If O.J. Simpson is ruled as innocent in the criminal trial, how does he become guilty of ‘wrongful death’ in the civil trial?
Does this officially make him the killer or not?
IANAL, etc.
The burdens are different in criminal and civil trials. In a criminal trial, guilt must be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In civil trials, guilt/liability must be proved “by a preponderance of the evidence.” As my criminal law teachers put it, beyond a reasonable doubt means 99.99% sure of the persons guilt, and preponderance of the evidence just means that you think it’s more likely than not that the person did it (very loose definitions, and I’m sure a lawyer will be along shortly to pick their bones).
So legally, OJ is not guilty of the criminal offense of murder, but is civilly liable for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman.
In short:
He did it, but the prosecution screwed up and couldn’t prove guilty of murder. Since he did it, and he did it without lawful authority, it was wrongful death.
O.J. was acquitted in the criminal trial. He was already found “guilty” in a civil trial. (What’s the word for losing a civil trial? The caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet. Responsible? Culpable?)
So what would happen to him if he came out and said, “I did it.”?
IANAL but criminally I don’t think anything could happen to him. He was acquited at his trial so he couldn’t be charged with murder. He may be charged with perjury since he denied doing anything at the civil trial.
Personally, I think that you shouldn’t have to pay for a crime if you aren’t even convicted of one. This seems like double jeopardy to me. You are acquited in criminal court but we’ll get you in civil court!
You mean if he said that now? Absolutely nothing would happen to him. He could not be retried for murdering Nicole Brown.