O.J. Simpson's attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., March 29

Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the masterful attorney who gained prominence as an early advocate for victims of police abuse before achieving worldwide fame for successfully defending football star O.J. Simpson against murder charges, died Tuesday, March 29, 2005. He was 67. Cochran died at his home in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles of an inoperable brain tumor, according to his brother-in-law Bill Baker. At the time of his death he presided over a law firm with offices all over the country, including one recently opened at 100 SE Second St. in Miami. Here, Cochran puts on a pair of gloves Sept. 27, 1995, to remind the jury in the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial that the gloves Simpson tried on did not fit him. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.," the lawyer argued in his most famous line to the jury. The jury agreed and later freed Simpson.

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( AP/ Vince Bucci, pool, file / March 30, 2005 )

Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the masterful attorney who gained prominence as an early advocate for victims of police abuse before achieving worldwide fame for successfully defending football star O.J. Simpson against murder charges, died Tuesday, March 29, 2005. He was 67. Cochran died at his home in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles of an inoperable brain tumor, according to his brother-in-law Bill Baker. At the time of his death he presided over a law firm with offices all over the country, including one recently opened at 100 SE Second St. in Miami. Here, Cochran puts on a pair of gloves Sept. 27, 1995, to remind the jury in the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial that the gloves Simpson tried on did not fit him. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.," the lawyer argued in his most famous line to the jury. The jury agreed and later freed Simpson.