Johnnie Cochran served as lead defense attorney for O.J. Simpson, orchestrating a strategy that systematically targeted LAPD credibility and evidence handling throughout the criminal trial. His cross-examinations of key prosecution witnesses—including Detectives Phillips and Lange and Officer Riske—methodically exposed failures in crime scene preservation, chain of custody, and investigative protocol, eliciting damaging admissions about ungloved evidence handling, delayed coroner notification, and blood evidence that was never collected or tested. Cochran's opening statement launched a sweeping attack on the prosecution's timeline, DNA evidence, and Detective Mark Fuhrman's credibility, though it also triggered discovery sanctions after the defense failed to disclose witnesses and experts. Present for 153 trial days spanning motions, witness examinations, and closing arguments, Cochran examined more than 50 witnesses and drove the defense theory that police misconduct and contamination fatally compromised the case against Simpson.