Johnnie Cochran Died....just in

[mopaul]

[Quakerfriend]

1. Are you serious?

What happened to him?

[ohio_liberal]

5. MSNBC online

has a breaking news banner at the top of the page. Not much info yet. Died after an illness it says.

[whistle]

2. Link and source pls....

[Renew Deal]

15. It's True

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[Radio_Lady]

36. A better web address tonight is...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7330234/

[mopaul]

3. MSNBC....right now

[Catchawave]

12. On Dan Abrams ....

Sweet that he's remembering the OJ days:evilgrin:

Still a surprise, I "heard" it here first, as always!

Thanks DU.

[shelley806]

4. I just heard...any other news? thoughts? etiology?..............nt

[spanone]

6. Some Character. Sorry bout that.

[shelley806]

14. I despise him because of the OJ case...sorry, but I do! nt

[ohio_liberal]

16. Understandable

But he still did some good things.

[Blue_In_AK]

23. And even with O.J., he was just doing his job

And he obviously did it well.

[ohio_liberal]

25. Yes indeed

n/t

[6000eliot]

61. I agree

I'd rather see a guilty person get off than an innocent person go to prison. It's just too bad that so many poor and innocent people didn't have OJ's money and connections.

[shelley806]

26. You are very right...TU for the reminder. nt

[Proud2BAmurkin]

53. Why? The jury are the ones who walked OJ.

:shrug:

[elperromagico]

7. And where was OJ?

HMMM?!?

[DearAbby]

11. On the golf course seaching endlessly for Nicole's murderer

[elperromagico]

24. I think OJ is closely watching this guy:

That feller looks sneaky to me.

[Deja Q]

29. Well, if Cochrane slept with OJ I could see where you're heading here...

:wow:

[Devlzown]

8. They say it was an extended illness.

I didn't even know he was sick.

[shelley806]

9. Extended illness...I'd never heard of that until now..................nt

[displacedtexan]

10. And here I've been deathwatching the wrong people!

Il Papa
Prince Rainier
Jerry Falwell
T. Schiavo

This is sad news, indeed. What an amazing litigator! He freed a murderer (IMHO) by diverting the prosecution's attention to every single detail of the investigation.

[redirish28]

13. I knew he was ill, but...

I didn't know he was that ill.

[shelley806]

22. Just announced it was abrain tumor...either metastatic (most common)

or perhaps GBM (lethal, but if primary brain tumor, common for his age range)

[FreepFryer]

17. Word is, he's gonna appeal by playing the race card (n/t)

[CatWoman]

37. not only is that tasteless and just plain stupid

but completely inappropriate as well.

[FreepFryer]

38. It's called a joke - the guy is dead and I am recalling the main 'issue'..

...he faced in life.

Apparently in this instance, you're not capable of a sense of humor.

[oasis]

39. It's a question of "sensitivity" rather than "sense of humor". I'm from

the old school of showing respect for the departed, especially folks who have performed good works during their lifetime.

[FreepFryer]

40. And I'm from this planet, where people respond to death in many ways.

Some of which may make others uncomfortable.

Please, police yourselves, not others. I cast no aspersions on his character nor did I question his 'destination'... why does it offend you so?

Death is the only thing all living things share in common. To declare it 'off limits' to any response other than yours is foolish.

[oasis]

41. Next time you attend a funeral, be sure to display some of your wit.

Let's see who's foolish then.

[FreepFryer]

42. When I myself grieve, I won't be in the same mood, will I? No.

And I will police myself, according to my mood and the context.

This is a discussion forum, not a mortuary.

Here, conversations are not socially policed the way they are in such circumstances, and you'd do well to remember that 'tolerance' includes tolerance for ideas you find distasteful.

[oasis]

43. Judging from your original post I wasn't sure you knew there was

an appropriate time for cracking jokes. But I'm glad you cleared that up.

[FreepFryer]

44. Wow, you really can't release others from your own need to judge.

It's a pathology not unique to the right wing.

Lenny Bruce
George Carlin
Buddy Hackett
Richard Pryor
Eddie Murphy
Chris Rock
Bill Maher
Bill Hicks

The list of 'inappropriate' comedians goes on and on through history.

I cannot help but conclude that your are afflicted with the current disease 'du jour' - judgmentitis. God, Government, 'public opinion'... anyone can judge us but ourselves.

Read Thoreau.

[oasis]

67. I hereby release you to be as obnoxius as you please. It's easy to

do on the internet. In case you're not sure when and where you should show respect and civility....

Read Emily Post.
:hi:

[FreepFryer]

69. Have a wonderful day. If you'd like, I'd be glad to show you her house.

It's absolutely lovely. I would tell you how I know, but I'd rather keep confidentiality.

And thank you for your consistent arrogance to presume you can 'release' anyone but yourself. It's actually nice and tangy!

