LAS VEGAS (Dec. 5) - A broken O.J. Simpson was sentenced Friday to as many as 33 years in prison for a hotel armed robbery after a judge rejected his apology and said, "It was much more than stupidity."
The 61-year-old football Hall of Famer stood shackled and stone-faced as Judge Jackie Glass rattled off the punishment. Moments before, Simpson made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, simultaneously apologizing for the holdup as a foolish mistake and trying to justify his actions.He choked back tears as he told her: "I didn't want to steal anything from anyone. ... I'm sorry, sorry."
Simpson said he was simply trying to retrieve sports memorabilia and other mementos, including his first wife's wedding ring, from two dealers when he stormed a Las Vegas hotel room on Sept. 13, 2007.
But the judge emphasized that it was a violent confrontation in which at least one gun was drawn, and she said someone could have been shot. She said the evidence was overwhelming, with the planning, the confrontation itself and the aftermath all recorded on audio or videotape.
Glass, a no-nonsense judge known for her tough sentences, imposed such a complex series of consecutive and concurrent sentences that even many attorneys watching the case were confused as to how much time Simpson got.
Simpson could serve up to 33 years but could be eligible for parole after nine years, according to Elana Roberto, the judge's clerk.
The judge said several times that her sentence in the Las Vegas case had nothing to do with Simpson's 1995 acquittal in the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
"I'm not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else," Glass said.
Simpson was immediately led away to prison after the judge refused to permit him to go free on bail while he appeals.
Simpson's co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, also was sentenced to at least 15 years.
Outside court, Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, and sister, Kim, said they were delighted with the sentence.
"We are thrilled, and it's a bittersweet moment," Fred Goldman said. "It was satisfying seeing him in shackles like he belongs."
The Goldmans took a measure of credit for Simpson's fate, saying their relentless pursuit of his assets to satisfy a $33.5 million wrongful-death judgment "pushed him over the edge" and led him to commit the robbery to recover some of his sports memorabilia.
Simpson and Stewart were both brought to the courtroom in dark blue jail uniforms, their hands shackled to their waists with chains. Simpson, who looked weary and had not been expected to speak, delivered a somber statement to the judge.
As he spoke in a hoarse voice, the courtroom was hushed. His two sisters, Shirley Baker and Carmelita Durio, sat in the front row of the courtroom, along with his adult daughter.
Both men were convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.
"As stupid and as ill-conceived as it was, it wasn't something that was from this evil mind they teach us about," Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said before sentencing.
"Not bright, not smart, not well thought out, but certainly not from an evil mind," Galanter said.
Most of the 63 seats in the courtroom were taken by media, lawyers and family members of the defendants. Fifteen members of the public were also allowed.
After sentencing was over, the Goldmans left the courtroom and Kim threw her arms around her father and wept.
Simpson's sisters declined to comment, but Shirley Baker said on her way out: "It's not over."
Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings that were secretly made of the Sept. 13, 2007, robbery at the Palace Station casino hotel.
The confrontation involved sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong. It was recorded by collectibles dealer Thomas Riccio, who was acting as middleman.
"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and instructs other men to scoop up items he insists had been stolen from him.
On Tuesday, Glass is scheduled to sentence four former co-defendants who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart.
Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich could receive probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
Friday, December 5, 2008
IT WAS CRAZY OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE
Hi everyone, I am just back from the courthouse, wow what a crazy sceene. I took a ton of pictures, but i have some real estate work to do before I can get them posted. Thanks again for all your comments and posting, here and in the chatroom.
Webmaster, OJTALK.com
Scot
Webmaster, OJTALK.com
Scot
Friday, November 7, 2008
NO OJ IN VEGAS PART TWO, NEW TRIAL FOR THE JUICE
O.J. Simpson loses bid for new trial in Las Vegas
Friday, November 7 | 11:57 a.m.
By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer
O.J. Simpson was denied a new trial Friday by the Nevada judge who presided over his conviction in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass said challenges raised by lawyers for Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart did not rise to the level of granting another trial.
"All of the issues have been preserved for the (Nevada) Supreme Court," Glass said, acknowledging her rulings could be appealed to the state's only appellate court.
Simpson and Stewart, who were shackled and in jail garb, did not speak during the 20-minute hearing.
The judge also denied requests to release Simpson and Stewart on bail pending sentencing Dec. 5.
