Simpson jurors seek answers in mound of evidence

In this story:

• Reexamining the testimony
• Enlarged photos of blood stains
• Taking care of business
• Difficult tour of duty
• Related sites and stories

SANTA MONICA, California (CNN) -- Intent on scrutinizing the evidence, jurors deliberating Thursday in O.J. Simpson's civil trial asked to see DNA test strips, photographs and videotapes.

They apparently are focusing on whether the defense claim could be true: that investigators planted or contaminated blood samples to frame the former football hero for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

Meanwhile, two jurors from Simpson's criminal trial and an entertainment agent were being investigated for allegedly contacting jurors in the civil trial, sources told The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, but is defending himself in a lawsuit filed by families of the victims, who claim he is responsible for the slayings.

Reexamining the testimony

Jurors adjourned Thursday night after completing their second full day of deliberations. They appeared relaxed earlier in the day as they asked to replay some of the testimony from Gary Sims, a senior criminologist for the California Department of Justice.

Sims spoke about blood samples taken from victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman; his opinion was that the samples were not contaminated.

The jury also asked to see videotapes of Los Angeles Police Department Criminologist Dennis Fung and his assistant, Andrea Mazzola, handling Simpson's blood sample and a bag containing a bloody glove found behind Simpson's estate.

Another videotape requested by jurors showed the interior of Simpson's bedroom, which showed the layout of the room -- and no socks.

The defense claimed that proved that bloody socks found there were planted, but the plaintiffs said it only meant the socks had already been collected as evidence when the video was taken.

Enlarged photos of blood stains

Also Thursday, the jury asked to see enlarged photos of blood stains found on the rear gate at Nicole Simpson's condominium that matched Simpson's blood. Defense attorneys claim the stains were planted by police.

Jurors also sought photographs of the victims, who were murdered outside the condo. In addition, the jury requested an exhibit of tiny paper strips displaying the results of DNA testing.

It shows that blood found on the console of O.J. Simpson's Bronco apparently matched the DNA of Simpson and Goldman. The evidence board also shows results of a DNA analysis that concluded that a single drop of blood found at the crime scene matched Simpson's DNA type.

Taking care of business

Earlier in the day, CNN learned the jury had chosen as its foreman a white male, believed to be in his late 50s or early 60s, whose father was a policeman. The man has a background working with technical information and is believed to have retired from a corporate job to do consulting.

The jury foreman said in a pretrial questionnaire that Simpson might be guilty of murder, but "the prosecution failed to prove its case" during the criminal trial.

He said physical force cannot be justified, but he did not link domestic violence to murder. He also said interracial marriage is "impractical" because it can pose problems.

Difficult tour of duty

The jury of nine whites, one Hispanic, one black and an Asian-black, armed with a stack of notebooks and more than 600 pieces of evidence, has a complicated task.

First, they must decide if Simpson "willfully and wrongfully" caused Goldman's death. If the answer is yes, they must then decide if he committed "battery" against Goldman and if that was accompanied by "malice" and "oppression."

But the jurors are not being asked to say whether Simpson caused the death of his ex-wife. Instead they are being asked to find if he battered her in the deadly attack and if oppression and malice were involved.

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