Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Dies at 67

[-Cp]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/29/cochran.obit/

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, 67, perhaps best known for his defense of O.J. Simpson, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles.

"I loved him as a good Christian man; I look at Johnny as a great Christian," Simpson told CNN. "I knew him as that. He was a great guy."

Simpson said he last saw Cochran at an L.A. Lakers basketball game a few months ago and found the flamboyant lawyer to be in good spirits. "We were praying for him then, and I still am," Simpson said.

Simpson added that he knew Cochran long before he hired the African-American lawyer to lead his 'Dream Team' defense. "I was in social circles with Johnnie and we knew each other in that way," he said.

 

[no1tovote4]

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[Said1]

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???

 

[NATO AIR]

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the black community. He, like so many other successful minorities in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

 

[Johnney]

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the black community. He, like so many other successful minorities in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

and he can get away with murder (well help you get away with murder anyway).
j/k

 

[NATO AIR]

and he can get away with murder (well help you get away with murder anyway).
j/k

with the oj case probably...

but he did right many wrongs over the course of a long career, brought justice and peace to many grieving and saddened families and did his best to help his community and America as a whole

 

[Said1]

with the oj case probably...

but he did right many wrongs over the course of a long career, brought justice and peace to many grieving and saddened families and did his best to help his community and America as a whole

I really don't know much about him (other than his obvious OJ fame), but his ex-wife claims he was a womanizing maniac who beat her senseless.

 

[Merlin1047]

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the black community. He, like so many other successful minorities in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

Say what??? You have GOT to be kidding.

He was an unprincipled lying, cheating whore who cared nothing for truth or justice so long as he notched another win on his briefcase.

Surely there is a special place in hell for scum like him.

 

[NATO AIR]

from MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7330234/

He also represented former Black Panther Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt, who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. When Cochran helped Pratt win his freedom in 1997, he called the moment “the happiest day of my life practicing law.”

He won a $760,000 award in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Ron Settles, a black college football star who died in police custody in 1981. Cochran challenged police claims that Settles hanged himself in jail after a speeding arrest. The player’s body was exhumed, an autopsy performed and it revealed Settles had been choked.

Just two of many cases in which Cochran righted wrongs and brought justice to those wrongfully treated or abused.

 

[William Joyce]

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the black community. He, like so many other successful minorities in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

Can you imagine,

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the white community. He, like so many other successful whites in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

No. You can't.

Cochrane was a fighter for blacks, and only blacks. In fighting for this wonderful people, he represented a string of overfed, spoiled, criminal rapist-murderer-thugs with enough cash to flash to get his services. Cochrane didn't give two shits about whites or blacks who couldn't afford him. He lied. He played the race card. He was a huckster and flim-flammer.

He was piece of shit. He represents everything that's fucked up about our country.

 

[NATO AIR]

Can you imagine,

He was a great lawyer, a great man and a great leader in the white community. He, like so many other successful whites in America, shows that with hard work, discipline and faith, a person (regardless of their race or religion) can succeed and thrive.

No. You can't.

I won't readily respond to your personal attacks on Cochran, but I will respond to this "white people can't make it" bullshit.

ANYONE in America can make it. I don't care what color you are, what religion you are... if you are competent and ready to work, you will find an opportunity to make something of yourself. If you can't find it in the civilian world for whatever strange reason, go into the military and I promise you will have your shot.

One last note: decades ago, whites such as yourself applauded men like Malcom X (who in his heyday before his transformation into something more universal) who demanded black people clean up the black man's home before integrating with whites and others. Cochran, to an extent, determined to give young blacks an opportunity to make something of themselves, determined to take care of black people in trouble, determined to ensure his talents could help blacks.

I have no problem with someone who wants to take "care of their own", as long as they pay their taxes, obey the law and don't become a burden onto society.

 

[William Joyce]

Gee, that's funny, because blacks to this very effing minute are complaining they can't make it because of evil whitey. They demand "civil rights," affirmative action, jobs, welfare, respect, blah blah blah. The truth is that blacks have a lower standard of living because they are less intelligent. That's genetic. That's not whites' fault.

No, NOT anyone can "just make it" in America if they dream a little dream. The rilly-O dilly-O is that your race and ethnicity have a LOT to do with how well you do, for genetic reasons and for social reasons. America is never, ever going to elect an Arab president. I figure that's good. America does not want black airplane pilots. America does not want black heart surgeons.

America will take black lawyers because lawyers don't really do anything important anyway. Nobody's life is ever at stake, and if it is, nobody gives a crap (a guy facing capital punishment, for instance).

 

[NATO AIR]

America does not want black airplane pilots. America does not want black heart surgeons.

Jackass, its funny how my aircraft carrier's air wing has 4 black fighter pilots, of whom, 2 are in the top 3 pilots in the entire air wing based on skill and simulated kills. Considering a significant number of airline pilots are former military pilots, I guess America's skies have been populated by a number of retired military black pilots who get the job done on a regular basis.

