{{short description|American attorney}} {{Infobox person | name = Gerald F. Uelmen | image = Simpson case with Gerald Uelman.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by the blind and visually impaired's speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Uelmen in O.J. Simpson civil case | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|10|8}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.scu.edu/site/gerald-uelmen/curriculum-vitae/|title=Gerald Uelmen - Curriculum Vitae|website=Santa Clara Law|accessdate=28 October 2021|archive-date=28 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028181743/https://law.scu.edu/site/gerald-uelmen/curriculum-vitae/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | birth_place = Greendale, Wisconsin, U.S. | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Attorney, writer, civil servant, academic | alma_mater = Loyola Marymount University (BA)<br />Georgetown University (JD, LLM) | years_active = | known_for = being a defense attorney on the O. J. Simpson murder case | notable_works = }}
'''Gerald F. Uelmen''' (born October 8, 1940) is an American attorney, writer, civil servant, and academic. He was part of O. J. Simpson's defense team during his trial, dubbed the "Dream Team."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-newton-oj-simpson-miniseries-20160207-story.html|first=Jim|last=Newton|title=Why 'The People v. O.J. Simpson' should be required watching for America's police chiefs|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=5 February 2016|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> Uelmen says he devised the memorable line used by Johnnie Cochran in the closing argument, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2016/04/05/lawyer-behind-if-it-doesnt-fit-thinks-miniseries-full-of-s/?slreturn=20160306225612#ixzz453vg6Ktz1|title=Lawyer Behind 'If It Doesn't Fit' Thinks O.J. Miniseries Full of S***|author=Ginny LaRoe|website=Law.com|date=April 5, 2016}}</ref>
Uelmen is currently a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he served as dean from 1986 to 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/interviews/uelmen.html |title=Interviews - Gerald Uelmen | The O.j. Verdict | FRONTLINE |website=Pbs.org|date= 4 October 2005|access-date=2018-04-22}}</ref> He served as defense counsel in the trials of Daniel Ellsberg and Christian Brando.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ccfaj.org/m-GeraldUelmen.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-03-30 |archive-date=2016-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511225358/http://www.ccfaj.org/m-GeraldUelmen.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2006, he was appointed executive director for the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, created by the California State Senate to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and propose reforms of the California criminal justice system.<ref>{{cite web|last=Uelmen |first=Gerald |url=https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article4533671.html |title=California's death penalty remains a 'hollow promise' |website=Sacbee.com |date=2014-12-20 |access-date=2018-04-22}}</ref><ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-uelmen-5b503817] {{dead link|date=October 2021}}</ref>
==Bibliography== * ''Supreme Folly'' (1993) (with Rodney R Jones) * ''Lessons from the Trial: The People V. O.J. Simpson'' (1996) * ''California Evidence: A Wizard's Guide'' (2014) * ''If It Doesn't Fit'' (2016)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://law.scu.edu/site/gerald-uelmen/publications/ Gerald Uelmen's Publications]
{{O.J. Simpson murder trial}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uelman, Gerald}} Category:Santa Clara University faculty Category:Living people Category:Loyola Law School faculty Category:American anti–death penalty activists Category:Loyola Marymount University alumni Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni Category:1940 births Category:People from Greendale, Wisconsin Category:Activists from California Category:O. J. Simpson murder case