"They face life sentences, mandatory prison," Glass said. "Your motions are being denied."
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, were convicted Oct. 3 of all 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, in the Sept. 13, 2007, hotel room confrontation.
Each faces five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.
During the hearing, Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, raised a new allegation of misconduct by the jury foreman, Paul Connelly.
Bryson said an investigator for Simpson's lawyers found that Connelly was dismissed from a job with a soft drink company after making racially disparaging statements.
"That's problematic for our clients, who are black," Bryson said. He said the jury foreman's opinions would have been clear to the other jurors and asserted that Connelly was "the driving force behind keeping the jury here for approximately 13 hours to make a decision on a Friday night" during deliberations.
"If you have a juror who turns out to be the jury foreman (and who) is racially biased, the prejudice speaks for itself," Stewart's lawyer said.
Bryson previously said Connelly told the media after Simpson's conviction that he thought the former football star should have gotten life in prison for the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.
Connelly did not immediately respond to telephone messages from The Associated Press. He has said his comments were taken out of context.
Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter did not address the jury misconduct issue during the hearing. Outside court, he confirmed Bryson's statements, but declined to provide more information.
"We're still investigating," Galanter said. "At the appropriate time, we'll release what we've learned."
In her ruling, Glass sided with prosecutor Chris Owens, who said defense lawyers "were not under any illusions" about Connelly's opinions after reviewing his 26-page questionnaire and questioning him during voir dire.
"I find that nothing has risen to a level of juror misconduct," Glass said.
The judge granted one request, allowing Robert Lucherini to withdraw as an attorney for Stewart.
The judge denied Simpson's request for a new trial on seven points cited by Galanter and defense lawyer Gabriel Grasso, including challenges to the evidence of kidnapping and to questions used to cull the jury from a pool of 500 prospects.
Another challenge alleged that Glass improperly allowed prosecutors to use pre-emptory challenges to remove two prospective black jurors before the final panel was seated. The jury of nine women and three men included one woman who identified herself as Hispanic, but no blacks.
In another matter, the Nevada state attorney general submitted documents Monday asking the state Supreme Court to uphold Glass' decisions to withhold jury questionnaires from the public until the trial was over and redact the documents when they were released.
"Judge Glass successfully balanced the needs of the defendants and the press," Senior Deputy Attorney General Jill Davis wrote. "Judge Glass determined that the defendants' right to a fair trial before an impartial jury constituted an overriding interest to the media's First Amendment rights pertaining to the immediate access to juror questionnaires."
Lawyer Colby Williams, representing The Associated Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said Friday that case law is clear and jury questioning should be an open process and questionnaires should be made public.
He said the state high court has the option to schedule oral arguments before deciding the issue.
Friday, November 7 | 11:57 a.m.
By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer
O.J. Simpson was denied a new trial Friday by the Nevada judge who presided over his conviction in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass said challenges raised by lawyers for Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart did not rise to the level of granting another trial.
"All of the issues have been preserved for the (Nevada) Supreme Court," Glass said, acknowledging her rulings could be appealed to the state's only appellate court.
Simpson and Stewart, who were shackled and in jail garb, did not speak during the 20-minute hearing.
The judge also denied requests to release Simpson and Stewart on bail pending sentencing Dec. 5.
"They face life sentences, mandatory prison," Glass said. "Your motions are being denied."
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, were convicted Oct. 3 of all 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, in the Sept. 13, 2007, hotel room confrontation.
Each faces five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.
During the hearing, Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, raised a new allegation of misconduct by the jury foreman, Paul Connelly.
Bryson said an investigator for Simpson's lawyers found that Connelly was dismissed from a job with a soft drink company after making racially disparaging statements.
"That's problematic for our clients, who are black," Bryson said. He said the jury foreman's opinions would have been clear to the other jurors and asserted that Connelly was "the driving force behind keeping the jury here for approximately 13 hours to make a decision on a Friday night" during deliberations.
"If you have a juror who turns out to be the jury foreman (and who) is racially biased, the prejudice speaks for itself," Stewart's lawyer said.
Bryson previously said Connelly told the media after Simpson's conviction that he thought the former football star should have gotten life in prison for the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.
Connelly did not immediately respond to telephone messages from The Associated Press. He has said his comments were taken out of context.
Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter did not address the jury misconduct issue during the hearing. Outside court, he confirmed Bryson's statements, but declined to provide more information.
"We're still investigating," Galanter said. "At the appropriate time, we'll release what we've learned."
In her ruling, Glass sided with prosecutor Chris Owens, who said defense lawyers "were not under any illusions" about Connelly's opinions after reviewing his 26-page questionnaire and questioning him during voir dire.
"I find that nothing has risen to a level of juror misconduct," Glass said.
The judge granted one request, allowing Robert Lucherini to withdraw as an attorney for Stewart.
The judge denied Simpson's request for a new trial on seven points cited by Galanter and defense lawyer Gabriel Grasso, including challenges to the evidence of kidnapping and to questions used to cull the jury from a pool of 500 prospects.
Another challenge alleged that Glass improperly allowed prosecutors to use pre-emptory challenges to remove two prospective black jurors before the final panel was seated. The jury of nine women and three men included one woman who identified herself as Hispanic, but no blacks.
In another matter, the Nevada state attorney general submitted documents Monday asking the state Supreme Court to uphold Glass' decisions to withhold jury questionnaires from the public until the trial was over and redact the documents when they were released.
"Judge Glass successfully balanced the needs of the defendants and the press," Senior Deputy Attorney General Jill Davis wrote. "Judge Glass determined that the defendants' right to a fair trial before an impartial jury constituted an overriding interest to the media's First Amendment rights pertaining to the immediate access to juror questionnaires."
Lawyer Colby Williams, representing The Associated Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said Friday that case law is clear and jury questioning should be an open process and questionnaires should be made public.
He said the state high court has the option to schedule oral arguments before deciding the issue.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Cashmore: one night with O.J. ruined my life
He was called the "odd man out" during the O.J. Simpson armed robbery trial. And now, he's talking for the first time since the verdict. Although Charles Cashmore accepted a plea deal in the case, News 3's Jesse Corona reports that one night with O.J. Simpson ruined his life.
Charles Cashmore says he walked into that Palace Station hotel room last year because his friend C.J. Stewart asked him to come along. He says he's never met any of the other guys before that night and had no idea what he was getting into.
Cashmore admits he made a couple of bad decisions - decisions that changed his life forever.
Charles Cashmore testified during the O.J. Simpson trial that he was the guy that knew the least of anybody involved. But today, Cashmore is now homeless and living on the streets of Las Vegas.
"I've stayed in weeklies that were anything from $100 to $200 a week, to casino parking lots in the back seat of a car," says Cashmore.
During the trial, defense attorneys suggested Cashmore benefited from his association with O.J. Simpson - something Cashmore says couldn't be further from the truth.
"I wish I would have never met O.J. because that 90 minutes of my life, that 90 minutes in that day in my life ruined the rest of my life."
Cashmore explains that he's been shunned by family and friends, and that no one will hire him for work. He says he often wonders where his next meal will come from.
Still, Cashmore says he's not ready to follow the route of people like Thomas Riccio, who's made over $200,000 and counting since the events of September 13.
When asked if he ever though of trying to make money off of the Simpson trial, Cashmore says, "The thought has crossed my mind, but you know what? I'd rather just get my name and my life back."
Cashmore explains that he is angry he didn't know the plan before walking into the Palace Station. He says most everyone in the hotel room knew each other and he honestly thought the whole thing would blow over.
He now admits he should have done things differently.
"I guess not going to the police is the thing that I regret the most."
Cashmore says he has learned some valuable lessons over this last year and that his time on the streets has taught him some important things about other people.
"If I've ever judged anyone, I apologize because I'll tell you what - you never know why that person is where he's at until you take the time to find out."
Charles Cashmore's charges were reduced to one count of accessory to robbery after the fact. His sentencing is scheduled for December 9. Cashmore faces one to six years in prison, with the possibility of probation.
story by http://www.kvbc.com
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas, ask OJ
For Laughs and a good deal on LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE, Call REALTOR Scot Savage at 702-261-9048, www.ScotSavage.com
Judge to sentence former O.J. co-defendants Dec. 9
11:55 a.m. October 14, 2008
LAS VEGAS – The judge in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping case said Tuesday that four men who took plea deals and testified against the former football star will be sentenced after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart learn their fates.
“We're going to set everyone for Dec. 9,” Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass told Michael McClinton and his lawyer, William Terry. Charles Cashmore's lawyer, Edward Miley, also attended the hearing.
