William Hodgman (born December 14, 1952) is an American lawyer and prosecutor. He served as a prosecutor during the O. J. Simpson murder trial, a role in which he gained international attention. He also served as the Assistant District Attorney for line operations in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.

Early life

Hodgman was born and raised in

La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north o ...

, a suburban community in southern California. He is the oldest of four children. He graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and then the

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

in 1978.

Career

Upon graduation from law school, Hodgman started his career as a junior prosecutor in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. He was officially hired by

Johnnie Cochran Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. (; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal ...

, who was the Assistant District Attorney of Los Angeles, at the time. In 1982, Hodgman left the Los Angeles District Attorney's office to work in private practice at a local law firm. However, after just one year, he returned to the District Attorney's office. Hodgman was the lead attorney in the prosecution of

Charles Keating Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan sca ...

, who was convicted for fraud. As a result of his work, he was awarded with the 1992 Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year by the California District Attorneys Association and the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys. In 1993, Hodgman led the investigation into the child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson. Hodgman was assigned to be a co-prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial and was present during opening statements. However, during a meeting with other prosecutors, he began to suffer from chest pains and collapsed. Hodgman was rushed to the hospital and his condition was attributed to stress from his case. Testing at the hospital also revealed that he had a chronic heart defect. Hodgman did not return to the O.J. Simpson trial and was replaced by

Chris Darden Christopher Allen Darden (born April 7, 1956) is an American lawyer, author, actor, and lecturer. He worked for 15 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, where he gained national attention as a co-prosecutor in the O. J. S ...

as the co-prosecutor. Hodgman successfully prosecuted rapper Suge Knight for a probation violation in 1997. Hodgman served as the Assistant District Attorney for line operations in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office until 2019 when he retired after 40 years working with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.

In popular culture

Hodgman is played by

Christian Clemenson Christian Dayton Clemenson (born March 17, 1958) is an American film and television actor. He is well known for his portrayal of Jerry "Hands" Espenson in the television series ''Boston Legal'', for which he was nominated for three Emmy Awards a ...

in the 2016 television series '' The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story''.

Personal life

Hodgman is married and has a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgman, William American prosecutors 1952 births California lawyers Living people O. J. Simpson murder case University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers People from La Habra, California