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Beginning on January 24, 1995, O.J. Simpson went on trial in Los Angeles for the June 12, 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Lance Ito was the presiding judge. The trial lasted eight months and featured some 150 witnesses. Time Magazine said, “Court TV and CNN covered every aspect of the trial – an unprecedented standard for the 16 months of legal developments – and people followed along. The trial, culminating in the verdict’s broadcast from within the courtroom, created some of the most intense early demand for the current 24-hour news cycle and sowed the seeds for the reality television boom to follow.”

Judge Lance Ito has a passion for gadgets, including hourglasses. He kept several, including the one pictured above, on his bench during the O.J. Simpson trial. He was a stickler for starting the trial on time every day and wanted to remind attorneys not to waste his time. The hourglasses were meant to be a visual reminder to those attorneys.