Christopher Darden
Christopher Darden | |
---|---|
University of California, Hastings (JD) | |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1980–present |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Marcia Carter (m. 1997) |
Children | 5 |
Website | www.christopherdardenforjudge.com |
Christopher Allen Darden (born April 7, 1956) is an American lawyer, author, lecturer, and judicial candidate. He worked for 15 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, where he gained national attention as a co-prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case. Darden is currently running for Judge of the Superior Court in Los Angeles County.
Early life and education
Darden was born in
Career
Darden took and passed the California Bar Exam in the summer of 1980. Four months afterward, he was hired at the National Labor Relations Board in Los Angeles. Looking for a career change, he applied for and was hired for a position with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Darden was initially assigned to the Huntington Park office before moving on to Beverly Hills, and finally moved to the Criminal Courts Building (CCB) in downtown Los Angeles in late 1983.[2]
During his tenure as a prosecutor at the CCB, Darden served in the central trials and hard-core gang units before transferring to the Special Investigation Division (SID), which investigates criminal activity by public and law enforcement officials, in February 1988. It was in this position that Darden first met Johnnie Cochran, who represented some victims of alleged police violence.[2] Darden and Cochran became close friends, with Darden seeing Cochran as a mentor figure.
Darden initially became involved in the
Darden left the District Attorney's office after the Simpson case
Darden is a former legal commentator for
Darden is also a writer. In addition to In Contempt,[6] which chronicles his experiences with the Simpson trial, he co-authored (with Dick Lochte) a number of crime novels, including The Trials of Nikki Hill (1999), LA Justice (2000), and The Last Defense (2002).
He appeared on the cover of Newsweek in 1996 with an article "My Case Against O.J.", which addressed his involvement and prosecution of Simpson.[7]
Darden left the law school in 1999 and started his own firm, Darden & Associates, Inc., specializing in
In an interview by Oprah Winfrey that aired February 9, 2006, Darden stated that he still believed Simpson was guilty. He added that he was nearly as disgusted with the perjury of Mark Fuhrman as by the murders of Goldman and Simpson.[9]
On September 6, 2012, Darden accused deceased Simpson defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran of "'manipulating' one of the infamous gloves",[10] a claim Alan Dershowitz has called "a total fabrication", saying, "the defense doesn't get access to evidence except under controlled circumstances."[11]
Darden represented Eric Ronald Holder, Jr. in his arraignment on April 4, 2019. Darden entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Holder, who is accused of murdering Nipsey Hussle.[12][13][14] Darden dropped out of the case May 10, the same day as the court date. Darden received multiple death threats for representing Holder.[15]
As of April 2020[update], Darden is representing a man accused of pulling a knife on a television crew at a
It was reported in August 2020 that Darden would briefly represent Corey Walker for arraignment, the alleged killer of rapper Pop Smoke.[17][18][19]
Personal life
Darden married TV executive Marcia Carter on August 31, 1997.[6] They have three children, with Darden having two children before their marriage.[20]
Honors and awards
- In 1998, Darden received the Crystal Heart Award from Loved Ones of Homicide Victims, an organization devoted to aiding families that have suffered the loss of loved ones as a result of violence.
- In 2000, he was recognized as "Humanitarian of the Year" by Eli Horne, a California shelter for abused children and women.
In popular culture
- Darden incidentally normalized the term O. J. Simpson murder case.[21]
- Darden and Marcia Clark were parodied in the sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
- In The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016), Darden was portrayed by Sterling K. Brown.
- Darden and Marcia Clark were mentioned in the lyrics by T-Mo of the hip-hop group Goodie Mob in the song "Soul Food" with "Fuck Chris Darden, fuck Marcia Clark/Taking us when we're in the spotlight for a joke."
- In 1997, Darden made an appearance on The Howard Stern Show by running the question board for Jeopardy. Also appearing were Geraldo Rivera and Richard Belzer.
- Darden was featured via archive footage in Ezra Edelman's 2016 documentary O.J.: Made in America, which focused on the life and murder trial of O.J. Simpson. Darden was contacted by Edelman to participate in the documentary, but Darden declined.
References
- Biography. Archived from the originalon April 3, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 9780783818580.
- ^ "Attorney Licensee Profile: Christopher Allen Darden #94959". State Bar of California. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
- ^ "Hi Reddit – I am Christopher Darden, Prosecutor on O. J. Simpson's Murder Trial. Ask Me Anything!". Reddit. July 23, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
- ^ "My Conversation with Chris Darden: "The Gloves Were a Hail Mary"". 2 July 2016.
- ^ E! Online. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^ "Newsweek". PastPaper.com. 1995–1999. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- ^ "Ex-O. J. Simpson Prosecutor Christopher Darden Seeking Judgeship". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. December 18, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- Oprah.com. February 9, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ "Ex-prosecutor claims O. J. Simpson attorney tampered with glove". NBC News. Reuters. September 8, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^ "Ex-prosecutor: O. J. Simpson lawyer tampered with glove". USA Today. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- CBS Los Angeles. April 4, 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
- Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
- ^ "Man charged with killing Nipsey Hussle pleads not guilty". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
- ^ Tchekmedyian, Alene (May 10, 2019). "Former O. J. Simpson prosecutor leaves Nipsey Hussle case after threats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
- ^ Sweeney, Don (Apr 21, 2020). "Man pulls knife on journalists covering anti-lockdown protest, California police say". The Sacramento Bee.
- Essence.com. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
- ^ Miss2Bees (August 25, 2020). "O. J. Simpson's Prosecutor, Christopher Darden, to Represent Pop Smoke's Alleged Killer". The Source. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Moorwood, Victoria (August 25, 2020). "O.J. Simpson prosecutor to represent Pop Smoke's alleged killer". Revolt. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
- Huffington Post. January 6, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-27.