Kriti Mehrotra
It was in the mid-1990s when the entire world turned upside down for Christopher Allen Darden as he found himself in the limelight as a co-prosecutor in the trial of O. J. Simpson for murder. The truth is, as explored in Netflix’s ‘American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson,’ he had been with the District Attorney’s office for nearly 15 years, yet many still believed he was put on this case owing to his race. He never wanted this ordeal to be about the color of one’s skin since two innocent lives were lost – that of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman – which is why he left once it was over.
Christopher Darden Has Invariably Wanted to Fight For the Truth
Born on April 7, 1956, in Richmond, California, as the fourth of eight siblings, Christopher began developing some key life skills when he was just a young boy, considering his loud surroundings. That’s how he gradually discovered the field of law before falling in love with it, driving him to enroll at San Jose State University for a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice as soon as he graduated from high school. He earned his degree in 1977 while also being a member of the Alpha PhiAlpha Fraternity as well as a track and field star, yet he still chose to follow the path he had long chosen for himself.
Christopher actually joined the University of California-College of the Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) in 1977 itself to pursue a Juris Doctorate, which he did in 1980 without any issues. That’s also the same year he took and passed the California Bar Exam, unaware he would soon get the opportunity to serve at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Los Angeles. However, by the time 1981 rolled around, he knew he wanted to work alongside people in felony cases, leading to him evolving into a Deputy DA for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Christopher Darden Was a Key Part of the OJ Simpson Trial
From the moment Christopher became a prosecutor, he started proving his mettle by working on cases involving not only homicides, drugs, and gangs but also the public or law enforcement officials. In fact, he was initially assigned to the Huntington Park office, but once results came through, he was moved to Beverly Hills before he eventually landed a spot in the Criminal Courts Building. It was here that he spread his wings from central trials as well as gang units to the Special Investigation Division, where he first came across his mentor, attorney Johnnie Lee Cochran.
Little did Christopher know he would go head-to-head against his mentor-turned-friend less than 6 years later in the OJ Simpson case because Johnnie had been hired as a defense attorney. During this period, their alleged friendship was affected a lot, especially since race was brought up by the latter at almost every turn while the co-prosecutors were hoping to largely stay away from it. That’s especially because the young lawyer was practically called a racist apologizer in court owing to his remarks backing alleged racist Mark Fuhr man as an LAPD Detective, per the Netflix show.
As if that’s not enough, some of Christopher’s ensuing strategies also gave way to controversy, with the most prominent one being his having the defendant try on the infamous gloves. There were two bloody gloves recovered during the investigation into Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s murder – one at the crime scene and the other outside OJ’s estate. All three of their blood was on these gloves, so it was claimed OJ wore them while allegedly committing the crime, but they didn’t fit him in court as he had to wear latex underneath to preserve the evidence in itself.
Christopher Darden is Still an Attorney, Yet on the Other Side
In the end, on October 3, 1995, the jury of ten women plus two men, of whom nine were black, two were white, and one was Hispanic, acquitted OJ Simpson of both counts of capital murder for good. This shattered Christopher because he felt in his heart things could have gone a lot better, so he believed he failed Nicole, Ronald, as well as their families, which is something he carries to this day. Even today, he wholeheartedly believes the former NFL athlete was guilty of the brutal double homicide. Therefore, once all the proceedings had concluded, he resigned from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and soon found himself joining Southwestern Law School as a full-time Professor.
It was while Christopher was teaching criminal procedure and trial advocacy to aspiring young lawyers that he realized he still wanted to practice in the field, albeit on a different level than before. Therefore, following a bit of experience, he established The Darden Law Group in Los Angeles in 1997, through which he now serves as a Criminal Defense Attorney specializing in all sorts of cases. Whether it be murders or gang-related ordeals, narcotics of any and all levels, or white-collar incidents, he has gradually evolved into a specialist in them all, making him one of the best.
Christopher Darden Has Embraced Many Roles Over the Years
We should mention that apart from being an active lawyer, Christopher is also an adjunct professor, an author, a former legal commentator, a family man, as well as an aspiring Superior Court Judge. He had actually left his position at Southwestern Law School in 2000 to focus on his firm, only to take up an Adjunct Professor vacancy at Santa Monica College long after he had settled down in 2018. The 68-year-old still holds this title today, all the while also aspiring to now be a judge. He was considered for a judgeship by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in late 2007, but it was only in 2024 that he unsuccessfully ran to have this rank in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
It’s imperative to note that Christopher is even a writer. He penned his experiences from the OJ Simpson trial in ‘In Contempt’ (1996), and he has since co-authored several crime novels like ‘The Trials of Nikki Hill’ (1999), ‘LA Justice’ (2000), as well as ‘The Last Defense’ (2002). Moreover, this high-profile defense attorney has served as an expert on many programs across numerous networks nationwide, such as CNBC, CNN, Court TV, Fox News, and NBC, which has only propelled his career further. Though arguably the most impressive thing about all this is that he has done so while maintaining a great relationship with his family — his two older children, wife, television executive Marcia Carter (since 1997), and the three kids they share.
Read More: Dennis Fung: What Happened to the Criminalist in the OJ Simpson Case?
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