Simpson and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5.
A jury found Simpson and Stewart guilty Oct. 3 of all 12 charges against them, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy in a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are being held at the Clark County jail and could face up to life in prison with the possibility of parole on the kidnapping conviction. Each of the two armed robbery convictions carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years and as many as 30.
Lawyers for the two men filed motions last week seeking a new trial and said they intend to appeal the convictions to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The four former co-defendants who stormed the hotel room with Simpson and Stewart – McClinton, Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich – each pleaded guilty to various lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution in return for a chance at probation.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, faces the stiffest possible sentence, up to 11 years in prison, for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Cashmore, 41, of Las Vegas, faces up to five years for accessory to robbery.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., could get up to six years for conspiracy to commit robbery. Ehrlich, 54, of Miami, could get up to five years for attempted burglary and attempted accessory to robbery.
Simpson maintained he went to the room to retrieve personal items, family photos and sports mementos that had been stolen from him years earlier.
LAS VEGAS – The judge in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping case said Tuesday that four men who took plea deals and testified against the former football star will be sentenced after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart learn their fates.
“We're going to set everyone for Dec. 9,” Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass told Michael McClinton and his lawyer, William Terry. Charles Cashmore's lawyer, Edward Miley, also attended the hearing.
Simpson and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5.
A jury found Simpson and Stewart guilty Oct. 3 of all 12 charges against them, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy in a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are being held at the Clark County jail and could face up to life in prison with the possibility of parole on the kidnapping conviction. Each of the two armed robbery convictions carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years and as many as 30.
Lawyers for the two men filed motions last week seeking a new trial and said they intend to appeal the convictions to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The four former co-defendants who stormed the hotel room with Simpson and Stewart – McClinton, Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich – each pleaded guilty to various lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution in return for a chance at probation.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, faces the stiffest possible sentence, up to 11 years in prison, for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Cashmore, 41, of Las Vegas, faces up to five years for accessory to robbery.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., could get up to six years for conspiracy to commit robbery. Ehrlich, 54, of Miami, could get up to five years for attempted burglary and attempted accessory to robbery.
Simpson maintained he went to the room to retrieve personal items, family photos and sports mementos that had been stolen from him years earlier.
Judge to sentence former O.J. co-defendants Dec. 9
11:55 a.m. October 14, 2008
LAS VEGAS – The judge in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping case said Tuesday that four men who took plea deals and testified against the former football star will be sentenced after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart learn their fates.
“We're going to set everyone for Dec. 9,” Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass told Michael McClinton and his lawyer, William Terry. Charles Cashmore's lawyer, Edward Miley, also attended the hearing.
Simpson and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5.
A jury found Simpson and Stewart guilty Oct. 3 of all 12 charges against them, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy in a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are being held at the Clark County jail and could face up to life in prison with the possibility of parole on the kidnapping conviction. Each of the two armed robbery convictions carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years and as many as 30.
Lawyers for the two men filed motions last week seeking a new trial and said they intend to appeal the convictions to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The four former co-defendants who stormed the hotel room with Simpson and Stewart – McClinton, Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich – each pleaded guilty to various lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution in return for a chance at probation.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, faces the stiffest possible sentence, up to 11 years in prison, for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Cashmore, 41, of Las Vegas, faces up to five years for accessory to robbery.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., could get up to six years for conspiracy to commit robbery. Ehrlich, 54, of Miami, could get up to five years for attempted burglary and attempted accessory to robbery.
Simpson maintained he went to the room to retrieve personal items, family photos and sports mementos that had been stolen from him years earlier.
LAS VEGAS – The judge in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping case said Tuesday that four men who took plea deals and testified against the former football star will be sentenced after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart learn their fates.
“We're going to set everyone for Dec. 9,” Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass told Michael McClinton and his lawyer, William Terry. Charles Cashmore's lawyer, Edward Miley, also attended the hearing.
Simpson and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5.
A jury found Simpson and Stewart guilty Oct. 3 of all 12 charges against them, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy in a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are being held at the Clark County jail and could face up to life in prison with the possibility of parole on the kidnapping conviction. Each of the two armed robbery convictions carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years and as many as 30.
