Trial of the century

An important element of the SAMVA USA chart is the weak and afflicted condition of the 4th house, which rules social peace. With 4th lord Venus being placed in the 6th house of conflict, the US tends to be a litigious society, with citizens filing suits for most problems large or small. Ketu, the lord of separation and sudden violent events, is also afflicting the 4th house, making racial and ethnic conflict, or stress related to it, a permanent condition of society. While 6th lord Jupiter is strong, well placed and favourably aspected in the 5th house, it is Rahu that also afflicts the 6th house, introducing manipulation in to the indications of this house.
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It is not surprising that the most prominent criminal trial took place in the Ketu major period (April 9, 1989 - April 9, 1996), involving a black celebrity who murdered his white ex-wife and her white friend. While the murders were particularily brutal, the case polarised the black and white communities. A majority of the black community believed Simpson was innocent while the majority of the white community were overwhelmingly convinced of his guilt. Moreover, it was at the outset of the Venus major period (April 9, 1996 - April 9, 2016) that Simpson was sued by the families of the murder victims, resulting in a huge financial settlement being awarded.

O.J. Simpson
O. J. Simpson, born on July 9, 1947, is a famous retired American football player, football broadcaster, spokesman, actor, and convicted felon. Originally attaining a public profile in sports as a running back at the collegiate and professional levels, Simpson was the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a mark he set during the 1973 season. He also holds numerous records in the sport and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Murder (June 12, 1994)
Sometime between 10:15 and 10:40 p.m. on June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally stabbed and killed outside Brown Simpson's condominium in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, California, while her two young children were asleep inside. O. J. and Nicole had divorced two years earlier. Nicole and her friends had been at a restaurant Ronald worked at during the evening and he had come to her home to deliver eyewear she had left there. It so happens that Nicole and Ronald were close friends.

Evidence at the scene led police to suspect that O. J. was the murderer. Nicole had also reported that hed had made threats to her if he found she was seeing another man. She had also complained he was stalking her. He was seen near the house that evening. The story broke the following morning. O.J. Simpson flew to Chicago on the night of the murders but returned to Los Angeles a few days later and was arrested at 8 p.m. on June 17, 1994. This was preceeded by another drama. He failed to turn himself in at 11 a.m. on that day. The police then issued an all points bulletin for his arrest. He was spotted driving with a friend. However, as he was reported to be armed and suicidal, the car he was in was followed by patrol cars for several hours in a slow speed car chase that was broadcast via helicopter news crew on national television. Finally, O.J. Simpson gave himself in.

Astrology of the event
At the time of the muders, the Ketu – Saturn period was operating. Moreover, natal Ketu was in the most effective point of the 4th house from where it was closely afflicting transit stationary 8th lord Saturn in the MEP of the 8th house. Such a close fit is unusual and fits the crime very well -but more importantly it reflects the huge impact the event had. There were other placements operative at that time, but this was the defining influence in the horoscope of the USA for this event.

Criminal case (Jan. 25 – Oct. 3, 1995)
At his arraignment, Simpson pleaded not guilty to both murders. There were problems putting together a workable grand jury due to the excessive media coverage and public statements already made by the jurors in relation to the case. The initial jury was therefore dismissed. At his second court arraignment on July 29, Simpson pleaded “Absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty." After extensive interviewing, a new grand jury was selected on November 3, 1994. The trial, which began on January 25, 1995, included 134 days of televised testimony. The prosecution elected not to ask for the death penalty and instead sought a life sentence. The TV exposure made celebrities of many of the figures in the trial, including Judge Lance Ito. The prosecution argued that Simpson killed his ex-wife in a jealous rage. Despite a mountain of evidence, Simpson‘s top-notch defense team was able to introduce doubt into the jurors minds about his guilt. The trial ended at 10:07 a.m. on October 3, 1995, after only four hours of deliberation the previous day, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. This court case is now referred to as the trial of the century.
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Astrology of the trial
Prior to the start of the trial transit Ketu had been stationary exactly conjunct the MEP of the 10th house of publicity. A strange event was unfolding in the national life. On the first day of the trial, the nodal axis was conjunct the natal nodal axis, during the Ketu major period, signifying the dramatic and likely painful event to watch. As the trial unfolded, transit 6th lord Jupiter became stationary in the MEP of the 5th house, signifiying that a trial had become the main entertainment event in the national life. With natal Rahu and transit Rahu also prominently placed, the trial represented a lot of manipulation by the opposing legal teams, including claims by Simpson's lawyers of manipulation by the police of evidence at the murder scene. When the trial closed, transit Jupiter was conjunct natal Saturn, as 8th lord of obstacles and endings, signifying a closure for the criminal trial.

Civil law suit (Aug. 23, 1996 – Feb. 5, 1997)
While Simpson had been cleared of criminal charges in the trial and could not be tried for them again, it was still possible to charge him in a civil suit. The parents of Ronald Goldman brought suit against Simpson for wrongful death, and Brown's estate, represented by her father brought suit against Simpson in a "survivor suit", in a trial that took place over four months in Santa Monica and was not televised. O.J. Simpson did not actively defend himself in the trial and on February 5, 1997 a civil jury in Santa Monica, California unanimously found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of and battery against Goldman, and battery against Brown. The jury in the civil trial awarded Brown and Simpson's children, $12.5 million from their father as recipients of their mother's estate. The victims' families were awarded $33.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Simpson came under fire following the civil verdict for "dodging" the jury's award against him by allegedly hiding assets from the Goldman family. To date he has paid little of the judgment.
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Astrology of the civil suit
At the time the civil trial began, the major period had shifted to that of Venus, whose placement in the chart embodies the litigious nature of US society. The sub-period of Venus was therefore also running, making the influence even more pronounced. Not surprisingly, the trial received far less exposure than the criminal case, as it was not televised. That said, O.J. Simpson was found guilty and ordered to pay a large sum of damages for the deaths, which is highly consistent with the dual Venus period.
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Conclusion
The events and their influence are highly consistent with the major periods being those of Ketu and Venus. The shift in the emphasis from a criminal trial to a financial trial fits the period change very well. Moreover, it is amazing that the crime involved people of different racial backgrounds and that the verdict of the criminal trial would polarise communities of those racial backgrounds during the Ketu major period. Given the natal configuration, mentioned at the outset, it is no surprise that such an event took place during these planetary periods and caught the attention of the nation and, in fact, the whole world.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case
http://edition.cnn.com/US/OJ/index.html