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

76. It's not "policing" it's giving an opinion. My opinion is that your

comment is in extreme bad taste. If you don't care for that...feel free to not be part of a message board of opinions. Get a blog.

Thanks

[Bake]

52. Then it's OK if we joke about it when you die.

There is such a thing as propriety. And your comments "just ain't fittin'."

Bake

[FreepFryer]

65. Humorlessness is not a virtue in the service of propriety. And propriety

is a value judgment, not an absolute. Humorlessness about any topic is an unrealistic absolute, given the long history entwining death and comedy.

If you do joke about me when I'm dead, please make it witty and memorable, in the true spirit of the bard.

[Fescue4u]

49. But pretty funny

[RebelOne]

55. Funny? What do you mean by funny?

I don't think death is funny. Please explain yourself.

[FreepFryer]

62. Death has been a core element of comedy since the beginning of man.

[Fescue4u]

75. Explain comedy?

I laughed when I read the joke.

Thats about the best explanation that I can give you without feeling like Im talking to Data on Star Trek.

[RebelOne]

50. I agree with the other posters.

That was a totally tasteless remark.

[FreepFryer]

66. No man can be the arbiter of another's taste. Your opinion is your own.

[AlCzervik]

18. Brain Tumor, just heard msnbc.

[qanda]

19. Rikki Kleiman said he had a brain tumor

[Renew Deal]

20. If the casket doesn't fit...

O8)

[HEyHEY]

21. Of what?

I've not seen anything all day

[shelley806]

31. The reports are of a Brain Tumor...Most common cause in his age is

metastatic cancer from another location to his brain(like lung, liver, GI tract, etc)...if the tumor is primary in the brain, the most common is Glioma, GBM in particular. Because there has been no mention of this to my very limited knowledge!) I would guess it was due to a highly malignant primary brain tumor (GBM) or mets to the brain without possible hope of recovery.

[Career Prole]

27. He exposed Mark Fuhrman as the racist pig he is.

Give him points for that.

[ohio_liberal]

30. And points for trying to crack the NASCAR monopoly

Surely that's worth something?

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:8EDfH4zEAwwJ:insiderracingnews.com/DC/022605.html+johnny+cochran+nascar&hl=en&client=firefox-a

[Deja Q]

28. If the heart's not fit, the life's acquit.

How did he die anyway?

[Kindigger]

32. Wow

That's weird. He was just on TV yesterday. He had won a libel suit against someone...got an injunction that they weren't ever to speak his name again.:wtf:

[Bluebear]

33. Geronimo Pratt

After 27 years granted a new trial. Would surely have been put to death were it not for the bried Death Penalty respite in the 70's. Cochrane will be remembered for this, I hope.

[charlie]

34. Huh

Just read that he tried to prosecute Lenny Bruce for obscenity in 1964. Never knew that.

[ohio_liberal]

35. Yup

Johnny Cochran wasn't the famous Lenny Bruce prosecutor though. The one who put him away was named Hogan. Cochran, when Lenny Bruce was pardoned in 2003, said he was never comfortable with the prosecution. If that makes a difference.

[tsuki]

46. I am old enough not to excuse the "never comfortable with" excuse.

[yankeedem]

45. Did anyone catch this veiled racism in the article?

"Indeed, the verdict had done more than just divide the country along racial lines, with most blacks believing Simpson was innocent and most whites certain he was guilty. "

So blacks "believe" things, but whites are "certain". Hmmmmmm.

File this with whites talking about "articulate" blacks (like Colin Powell) and saying a black co-worker is "one of the good ones".

[Tinoire]

47. Very sad news. n/t

[spanone]

48. kick!

[tammywammy]

51. That's very sad

My condolences to his family.

[solinvictus]

54. No great loss...

he screwed the hell out of Anniston residents in a settlement with Monsanto for long term poisoning of a resedential area. Cochran got about $29 million while the average settlement paid out to families was about $1500. Ironic that he died of cancer, eh? Karma can bite your ass every time.

[Bake]

56. Monsanto settled for over $600 million in the Anniston case

You don't know what you're talking about. There were over 2,500 plaintiffs in that case. And Monsanto settled after getting tired of getting hit with million dollar verdicts day after day.

$30MM/$600MM? Let's see, that's about FIVE PERCENT. Show me ONE LAWYER willing to work on contingency for FIVE PERCENT. There ain't many, if any.

I know. I do PCB litigation. You don't, and you don't know what you're talking about.

Bake

[yankeedem]

57. I found this article

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/03/23/ala_pcb_plaintiffs_angry_with_settlement/

Johnny was only one of the attorneys. The original poster left out the 18,000 plantiffs receiving an average of $7700 each. A pittance, sure, for such a tragedy but $7700 more than Monsanto was offering.