Lawyers for the two men filed motions last week seeking a new trial and said they intend to appeal the convictions to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The four former co-defendants who stormed the hotel room with Simpson and Stewart – McClinton, Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich – each pleaded guilty to various lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution in return for a chance at probation.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, faces the stiffest possible sentence, up to 11 years in prison, for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Cashmore, 41, of Las Vegas, faces up to five years for accessory to robbery.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., could get up to six years for conspiracy to commit robbery. Ehrlich, 54, of Miami, could get up to five years for attempted burglary and attempted accessory to robbery.
Simpson maintained he went to the room to retrieve personal items, family photos and sports mementos that had been stolen from him years earlier.
Sentencing For Simpson Suspects
Posted: Tuesday, 14 October 2008 5:49AM
Sentencing For Simpson Suspects
Tuesday, four suspects in the O.J. Simpson memorabilia robbery will find out when they will be sentenced for their roles in last year's armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino. Charles Ehrlich, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Michael McClinton all pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for their testimony against OJ Simpson. Simpson and another co-defendant, Clarence Stewart were convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping earlier this month. Simpson has maintained he was trying to retrieve items stolen from him years ago. Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced December 5th.
Sentencing For Simpson Suspects
Tuesday, four suspects in the O.J. Simpson memorabilia robbery will find out when they will be sentenced for their roles in last year's armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino. Charles Ehrlich, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Michael McClinton all pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for their testimony against OJ Simpson. Simpson and another co-defendant, Clarence Stewart were convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping earlier this month. Simpson has maintained he was trying to retrieve items stolen from him years ago. Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced December 5th.
Friday, October 10, 2008
OJ Simpson seeks new robbery trial in Las Vegas
OJ Simpson seeks new robbery trial in Las Vegas
By KEN RITTER – 58 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's lawyers cited judicial errors and insufficient evidence Friday in seeking a new trial for the former football star, who was convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.
"Simpson should be granted a new trial," attorney Gabriel Grasso wrote in a motion faulting Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass' decisions during jury selection, her limitations on cross-examination of witnesses during trial and her instructions to jurors before deliberations.
In a separate filing, a lawyer for co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart said Stewart suffered from being tried with Simpson, who was acquitted more than a decade ago of killing his ex-wife and her friend. Attorney Brent Bryson also alleged misconduct by the jury foreman, whom he quoted as saying he thought Simpson should have been given a life sentence for murder.
If the foreman "believes that Mr. Simpson is a murderer, and that Mr. Stewart is associated with Mr. Simpson, that bias would spill over" and affect the juror's ability to be impartial, Bryson wrote.
Jury foreman Paul Connelly has made remarks disputing such an interpretation of his post-verdict comments.
In documents filed with Glass, Grasso and Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter also protested that the judge refused to grant enough time to fully review transcripts and videotapes of the trial, which led to guilty verdicts against Simpson and Stewart on Oct. 3.
"She didn't give us the time we need to do a full-fledged motion," said Galanter, who lost a bid to extend the seven-day deadline.
Galanter said he would file a more detailed appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, the state's only appellate court, if Glass denies a new trial.
Prosecutors were expected to submit written opposition this month, according to court documents.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are due for sentencing Dec. 5. The jury convicted them of all 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, in the hotel room confrontation more than a year ago.
Both men are jailed in Las Vegas. They face five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.
Simpson's motion for a new trial alleges Glass improperly allowed prosecutors to use pre-emptory challenges to remove two prospective black jurors before the final jury was seated.
Both Simpson and Stewart are black. The final jury of nine women and three men included one woman who identified herself as Hispanic, but no blacks.
Simpson's lawyers asserted there was not enough evidence to support first-degree kidnapping convictions and faulted questions used to cull the jury from a pool of 500 prospects.
Grasso alleged that Glass blocked them from telling jurors that they could consider lesser charges of larceny or second-degree kidnapping against Simpson, or that the former NFL star believed when he confronted memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley that he was retrieving items that belonged to him.
Grasso also claimed the judge allowed biased jurors to be seated after they were questioned about Simpson's acquittal in the 1994 slayings in Los Angeles of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Five of the 12 eventual jurors said they disagreed with the murder acquittal, Grasso wrote, complaining that defense attorneys weren't allowed to ask them how they reached their opinion.
Glass sought during the trial to limit references to Simpson's 1995 acquittal. But there were references to that case and to a 1997 civil judgment holding Simpson liable for the slayings and ordering him to pay $33.5 million.
