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SANTA MONICA, Calif (Reuter) - Wrapping up a dramatic round of testimony, O.J. Simpson stepped down from the witness stand Tuesday with his attorneys making no attempt to undo the damage from three days of bruising interrogation.
In a surprise tactical move, Simpson lead attorney Robert Baker, who had been expected to begin his effort Tuesday to "rehabilitate" his client in front of the jury, told Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki: "I'm sorry, your honor, I changed my mind."
But Baker promised to bring the former football star back to testify again when the defense presents its case next month in the wrongful-death civil suit.
With that the trial was recessed for a long Thanksgiving holiday break. Testimony resumes next Tuesday when the plaintiffs will put on more witnesses to support their claims that Simpson murdered his ex-wife and her friend.
The latest unexpected twist came on the same day a woman juror was dismissed for misconduct after she was accused of trying to contact attorneys in the case.
The 25-year-old aspiring actress, whose resume touts her role as a "bikini girl" on a TV crime drama, told reporters she felt "humiliated" and that her only offense was to compliment a law clerk's tie.
Simpson's testimony marked the dramatic high point of the trial, in which he is fighting civil charges brought by the families of murder victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson -- who was acquitted of double-murder charges in October 1995 -- could be forced to pay millions of dollars in damages if he loses the case.
Taking the witness stand in open court for the first time since the 1994 killings, Simpson spent three days being grilled relentlessly by attorneys who pointed out numerous inconsistencies and contradictions in his story.
Simpson repeatedly maintained his innocence and never lost his cool. But he conceded he was at a loss to explain how he cut his hand, how blood matching his own ended up at the murder scene and how blood matching the victims ended up in his Ford Bronco and at his Brentwood estate.
And in his first round of testimony, Simpson made no mention of the defense theory that he was framed by a police conspiracy orchestrated by a racist detective.
Baker had been expected to begin repairing the damage Tuesday with a round of friendly cross-examination. But instead he told the judge he would wait to question Simpson during the defense portion of the trial.
Simpson, who seemed to grow weary as the questioning dragged on, appeared relieved when he left the stand, slapping his attorneys on the back and hugging family members. But the defense tactic meant jurors went home for the holiday recess with a final image of Simpson fending off harsh attacks.
Some legal analysts said it was a risky move, while others suggested it would give Simpson a chance to catch his breath and practice for the next round.
"If I could put my witness on stand five times, I would," said Wyoming attorney Gerry Spence, a nationally renowned defense expert. "If he were my client, he would be on the stand promptly, right now."
Attorneys for the victims' families concluded their interrogation with a dramatic flourish. "In fact, you murdered Nicole, didn't you?" asked John Kelly, who represents Nicole Brown Simpson's estate.
"That's absolutely false," Simpson replied calmly, looking directly at the jury.
"And you murdered Ron," Kelly continued.
"That's absolutely wrong," Simpson said.
Simpson again denied that he had ever beaten his ex-wife but said he felt at times like a "battered husband" because of the abuse he claimed to have suffered at her hands.
The families' attorneys contend Simpson terrorized his ex-wife during their 17-year relationship and killed her when he could no longer control her.
At the start of Tuesday's session the judge said he had dismissed a juror for "communicating with or attempting to communicate with persons connected with this case" and he admonished the remaining panelists that "a jury is not a social club."
The woman, identified as Ann-Marie Jamison, said all she did was say "That's a nice tie" to other jurors, referring to one worn by a law clerk working for the plaintiffs' side.
Jamison had been variously described in news reports as white, Hispanic and of mixed white and Hispanic heritage. She was replaced by a young white woman, bringing the jury's racial makeup to nine whites, one black, one Hispanic and one Asian- black.