Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. was born on 2 October 1937, in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, and is a lawyer, best known for being the defense lawyer of OJ Simpson during his trial when charged with the murder of his wife. He has also represented a lot of big names in the entertainment industry, and all of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it stood when he passed away in 2005.
How rich was Johnnie Cochran? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that was at $8 million, mostly earned through a successful career as a lawyer. He worked with many high profile names, including Jim Brown, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jackson, and Geronimo Pratt. He was well known for his skills in the courtroom, and his stand against police brutality. All of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Johnnie Cochran Net Worth $8 million
Cochran attended Los Angeles High School, and in 1955 matriculated at the top of his class. He went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a degree in business economics, then in 1962 he received a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. According to reports, Johnnie was inspired by Thurgood Marshall’s victory in “Brown v. Board of Education” and this led to him pursuing law. After passing the California bar, he took a job as a deputy city attorney focused on criminal activities. During his time there, he got his first celebrity case with Lenny Bruce, who was arrested because of obscenity. Two years later, he went into private practice and started his own firm called Cochran, Atkins & Evans. One of his first notable cases was against several police officers charged with the murder of Leonard Deadwyler. Despite losing the case, he was able to change many things concerning the black community, after which he was involved with a number of criminal and police brutality cases.
In 1978, he returned to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office to become the first black assistant district attorney. After staying there for five years, he resigned to establish the Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. law firm, but after winning $760,000 for a case involving Ron Settles, he expanded to Cochran, Mitchell & Jenna, and later Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith. His offices were growing in size as a result of his successes in court, and his growing net worth led to him owning a Jaguar and Rolls-Royce cars, two apartments in West Hollywood, and homes in Los Angeles.
One of his most notable cases was defending OJ Simpson accused of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. He used the phrase “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” for evidence of a bloodstained glove that didn’t fit Simpson. He also brought out the issue of race which led to criticisms. He then represented Abner Louima who was sodomized with a plunger by police, and helped him get $8.75 million, making it the largest police brutality settlement in New York City. In 2001, he represented Sean ‘P. Diddy‘ Combs on stolen weapons charges and bribery, which led to an acquittal. Combs would be the last criminal case he represented.
For his personal life, it is known that Johnnie was married to Barbara Berry Cochran from 1960 to 1977. He was then married to Sylvia Dale from 1985 until his death. He had three children from his marriages. In 2003, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that eventually led to his death in March 2005.
[To the jury of the O.J. Simpson murder case, referring to police corruption in his closing arguments] who then "polices" the police? You police the police.
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[on wining the OJ Simpson case] We fought all the battles, we fought by their rules and we won.
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[Referring to the black gloves found at the crime scene] If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
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Fact
1
Has represented many high profile clients such as actor Todd Bridges, singer Michael Jackson, rappers Tupac Shakur, Sean Combs, Snoop Dogg, heavyweight championship boxer Riddick Bowe, and athlete Marion Jones.
2
[During the OJ Simpson murder trial] the media gave their defense team the nickname "The "Dream Team" because the team consisted of prominent lawyers such as F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian and Alan Dershowitz., all led by Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.
3
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 87-89. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
Known in Los Angeles as a brilliant trial attorney at the start of the 1990s, Cochran reportedly received only $100,000 of the multi-million dollar fee paid by O.J. Simpson to attorney Robert Shapiro. Shapiro acted as a broker for the defense, assembling the defense team and bringing in Cochran, F. Lee Bailey and Barry Scheck, all of whom helped save Simpson from what seemed, at first, to be a sure conviction for murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Though his fee was relatively small, the publicity generated by the trial was enormous, and before the trial ended with an acquittal, Cochran was world famous.
6
He was the basis for Jackie Chiles, the flashy lawyer played by Phil Morris on the TV series Seinfeld (1990). Even the initials are the same.
7
His catchphrase in the Simpson trial, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," became famous over the years. It derived from a dramatic moment during which Simpson tried on a pair of bloodstained "murder gloves" to show jurors they did not fit.
