Former O.J. Simpson prosecutor seeking election to judge

by Elka Worner

Former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden faced the jury in a largely empty Torrance courtroom to give his opening statements in a murder trial last month.

Unlike his opening statements in the “Trial of the Century,” viewed by millions of people around the world, there were no television cameras, legions of reporters or families of the victims in this courtroom. Just 12 jurors, four alternates, the prosecutor and judge.

Darden became one of the most famous prosecutors in the country during the 1995 failed prosecution of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his wife and her friend. After the trial, he left the District Attorney’s Office and began working on the other side of the counsel table, as a defense attorney, specializing in white-collar crimes, drug and gang cases and homicides. 

Now he’s running for Los Angeles County judge in the March 5, 2024, election. His opponents are Deputy District Attorney Osman Taher, and defense attorney Carlos Dammeier. They are seeking to replace Judge Brian Yep, who is retiring.

“I have four times the experience of my opponents, 43 years in the criminal justice system,” Darden said. “I’ve protected the rights of victims and defended the rights of those charged, which prepares me to be a fair-minded jurist.”

His experience and command of the courtroom were on display in the Torrance trial of Steven Stewart, who supplied marijuana to dispensaries. He was accused of killing his business partner. “The evidence will show that this was not a murder, but that Mr. Stevens acted in perfect self-defense,” Darden argued before the jury. “If a man pulls out a pistol, you don’t have to wait for him to blow your head off. The evidence will show it was either him (Stevens) or the decedent.”

Darden’s street smart, no nonsense courtroom demeanor resonated with the jury, which acquitted his client.

The Richmond, California native began his career as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Los Angeles. He then joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. At the age of 27, he was promoted to the Hard Core Gang Division, handling murder trials in which witnesses often refused to testify.

“It was the wild, wild west in the 1980s,” he said of the Crip, Blood, Latino and Asian gangs terrorizing Southland neighborhoods. “I loved being in front of a jury and fighting for the victims of crime.”

The former gang prosecutor also lent his support to the crime victims’ group “Loved Ones of Homicide Victims,” which provides counseling and burial assistance to families of homicide victims.

Darden was prosecuting public corruption and police officer-involved shootings in the elite Special Investigations Division when he was recruited for the O.J. Simpson murder trial. He is perhaps most remembered for having Simpson try on a pair of gloves found at the murder scene. They didn’t fit, and the decision to have Simpson try on the gloves was hailed by legal pundits as a tactical error that cost the prosecution the case.

“It’s in the past. What more can be said about that trial that hasn’t already been said,” he said.

After leaving the DA’s office, Darden wrote a best-selling book “In Contempt,” a behind the scenes look at the O.J. Simpson trial. He also taught at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, before returning to his roots as a trial attorney.

“I missed the courtroom. I had to get back to trying cases,” he said.

When the 67-year-old lawyer was asked why he would be running for judge at an age when most judges and attorneys are retiring, he said the time was right for him.

“I’ve been thinking of running for the past 20 years,” Darden said. “I have made the practice and study of the law a lifetime endeavor and will seek justice in every case.”

Darden has received the endorsement of Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the O.J. Simpson trial, and his former boss, Deputy District Attorney Gil Garcetti.

“Chris and I have known each other for decades, and I have no doubt he has the temperament, judgment, and legal skills to be an outstanding Judge of the Superior Court,” Garcetti said. ER