YOUR article 'America' (Sunday Morning Post, March 5) was wrong on two counts. The writer said that the judge at the O.J. Simpson trial, Lance Ito, 'sometimes tells jokes that brings the house down' and that the classic one came when, imploring the jury to avoid television newscasts, he suggested they stick to The Simpsons, - 'the cartoon show, that is'.
The reference to The Simpsons was not meant to be a joke and Judge Ito was not addressing the jury when he made it. The remark came on the second day of jury selection on September 27 last year. Judge Ito was asking prospective jurors to try to avoid reading or watching media reports about the case, an almost impossible task in the light of the pervasive coverage provided by the print and broadcast outlets.
When the judge repeated his request, one potential juror laughed out loud. 'When you see it on TV, switch to The Simpsons,' Judge Ito said in all seriousness, pausing when he realised his inadvertent reference to the accused, who was present at the hearing. 'The TV show, I mean,' he quickly added.
K.Y. TSUI Kowloon Tong
