Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Johnnie Cochran, U.S. lawyer famous for getting O.J. Simpson acquitted of murder charges in the 1990s, died Tuesday afternoon in his home in Los Angeles, California. He had been suffering from complications of an inoperable brain tumor. “The family of Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. and members of The Cochran Firm are deeply saddened by the passing,” his family said in a statement to the press.