Stewart lawyers lost several requests to sever Stewart's trial from Simpson's. Bryson's documents referred to those decisions but focused on accusations of misconduct by Connelly, the jury foreman.
Bryson pointed to answers on Connelly's jury questionnaire and to comments he said the foreman made during a post-verdict news conference.
"We all have opinions; some people think he should have been given life 13 years ago," Bryson quoted Connelly as saying. "That was my opinion, but I think that's reserved for the court to decide."
Connelly has said he was asked two different questions at the news conference and his answers were consistent with his responses on his jury questionnaire — that the courts had acquitted Simpson of murder and he agreed with that verdict.
Connelly has said that he was asked two different questions at the news conference and that his answers were consistent with his responses on his jury questionnaire — that the courts had acquitted Simpson of murder and that he agreed with the verdict.
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
By KEN RITTER – 58 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's lawyers cited judicial errors and insufficient evidence Friday in seeking a new trial for the former football star, who was convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.
"Simpson should be granted a new trial," attorney Gabriel Grasso wrote in a motion faulting Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass' decisions during jury selection, her limitations on cross-examination of witnesses during trial and her instructions to jurors before deliberations.
In a separate filing, a lawyer for co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart said Stewart suffered from being tried with Simpson, who was acquitted more than a decade ago of killing his ex-wife and her friend. Attorney Brent Bryson also alleged misconduct by the jury foreman, whom he quoted as saying he thought Simpson should have been given a life sentence for murder.
If the foreman "believes that Mr. Simpson is a murderer, and that Mr. Stewart is associated with Mr. Simpson, that bias would spill over" and affect the juror's ability to be impartial, Bryson wrote.
Jury foreman Paul Connelly has made remarks disputing such an interpretation of his post-verdict comments.
In documents filed with Glass, Grasso and Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter also protested that the judge refused to grant enough time to fully review transcripts and videotapes of the trial, which led to guilty verdicts against Simpson and Stewart on Oct. 3.
"She didn't give us the time we need to do a full-fledged motion," said Galanter, who lost a bid to extend the seven-day deadline.
Galanter said he would file a more detailed appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, the state's only appellate court, if Glass denies a new trial.
Prosecutors were expected to submit written opposition this month, according to court documents.
Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, are due for sentencing Dec. 5. The jury convicted them of all 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, in the hotel room confrontation more than a year ago.
Both men are jailed in Las Vegas. They face five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.
Simpson's motion for a new trial alleges Glass improperly allowed prosecutors to use pre-emptory challenges to remove two prospective black jurors before the final jury was seated.
Both Simpson and Stewart are black. The final jury of nine women and three men included one woman who identified herself as Hispanic, but no blacks.
Simpson's lawyers asserted there was not enough evidence to support first-degree kidnapping convictions and faulted questions used to cull the jury from a pool of 500 prospects.
Grasso alleged that Glass blocked them from telling jurors that they could consider lesser charges of larceny or second-degree kidnapping against Simpson, or that the former NFL star believed when he confronted memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley that he was retrieving items that belonged to him.
Grasso also claimed the judge allowed biased jurors to be seated after they were questioned about Simpson's acquittal in the 1994 slayings in Los Angeles of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Five of the 12 eventual jurors said they disagreed with the murder acquittal, Grasso wrote, complaining that defense attorneys weren't allowed to ask them how they reached their opinion.
Glass sought during the trial to limit references to Simpson's 1995 acquittal. But there were references to that case and to a 1997 civil judgment holding Simpson liable for the slayings and ordering him to pay $33.5 million.
Stewart lawyers lost several requests to sever Stewart's trial from Simpson's. Bryson's documents referred to those decisions but focused on accusations of misconduct by Connelly, the jury foreman.
Bryson pointed to answers on Connelly's jury questionnaire and to comments he said the foreman made during a post-verdict news conference.
"We all have opinions; some people think he should have been given life 13 years ago," Bryson quoted Connelly as saying. "That was my opinion, but I think that's reserved for the court to decide."
Connelly has said he was asked two different questions at the news conference and his answers were consistent with his responses on his jury questionnaire — that the courts had acquitted Simpson of murder and he agreed with that verdict.
