THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Heading to Trial

Here are some key dates in the O.J. Simpson double murder case:

JUNE

13) The bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and Ronald Lyle Goldman, 25, are found after midnight, outside Nicole Simpson’s Brentwood townhouse.

14) Law enforcement sources say that pieces of physical evidence--including bloodstains found on Simpson’s car and driveway, as well as bloodstained gloves found at the murder scene and on his property--link Simpson to the slayings.

17) After failing to surrender and then leading police on an internationally televised slow-speed pursuit, Simpson is arrested and charged in the murders.

JULY

8) Judge orders Simpson to stand trail at the close of a six-day preliminary hearing. Charges include special circumstances, which carry the death penalty.

22) Simpson proclaims that he is “absolutely, 100% not guilty,” but is ordered held without bail pending his trial. Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito is assigned to the case and attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. joins defense team.

25) Prosecutors win the right to begin subjecting blood samples to DNA tests.

AUGUST

22) Although still incomplete, DNA test results suggest that Simpson’s blood was found at the murder scene.

31) Judge rules defense team will not be allowed to review the personnel records of four Los Angeles police detectives because they are not relevant.

SEPTEMBER

9) Prosecutors announce that they will not seek the death penalty against Simpson and instead will ask that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted.

19) Judge refused to dismiss the murder charges, rejecting defense arguments that Simpson was victimized by sloppy police work and illegally obtained evidence.

26) Trial officially opens with the start of jury selection.

OCTOBER

5) Judge rejects defense bid to bar seized evidence of bloody glove and blood recovered from Simpson’s driveway.

12) Oral questioning of prospective jurors begins.

17) Ito halts jury selection when Faye Resnick’s book about Nicole Brown, “The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted,” hits bookstores.

18) Judge imposes strict admonition directing potential jurors to avoid all television and radio broadcasts, newspapers and magazines and to stay out of all bookstores.

NOVEMBER

3) A predominantly black group of eight women and four men are sworn in as the jury.

7) Citing insufficient evidence, the district attorney’s office announces Al Cowlings will not be prosecuted for aiding Simpson on the day he failed to surrender to police as scheduled. Christopher A. Darden, who led the grand jury investigation into Cowlings, becomes the sixth deputy district attorney to join the prosecution team. He is the first African American to play a leading role in the prosecution.

8) Judge loosens restrictions on jurors, allowing them to read edited copies of newspapers and giving them the go-ahead to turn their television sets back on.

DECEMBER

1) The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman agree to stop commenting publicly on the case as long as defense does the same. The families had become increasingly outspoken about their belief that Simpson is guilty.

7) The Brown family announces plans for a foundation for abused women in Nicole’s name.

9) Football star-turned-minister Rosey Grier testifies about a jailhouse conversation with Simpson that allegedly was overheard by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. The deputy said Simpson yelled an incriminating statement.

19) Judge rules Simpson’s remark to Grier should remain confidential.

28) Sheriff Sherman Block discloses that Ito has cut back Simpson’s private weekend visits, limiting them to weekdays.

JANUARY

4) Defense team changes course, dropping plans to contest the admissibility of DNA evidence. Judge orders jurors to be sequestered.

7) Simpson’s lawyers announce that their client is writing a book called, “I Want to Tell You,” in which he replies to 100 letters he has received in jail.

11) Prosecutors argue that Ito should allow evidence of domestic violence. They detail 62 allegations of physical, verbal and economic abuse over 17 years.

12) Prosecutors drop 18 of the domestic violence allegations.

15) A rift between Simpson lawyers Robert L. Shapiro and F. Lee Bailey becomes public. The two blame each other for leaks to the press.

18) Judge rules alleged evidence of domestic violence is admissible. Shapiro and Bailey announce they have mended their relationship. Judge orders two jurors to be replaced with alternates after questions were raised about misrepresentations or omissions on their questionnaires.