For plantiff attorneys, these cases are like the lottery. If he loses the case, he went to Mississippi, used his time and money for expenses for nothing, and comes out in the hole for several hundred K.

If he wins, he receives a percentage of the settlement. Which, because of the plantiff attorney's work, was HUGE.

[solinvictus]

58. Nope, the initial settlement was reduced and split...

Cochran took about $34 million, Jeri Beazley took about the same, much of it was earmarked for cleanup while the largest settlements to individuals averaged about $7K. Don't preach about the inherent righteousness of Cochran.

[Bake]

59. The whole is is DAMAGES.

Everybody who lives in ANY urban area has some degree of PCB concentration in his/her bloodstream (between 5 and 10 mg/l). Yes, Anniston was bad. That's why Monsanto settled. They had a frickin' PLANT there. They got tired of being hit with million dollar verdicts day after day. The lawyers that represented the plaintiffs had a right to be compensated. They took all the risks of litigation. They fronted the money to sue Corporate America, with no guarantee of winning. They're entitled. You wanna do it on your own? Be my guest.

Are you saying that the cleanup of Anniston is not worth anything?

Bake

[Spencer10]

63. Cochran

While Cochran made me sick to my stomach to look at every time his mug was on TV, which was often back in the mid 90's, I wouldn't wish him to die for it. But to say that it's okay for him to get $34 million and the plaintiffs to get $7,000 is not just a joke but an abomination. I worked for attorneys more years in my life than I care to account for, and I can tell you with outright candor that I never met an honest one. They were nothing more than white collar criminals taken to the highest degree. Some billed 40 hours a day and when confronted with the pesky fact there weren't 40 hours in a day, they laughed and then proceeded to justify the fact with a straight face. I see you did the math on how sad it was Cochran only got 5% of the award for all of his efforts but I haven't seen you doing the math on what the plaintiffs received. Here, let me do it for you. It's .0001166. Now that's sad. Too bad all of Cochran's millions couldn't buy his way out of a brain tumor, much like OJ's millions bought his way out of murder charges.

[Spencer10]

68. Moral Character

And I see he didn't let moral character get in his way either: "His first marriage, to his college sweetheart, Barbara Berry, produced two daughters, Melodie and Tiffany. During their divorce, it came to light that for 10 years Cochran had secretly maintained a "second family," which included a son.

[butchcjg]

73. Talk about generalizations

I would hope that someone on Democratic Underground would be a bit more open minded and not as quick to make such BROAD accusations.

THere are tons and tons of lawyers out there who are outstanding people!! Who do you think has fought and won all the legal battles in this country that has helped advance our laws and give us equal(er) rights???

And, your math is wrong, jerk. *Each* plaintiff got $7000, but there were 2500 of them!

You should be mad at the COMPANY, not the lawyer who helped them win a case they could have never won without his help!

Didn't you ever see Erin Brockovich <G>

[Spencer10]

74. Ta;lk about generalizations too

I've made two posts that you've read and you've now decided I'm a jerk. Okay... but that's a generalization, too. I said I never met an attorney I trusted or liked or whatever I said. I didn't say every single one in the world. Personally, I'll never believe there are tons and tons who are outstanding people. I think there are some. But they weren't in the very, very large law office I worked in. That I can tell you unequivocally. They were all white collar criminals across the board. And when I gave my percentage on the plaintiffs, I meant that was the figure that EACH plaintiff received. If I said it in such a way as to infer that I thought all 2,500 of them split the $7,000, then that is my mistake. And yes, I saw Erin Brockovich. Did the attorney in that case get $34,000,000? I don't think so. And if memory serves me correctly, the plaintiffs in that case didn't win a paltry $7,000 while the attorney walked away with $34,000,000.

[butchcjg]

71. Umm, that's how it works

That's how the litigation system works....the lawyers take a percentage, but they always take a huge risk that they might not win the case and thus will have earned NOTHING at all for all the hours and hours of work. A case like that takes hundreds and hundreds of hours, which could have been billed to someone else at $250+ an hour.

If you wanna be upset about someone making a buck off of nothing - bitch about real estate agents. THey get 6% for doing jack crap!

[Blue_Roses]

60. geeze...I didn't even know he was sick

wow, this is a shock.

[proud2BlibKansan]

64. Karma

his had to be bad.

[butchcjg]

70. re: Karma - dduh

*everyone* dies....
why is his death then bad kharma???

[proud2BlibKansan]

72. It's how he died

that matters.

[ScreamingMeemie]

77. brain tumor? Care to explain how that is karma?

I'm confused as all get out. :shrug:

[oasis]

78. John Candy died in his sleep. He had good karma working for him.

And don't forget folks who get vaporized in explosions. Poof!!! Just like that, you're gone. Good karma is a anice thing to have.

Too bad Johnny didn't accumulate any "good karma" by performing good works in his community.

He's probably roasting in hell for getting O.J. off.:eyes: