section_path: Legal history/Criminal trial for murder/Background
section_name: Background
paragraph_text: Background
  
  The pursuit, arrest, and trial of Simpson were among the most widely publicized events in American history. Simpson's integrated defense counsel team, named the "Dream Team", included Kardashian, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, and Alan Dershowitz. The prosecution for the State of California was led by Marcia Clark and Christopher A. Darden. The judge was Lance Ito. The trial ran from January to October 1995, making it the longest trial in California history. The jury sequestered for 266 days, also the longest in California history. It ended up including 10 Black people in a 12-person jury.
  
  The trial was often characterized as the " trial of the century " because of its international publicity, likened to that of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Lindbergh kidnapping. It was televised via a remote-control camera installed above the jury box, and it increased public interest in reality television and understanding of DNA evidence. It influenced the creation of the LAPD's DNA crime lab, and California added Section 1109 to the state's Evidence Code, "allowing uncharged conduct and other evidence of prior abuse to be shown to jurors in similar cases." Minor figures in the trial became celebrities, such as the resident of Simpson's guesthouse at the time of the murders, Kato Kaelin.
  
  In 1995, while waiting to appear before a jury for his trial hearing, Simpson published the book I Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions, which was intended to be a "self-portrait of mind at this critical time", and included letters he had received while incarcerated. It was produced with Lawrence Schiller.
  
  The pursuit, arrest, and trial of Simpson were among the most widely publicized events in American history. Simpson's integrated defense counsel team, named the "Dream Team", included Kardashian, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, and Alan Dershowitz. The prosecution for the State of California was led by Marcia Clark and Christopher A. Darden. The judge was Lance Ito. The trial ran from January to October 1995, making it the longest trial in California history. The jury sequestered for 266 days, also the longest in California history. It ended up including 10 Black people in a 12-person jury.
  
  The trial was often characterized as the " trial of the century " because of its international publicity, likened to that of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Lindbergh kidnapping. It was televised via a remote-control camera installed above the jury box, and it increased public interest in reality television and understanding of DNA evidence. It influenced the creation of the LAPD's DNA crime lab, and California added Section 1109 to the state's Evidence Code, "allowing uncharged conduct and other evidence of prior abuse to be shown to jurors in similar cases." Minor figures in the trial became celebrities, such as the resident of Simpson's guesthouse at the time of the murders, Kato Kaelin.
  
  In 1995, while waiting to appear before a jury for his trial hearing, Simpson published the book I Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions, which was intended to be a "self-portrait of mind at this critical time", and included letters he had received while incarcerated. It was produced with Lawrence Schiller.