And considering the black VA doctor who saved my father's life five years ago by noticing a staph infection no other doctor had seen, I'd say you got a whole lot of people who are very thankful he was treated by a black doctor.

Gimme a break jag-off.

 

[Annie]

Jackass, its funny how my aircraft carrier's air wing has 4 black fighter pilots, of whom, 2 are in the top 3 pilots in the entire air wing based on skill and simulated kills. Gimme a break jackass.

What is it about WJ that brings that out in people? I don't think I've ever seen NATOAIR go off like that!

 

[Yurt]

America does not want black heart surgeons.

).

You funny.

African American Medical Pioneers: Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931)

The son of a barber, Daniel Hale Williams founded the first black-owned hospital in America, and performed the world's first successful heart surgery, in 1893.

Link

Ouch!

 

[007]

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, 67, perhaps best known for his defense of O.J. Simpson, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles.

Boo - frickin' - hoo...

 

[Merlin1047]

ANYONE in America can make it. I don't care what color you are, what religion you are... if you are competent and ready to work, you will find an opportunity to make something of yourself. If you can't find it in the civilian world for whatever strange reason, go into the military and I promise you will have your shot.

I'm going to disagree slightly with that statement. I believe that minorities still have a bit of an uphill battle in the equality of opportunity area. Granted, things have improved a great deal, but we're not where we should be yet.

Cochran, to an extent, determined to give young blacks an opportunity to make something of themselves, determined to take care of black people in trouble, determined to ensure his talents could help blacks.

First, my issue with Cochran is the fact that he is responsible for allowing Simpson to get away with a double murder. Then, after gaining national notoriety, Cochran sold his name to law firms across the country. Those firms could then falsely advertise that Cochran was on staff although he had absolutely nothing to do with any case load of that firm. As far as I'm concerned, Cochran demonstrated that he has no conscience and no ethics. You can look at that any way you want, but that's my take.

Second, if a white lawyer concentrated exclusively on helping white youth, that lawyer would be called a racist. Why then do you apply this double standard to blacks? If a successful black person is going to help his community, shouldn't he offer assistance to everyone? Why is it acceptable to you that blacks engage in exclusionary and discrimnatory practices but if the same were done by a white, you'd be up in the rafters about it?

Here's a thought to consider - discrimination is no longer the sole domain of white America. One thing I have noted over recent years is flagrant black discrimination in hiring practices. The DHR office where my wife used to work had a mix of black and white social workers employed. The mix was roughly representative of the same ratio as the ethnic mix of the community. Then the director retired and a black woman replaced him. In four years (until she was fired) she did not hire a single person who was not black. This is not an isolated incident. Look around at many civil service positions at military bases. Quite frequently if a black person is in charge of the hiring, there is an extremely obvious black hiring bias.

Racism is racism. It doesn't matter who sponsors it. Cochran's assistance to the black community may have been laudatory on some levels, but if he willfully excluded all other ethnic groups, then he was a racist.

The really unfortunate part of all this is that there is no doubt that there will be a backlash to black racism. That reaction will prove to be a substantial set back race relations in this country and black people will suffer because of the discriminatory policies practiced by the most successful and affluent members of the black community.

 

[007]

First, my issue with Cochran is the fact that he is responsible for allowing Simpson to get away with a double murder.

And lets not forget his "black" jury. They are also party to the fact that a black man got away with carving up two white people, and is walking free today.

I've always thought that O.J.'s "white trophy wife" should have grown a brain and looked past the money and fame, and saw the impending danger. She was an ignorant gold digger.

 

[Merlin1047]

And lets not forget his "black" jury. They are also party to the fact that a black man got away with carving up two white people, and is walking free today.

The Simpson jury selection was another circus. It points to the need to reform the jury selection process. When a defendant can bring in a jury selection advisor - that's damned ridiculous. We need to stop letting lawyer play games with stacking the jury. Neither the prosecutor nor the defense should be allowed to see the members of the jury pool. All prospective jurors should fill out a questionnaire and there should be no reference made to age, sex, race or religious affiliation. Lawyers should have to submit questions to prospective jurors in writing and should never see them until jury selection has been completed.

But here are some basic facts on the Simpson jury:

The jury consisted of 10 women and 2 men.
Nine blacks, two whites and one hispanic.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/Jurypage.html
Some other facts about the final jury: (1) None regularly read a newspaper, but eight regularly watch tabloid TV shows, (2) five thought it was sometimes appropriate to use force on a family member, (3) all were Democrats, (4) five reported that they or another family member had had a negative experience with the police, (5) nine thought that Simpson was less likely to be a murderer because he was a professional athlete.

The racial composition of the initial jury pool differed considerably from the racial compostion of the final jury. The pool was 40% white, 28% black, 17% Hispanic, and 15% Asian.

Interesting that all were Democrats. Wonder why????

 

[no1tovote4]

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It was my way of giving a moment of silence...