Johnnie Cochran launches the defense opening statement with a sweeping attack on the prosecution's case, systematically challenging the timeline, DNA evidence, and LAPD's credibility while rebutting domestic violence claims and signaling Mark Fuhrman as a central figure. A Court TV juror identification breach is remedied mid-proceedings. The proceedings also include a late disclosure by the defense of a large batch of witness statements dating from June through August 1994 that should have been produced months earlier.

• Court TV accidentally broadcast the face of alternate juror No. 1492; Judge Ito orders remedial measures including static camera angles and staff retraining.
• Johnnie Cochran delivers defense opening statement spanning the entire day, previewing alibi witnesses, attacking time-of-death theory, and characterizing LAPD crime lab as 'a cesspool of contamination.'
• Cochran dramatically walks OJ Simpson to the jury box to display his knee scars and injured finger, presenting the defense account of his physical limitations; he separately explains hotel-room broken glass as the source of Simpson's cut finger.
• Multiple contentious sidebars over hearsay evidence (coroner's letter), presumptive blood testing, a sealed envelope apparently containing a knife examined by Dr. Henry Lee, and DNA analysis excerpts.
• Defense discloses a large batch of witness statements dating from June through August 1994 that should have been turned over months earlier, prompting visible prosecution fury; Carl Douglas accepts personal responsibility for the oversight.
• Cochran signals Mark Fuhrman as a critical defense target, alongside attacks on coroner procedures and forensic contamination.