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Johnny
Cochran
World
Biography:
Johnny
Cochran
Name:
Johnny Cochran
Born:
October 2, 1937
Died:
March 29, 2005, of a brain
tumor
Photo:photo
by Vince Bucci Johnny
Cochran tries on the infamous gloves at
the Simpson Trial in
1995.
Birthplace:
Shreveport,
Louisiana
Education:
University
of California at Los Angeles (B.S.
in Business Administration, 1959); ;
law degree-Loyola Marymount
University (J.D., 1962)
Occupation:
Attorney
Career
History:
Cochran
served as a prosecutor in Los
Angeles for two years and rose to
the position of Assistant District
Attorney for Los Angeles County
before beginning his own legal
practice. His law firm specialized
in personal injury and tort cases,
especially those involving alleged
police brutality against
African-Americans. In the 1990s, he
became best known as a defense
attorney representing such celebrity
defendants as OJ Simpson, Michael
Jackson, and Sean Combs (AKA Puff
Daddy; P. Diddy).
Outside
of the courts, he also served as a
broadcaster for CourtTV and as an
expert for NBC.
Accomplishments:
Johnny
Cochran's famous "If it doesn't fit,
you must acquit" line in the OJ
Simpson trial in 1995 is considered
by many to be the key moment in the
acquittal of his client from murder
charges.
Publications:
A
Lawyer's Life (Cochran, Johnny;
Fisher, David. New York, NY,: St.
Martin's Press, 2002)
Journey
to Justice (Cochran, Johnny;
Rutten, Tim. New York, NY,:
Ballentine Books,
1997)
Awards:
Criminal
Trial Lawyer of the Year, Los
Angeles Criminal Courts Bar
Association, 1977;
Pioneer
of Black Legal Leadership Award, Los
Angeles Brotherhood Crusade, August,
1979;
Outstanding
Law Enforcement Office of 1979,
California
Trial Lawyers Association; Trial
Lawyer of the Year, Hon. Loren
Miller Award, John M. Langston Bar
Association, 1982-1983;
Equal
Justice in Law Award, Legal Defense
Fund, National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People;
Distinguished Alumni Award, UCLA
Black Alumni Association, March,
1988;
Alumni
Award of Excellence in Professional
Achievement, UCLA, June,
1988;
Outstanding
Criminal Defense Attorneys, Southern
California, July, 1989;
1995
National Law Journal Trial Lawyer of
the Year.
Worked/Collaborated
With:
Lance Ito (in the L.A. Prosecutor's
office),
Robert
Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, Alan
Dershowitz, Barry Scheck (all on the
Simpson trial), Benjamin Brafman (Combs
trial)
Served
as the Attorney
For:
Reginald Denny, Abner Louima, Elmer
"Geronimo" Pratt (a former member of
the Black Panther Party), Todd Bridges,
James Brown, Angela Igwe, and Cynthia
Wiggins, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson,
Sean Combs, and Kadiatou Diallo, the
mother of Amadou Diallo, the Haitian
immigrant shot by four New York City
police officers in 1999.
Sources:
The
Cochran Firm-http://www.thecochranfirm.com/_national/profiles_johnniecochran.html
Johnny
Cochran
Biography--http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/Cochran.htm
New
York Times
Obituary--http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/national/30cochran.html?hp
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