In another high-profile case, Cochran represented Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant sodomized with a broken broomstick by two New York City policemen. The famed attorney succumbs to a brain tumor in Los Angeles. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on October 2, 1937, the great-grandson of a slave, and grew up in a prosperous family. It was Cochran who famously told the jury after Simpson tried on a bloody glove allegedly worn by the killer, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”. "Michael Jackson He passed the California bar in 1963, then took a job in Los Angeles as a deputy city attorney in the criminal division. Hearing of Cochran’s death, Simpson told CNN: “I loved him as a good Christian man. His career was intertwined with celebrities almost from its beginning: Among his early cases was a 1964 effort to prosecute comedian Lenny Bruce on obscenity charges. I knew him as that. While Cochran represented celebrities who included professional football players and rappers, the famed attorney also stuck up for — as one colleague put it — the "common man.". We’re all going to miss him.”. "And I knew that accepting it good-naturedly, even participating in it, helped soothe some of the angry feelings from the Simpson case.". Cochran convinced the jury that race defined the Simpson case and the police investigation against the onetime Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Southern California. He was 67. His skills as an attorney took shape as a child. "It's a sad, sad day.". His father, Johnnie Sr., was an insurance agent with Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, while his mother, Hattie, sold Avon products. CNN's Dree DeClamecy, Stan Wilson and Eric Philips contributed to this story. After graduating from UCLA, Cochran earned a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. 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Cochran represented a Haitian immigrant tortured by New York police, a 19-year-old black woman who was shot a dozen times by police as she sat in a locked car and a white trucker who was videotaped being beaten by a mob during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Cochran also worked on the case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant brutalized by New York City police, and helped win him an $8.75 million settlement. He negotiated a 1993 settlement in a civil lawsuit against pop star Michael Jackson that accused him of child molestation -- a case that has resurfaced in Jackson's current criminal trial on other child molestation charges. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. He lost the case, but the verdict against Pratt was reversed nearly 30 years later. His clients included the family of Tyisha Miller, a 19-year-old black woman shot to death by Riverside police who said she reached for a gun on her lap when they broke her car window in an effort to disarm her. Attorney Johnny Cochran died Monday, March 28, 2005, after an illness. LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, perhaps best known for his successful defense of O.J. What is ballot harvesting — and should you hand your ballot to a stranger? Simpson during a sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous quote "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," died Tuesday. Copyright © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Cochran, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in December 2003, died Tuesday at his home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. "For better or worse, O.J. His current practice, The Cochran Firm, was established in 1981 and has offices in 12 states and the District of Columbia. In his 2002 book, "A Lawyer's Life," Cochran wrote that the case "gave me the platform to try to change some of those things that need to be changed in this country.". At the time, his family requested that the nature of the condition, which was described as not life-threatening, remain private. His family was by his side and he had been in a hospice, Epps said. Hearing of Cochran’s death, Simpson told CNN: “I loved him as a good Christian man. I knew him as that. Election Day could turn into "Election Week" with rise in mail ballots, Charlie Brown holiday specials not on TV this year, A look inside the COVID-19 ward at Wisconsin's largest hospital, What we know – and don't know – about Hunter Biden's alleged laptop, Inside a COVID-19 ward at Wisconsin's largest hospital. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? Diddy” Combs. Simpson, died Tuesday afternoon after suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, his family said. "I've got to say, I don't think I'd be home today without Johnnie," Simpson said by telephone from Florida. Cochran's family and members of his law firm issued a joint statement saying the "world has lost not only a legendary attorney, but an outstanding humanitarian.". Cochran was the lead attorney for Simpson, accused of murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her acquaintance Ron Goldman. I look at Johnnie as a great Christian. And that was precisely the reason I became an attorney," he wrote. He loved to argue, and in high school he excelled in debate. He made his name with a series of high-profile police brutality and criminal cases in the late 1970s and worked as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Simpson said he last saw Cochran at a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game a few months ago and found the flamboyant lawyer to be in good spirits. Last year Cochran was hospitalized for tests and evaluation of a previously diagnosed neurological condition. "The clients I've cared about the most are the No Js, the ones who nobody knows," said Cochran, who proudly displayed copies in his office of the multimillion-dollar checks he won for ordinary citizens who said they were abused by police. Cochran gained early attention as an advocate for victims of police abuse. Get push notifications with news, features and more. "Johnnie Cochran was a true gentleman who embodied class, brilliance, honesty and integrity. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Soon after, jurors found Simpson not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. host = host.toLowerCase(); Cochran came up with the "if it does not fit, you must acquit" phrase in the Simpson trial when the former football player tried on a pair of bloodstained "murder gloves" to show jurors they did not fit.