Why Did Ernie Pelton's Jury Want Simpson's Signature?

Roman Mars says an 18 year old named Ernie Pelton suffered a terrible injury that left him paralyzed. His family sued Rawlings, the helmet manufacturer, for damages. The jury ended up finding that the manufacturer was not responsible.

The case went to court in 1970. During the case, Rawlings pulled out all the stops. One of the legal arguments was that Ernie Pelton had been hit in the chin or somewhere else, so the family could not blame the helmet, because the blow was not a part of his head the helmet was protecting. Rawlings was making all kinds of arguments. To really push the case over the top, Rawlings brought in a star witness, somebody whose good judgment was universally respected, at least at that time. OJ Simpson was a star football player, and the helmet manufacturer got OJ Simpson to be one of their expert witnesses. They brought him in to say he had faith in the Rawlings helmet. The jury actually sent a note to the judge asking for OJ Simpson's signature.

Roman Mars asks what kind of fair trial the Pelton family could possibly get after the jury wanted OJ Simpson's signature. He says the result was unsurprising, perhaps, and the jury found that the manufacturer was not responsible.