Law School Professor and O.J. Simpson defender Alan M. Dershowitz qualified his previous comments about police engaging in "testilying" yesterday.

In discussing the Simpson trial last week, Dershowitz said that police officers are taught to lie on the witness stand to ensure "a good arrest."

But in an interview on Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) yesterday, Dershowitz said that his comments about this so-called "testilying" were misconstrued.

"It was deliberately blown out of proportion by [the Los Angeles Police Department]," Dershowitz said.

"They distorted the statement, blew it out of proportion and took it out of context," he said.

He said that one of the biggest problems with the legal system is that if police obtain evidence unlawfully, the court has to turn the prisoner free, even if the prisoner is clearly guilty.

"Lawyers and judges encourage cops to tell white lies so that the guilty can be convicted," he said.

He added that, while mendacity is not a formal part of any officer's education, all officers learn about it.

"[Police academies do not] teach courses in this," Dershowitz said. "It's what goes on outside and in the squad cars that I'm worried about."

Dershowitz explained that while "testilying" happens all the time, he does not blame police officers for it.

"Police do the dirty work of the legal system," he said. "They are the victims. They are the least powerful, least affluent, sometimes the least educated part of the legal system."

Officers are made to believe that if they are confident in the guilt of a suspect, they should see to it that justice is served, he said--no matter what the means.

"The legal system winks at this type of thing," he said.

Dershowitz also said that his stance on "testilying" is not a product of the Simpson trial.

"Even before the O.J. case, I wrote an article saying prosecutors and judges are to blame," he said.