8
Was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
9
Graduated from UCLA; law degree from Loyola Marymount University.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Showtime
2002
Johnnie Cochran, ReRun's Lawyer
JAG
2000
TV Series
Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1999
TV Series
Foxy Woxy
Arli$$
1998
TV Series
Johnnie Cochran
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Morning Breath
2002
Short executive producer
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Woman Thou Art Loosed
2004
financier - as Johnnie Cochran
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Ebony/Jet Showcase
1987
TV Series
Himself
Access Hollywood
2004
TV Series
Himself
Larry King Live
1995-2004
TV Series
Himself
Saturday Night Live
2003
TV Series
Himself - Audience Member
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
TV Series
Himself
3rd Annual BET Awards
2003
TV Special documentary
Himself
Pete Rose on Trial
2003
TV Movie documentary
Defense attorney
2003 Trumpet Awards
2003
TV Special
Himself
Last Call with Carson Daly
2002
TV Series
Himself
2nd Annual BET Awards
2002
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Jim Brown: All American
2002
TV Movie documentary
Himself (Attorney)
HBO First Look
2002
TV Series documentary
Himself
Biography
2002
TV Series documentary
Himself
First Monday
2002
TV Series
Himself
Soul Food
2001
TV Series
Himself
Journeys in Black
2001
TV Series documentary
Himself
60 Minutes
2000
TV Series documentary
Himself - Attorney (segment "Officer Young")
The Hughleys
1999-2000
TV Series
Himself
Bamboozled
2000
Himself
American Justice
2000
TV Series documentary
Himself
Absolutely 100% Guilty
1999
Video documentary
Himself (as Johnny Cochrane)
The Roseanne Show
1999
TV Series
Himself
1999 Essence Awards
1999
TV Special
Himself
CHiPs '99
1998
TV Movie
Himself
E! True Hollywood Story
1998
TV Series documentary
HImself
The Chris Rock Show
1997-1998
TV Series
Himself
Family Matters
1998
TV Series
Himself
The 1998 Soul Train Christmas Starfest
1998
TV Movie
Himself (as Johnnie Cochran)
Howard Stern
1996
TV Series
Himself
Martin
1996
TV Series
Himself
The Caleb Crump Show
1996
TV Series
Himself (1997)
The Trial of O.J. Simpson
1995
TV Movie documentary
Himself (as Johnnie Cochran)
The 9th Annual Soul Train Music Awards
1995
TV Special
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey
2016
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Dateline NBC
2016
TV Series documentary
Himself
Kardashian: The Man Who Saved OJ Simpson
2016
TV Movie
Himself (as Johnnie Cochran)
Entertainment Tonight
2016
TV Series
Himself
20/20
2015
TV Series documentary
Himself - Lawyer
Autopsy: The Last Hours Of
2015
TV Series
Himself
Inside Edition
2014
TV Series documentary
Himself
On the Record w/ Brit Hume
2014
TV Series
Himself
Mad As Hell
2014
Documentary
Himself
The O.J. Simpson Trial: Where Are They Now?
2014
TV Movie
Himself
True Crime with Aphrodite Jones
2010
TV Series documentary
Himself
Medium
2009
TV Series
Himself
Biography
2009
TV Series documentary
Himself
The O'Reilly Factor
2008
TV Series
Himself
E! True Hollywood Story
2006-2008
TV Series documentary
Himself
4Chosen: The Documentary
2008
Documentary
Himself
California Bail Bonds
2007
Documentary short
Himself
Anything to Win
2006
TV Series documentary
Himself
Frontline
2001-2005
TV Series documentary
Himself
Michael Jackson's Boys
2005
TV Movie documentary
Himself (as Johnny Cochrane)
The N Word
2004
Documentary
Himself
60 Minutes
2001
TV Series documentary
Himself - Attorney (segment "Officer Young")
The Simpsons
2001
TV Series
Himself
The Natural History of the Chicken
2000
Documentary
Himself
The Larry Sanders Show
1995
TV Series
Himself
Known for movies
Bamboozled (2000) as Himself
CHiPs '99 (1998) as Himself
Pete Rose on Trial (2003) as Defense attorney
Jim Brown: All American (2002) as Himself (Attorney)