THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Clinton Says Televising Simpson Trial Led to ‘Circus Atmosphere’

Chiming in on the trial of O.J. Simpson just as it winds down, President Clinton said Thursday that it had been conducted in a “circus atmosphere,” fueled in large part by the decision to allow live television coverage.

Clinton, who served two years as attorney general of Arkansas, said in a radio interview with Larry King that he opposes the presence of cameras in the courtroom.

He said that while he believes all criminal trials should be open to the public and the media, “you run the risk of having more derailments and distractions if you have televised trials.”

His remarks came in response to a question from a caller in the United Kingdom, who wondered whether the Simpson trial demonstrated flaws in the American legal system. Clinton acknowledged that the Simpson trial had been marred by a variety of “extraneous elements,” and was unique because of the defendant’s celebrity and the live television coverage.

However, he told the caller and a nationwide radio audience, it would be wrong “to order sweeping changes” to the American legal system based on the problems with the Simpson trial.