ABSTRACT

Prosecutors have long tried to demonstrate that criminal defendants had the motive, ability, and opportunity to commit the crime of which they are accused. For example, in the infamous O. J. Simpson trial, prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden went to great lengths to document the accused's history of spousal abuse and jealousy (motive), to demonstrate his general physical fitness on a videotape (ability), and to establish a time line that made it possible for Simpson to have committed the crime (opportunity). Although this strategy failed to win a conviction in the Simpson case for a variety of other reasons (see Cowan & Fairchild, 1997), it would appear to be a sound legal strategy.