, could they charge him with a different crime, such as assault or improper disposal of hazardous waste?** The Double Jeopardy Clause embodies three distinct protections: prosecution of the same offense after acquittal, prosecution of the same offense after conviction and multiple punishments for the same offense. The question here is what constitutes the “same offense” for the purposes of Double Jeopardy. And as you correctly reason, “same offense” should also include any lesser-included crimes. An acquittal for first degree murder would also mean a bar against a later trial for second-degree murder. I don’t the law in California as regards lesser-inluded offenses for double jeopardy, but I’d be willing to wager it’s similar, if not identical, to the “Blockburger” test. So named after the eponymous Supreme Court case, the Blockburger test (also called the “same elements” test) provides that an offense is a lesser-included one only if all of its statutory elements can be demonstrated without proof of any fact or element in addition to those which must be proved for the greater offense. So, as an example, let’s say there are two different laws: one forbidding assault, and one forbidding assault and battery. The law against assault and battery is exactly the same as the law against assault, with the one addition that it also includes that the victim must have suffered some injury. If I am tried and aquitted for assault and battery, I can’t be re-tried for assault… because the state already had a chance to prove all the elements of assault (plus the battery) and they failed. Does this make sense, sorta? - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/16 "2000-02-17T21:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > OJ, however, is still actively pursuing his hunt for the real killer. The only lead he has, though, is that apparently the real killer is an avid golfer. One of the best sardonic lines I’ve ever heard was: “OJ vows he’ll never rest until he finds Nicole’s killer. Well, he is a child of the 60s, and we were always going out to try to find ourselves.” ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/17 "2000-02-18T15:36:00Z")
If I’m understanding the OP correctly, the question is, is anyone at LAPD still investigating this murder? We all know OJ was acquitted, and double-jeopardy prevents him from being tried again for it. Is LAPD treating this as an unsolved crime, looking for other possible perps, etc.? * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-oj-case-still-open/7495/18 "2000-02-18T16:30:00Z")
From the cop’s perspective,this isn’t an unsolved crime, it’s simply a crime in which the defendant was acquitted. Just because the jury didn’t think the prosecution established O.J.'s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt doesn’t mean O.J. didn’t do it; i.e., “not guilty” doesn’t equal “innocent.”