DERSH SPEAKS

Dershowitz Thought O.J. Was ‘Probably Guilty’ Before Taking His Case

The lawyer successfully defended Simpson alongside Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey—the so-called “Dream Team” that he now says was more of a “nightmare.”

Reacting to news on Thursday of O.J. Simpson’s death at 76 from cancer, Alan Dershowitz said he recalled thinking that the football player was “probably guilty” as he watched the slow-speed police chase of his white Ford Bronco down a California highway in 1994. “I was watching the NBA Finals or the NBA playoffs when it happened. I said to my family when I was watching, ‘Looks like he’s probably guilty,’” the 85-year-old told Newsmax in an interview. “Otherwise, why would he be running away?” Famously, though, Dershowitz took on Simpson’s case, successfully defending him in court alongside Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey—the so-called “Dream Team.” Speaking to Sky News, Dershowitz commented dryly, “It was a ‘Nightmare Team.’ Everybody was fighting with each other.” After Simpson’s acquittal, Dershowitz suggested his former client not write a tell-all book about the experience—advice that Simpson promptly ignored. “Well, it was a stupid thing to do,” Dershowitz told Newsmax of the book that was eventually published, If I Did It. “But O.J. Simpson insisted on staying in the public light, and writing that book was a foolish book. And he paid a heavy price for it.”