It was the O.J. Simpson of old, smiling, laughing and doing sideline interviews with mike in hand - wearing snug leather gloves pro-se-cu-tors say were the same type he wore the night he killed.
Jurors, hearing the prosecution rebuttal case before the defense had even rested, stared Monday at Simpson's brown leather glove as soundless videotapes provided a retrospective of his TV career in the early 1990s. The tapes showed him joking with quarterback Boomer Esiason, bobbing his head during color commentary and chatting with his former NBC colleagues.When still photos of a gloved Simpson from the same games were passed around the jury box, panelists held them up to get an even closer look, perhaps trying to figure out if they could be the same gloves he struggled to put on in a court demonstration.
In her questioning of a photographer at a 1990 Chicago Bears game, Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark sought to show that Simpson wore his gloves on the tight side.
She pointed out that the photograph showed the glove didn't even cover Simpson's large palm.
"Does that glove appear to be kind of short at the wrist, sir?" Clark asked photographer Mark Krueger.
"For gloves that I've owned, usually they cover the palm," he said.
"Did they appear short?"
"Yes."
However, some of the photos showed Simpson wearing gloves that were not tight.
The prosecution said it would bring glove expert Richard Rubin back to court Tuesday to make the link between the gloves Simpson wore on the sidelines and the gloves a killer wore late the night of June 12, 1994. Earlier in the trial, Rubin said the evidence gloves were Aris Lights, extra large.
Judge Lance Ito ordered the start of the rebuttal case before the end of the defense case because he promised the restless jury - which has been sequestered eight months - that he would begin the rebuttal Monday.
The unusual juggling of the trial schedule came in spite of defense plans to present "startling" evidence involving a mystery witness and a vow to appeal rulings involving Detective Mark Fuhrman.
Defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr. said information on the witness, whom he refused to identify, was developing and would not be complete until Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified defense sources, said Tuesday that the defense team is investigating possible impeachment evidence against a "key prosecution witness." The paper did not elaborate.
Clark began the rebuttal by calling six photographers, some professional, some amateur, who snapped pictures of a gloved Simpson on the sidelines of wintry football games. Some pictures showed him wearing brown gloves similar to those investigators say they collected near the bodies and behind Simpson's house. Other pictures showed him with black gloves, and the judge questioned their relevance.
Clark said the black gloves showed "a very short and tight fit," which was important in judging how Simpson wore his gloves.