Det. Mark Fuhrman became a central and controversial figure in the trial when recorded tapes surfaced containing racist slurs and admissions of police misconduct, triggering a judicial crisis that nearly forced Judge Ito's recusal because the tapes referenced his wife, LAPD Captain Margaret York. Recalled to the stand by defense attorney Gerald Uelmen on September 6, 1995, Fuhrman invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to every question posed — including whether he had planted or manufactured evidence in the case and whether his preliminary hearing testimony had been truthful. His refusal to answer became a pivotal moment in the trial, giving the defense a powerful foundation for its argument that LAPD evidence could not be trusted.