Connelly has said that he was asked two different questions at the news conference and that his answers were consistent with his responses on his jury questionnaire — that the courts had acquitted Simpson of murder and that he agreed with the verdict.
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
O.J. Simpson’s last drink as free man wasn’t juice
NFL Hall of Famer’s lifestyle went from foie gras to prison food
By Melissa Arseniuk
Wed, Oct 8, 2008 (7:22 a.m.)
On the eve of the 13th anniversary of O.J. Simpson’s high-profile double-murder acquittal, the former NFL star apparently needed a drink.
Simpson laid low on Oct. 3 and enjoyed a quiet drink at an established Las Vegas restaurant. Accompanied by a few close friends, Simpson approached the bar, ordered a Johnny Walker Black and Coke, and enjoyed it quietly.
There was no party at the Palms or splashy soiree on The Strip the night before the jury delivered their verdict in Simpson’s latest criminal trial. Instead, he returned to Rosemary’s Restaurant on West Sahara, where he had dined a few weeks earlier, had his drink and then called it a night. After all, it had been a long day and the Heisman Trophy winner had another big day ahead of him.
It was hardly a night for celebration: Earlier that day, after three long weeks of listening to secret audio recordings and hearing testimony from 22 witnesses, Jurors heard closing arguments from attorneys.
Thirteen years ago, Simpson was found not guilty in the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. A subsequent civil trial found him liable for the deaths, however, and placed a $33.5-million judgment against him.
Though Simpson was surely hoping last week for a repeat acquittal of the criminal charges – or a hung jury, if nothing less – his attorneys had already prepared him for what was to come.
He and his co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart, faced 12 robbery, kidnapping and weapons charges following an altercation last year in a Palace Station hotel room during which two memorabilia dealers claimed they were robbed at gunpoint.
Simpson denied any guns were involved but witnesses testified otherwise. The case against Simpson was not promising, and the 61-year-old knew it.
On Friday, Simpson was called to the Clark County Regional Justice Center at 9:30 p.m. only to have the predominantly white, predominantly female jury confirm his worst fears.
After nearly 14 hours of deliberations, the nine-women, three-man jury delivered a decidedly different verdict than what was heard 13 years before. Both men were found guilty on 11 felonies and one misdemeanor, including kidnapping with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon. Both were denied bail and ordered into custody.
Simpson and Stewart were promptly handcuffed and transferred from the Regional Justice Center’s courtroom to isolated cells in the Clark County Detention Center. They have remained there ever since.
The cold beige cinderblock walls of Simpson’s tiny cell are a bleak contrast from the warm and welcoming surrounds of the restaurant where Simpson had been the night before the jury returned their verdict.
There is no ambient lighting, attentive serving staff or full-service bar at the Clark County Detention Center. Simpson spends most of his time there in a 12 by 14-foot cell, away from the rest of the prison population.
He gets three meals a day, but they’re hardly gourmet. While Simpson often enjoyed meticulously prepared meals at Vegas’ finest tables during the trial, a typical meal for him now is a far cry from the beef or foie gras that he enjoyed, with a nice glass of Californian chardonnay, after the first week of proceedings.
“He had our beef carpacio, which is thinly sliced beef with blue cheese in the middle, and he had foie gras,” Rosemary’s front of house manager, James Repman, said.
“That was with an orange brioche bread and a Nevada nectarine coulis,” he explained, noting, “It was good, for one of his last meals.”
“He’s come in a couple of other times to just have cocktails at the bar but that was the first time he was in for dinner,” he said.
Repman said Simpson dined alongside his attorneys, Yale Galanter and Gabriel Grasso, and a few close friends who are regulars to the popular restaurant.
“He was a really nice guy, for what that’s worth,” Repman said.
Unlike many of Simpson’s former associates, who have pitched book deals and sold everything from autographs to damning audio tapes, Rosemary’s is not advertising or flaunting their affiliation with Simpson. Repman answered questions about Simpson’s patronage when contacted on Tuesday by the Sun, but made it clear that the owners and staff both did not want to capitalize on their recent guest’s patronage. The bartender who served Simpson his last Johnny Walker Black and Coke declined to be interviewed.
There is no Johnny Walker or Californian chardonnay at the Clark County Detention Center.
“Dinner is served (at) about 4 p.m. and a typical dinner would be an enchilada casserole, Spanish rice, garden salad with dressing, two slices of bread, a cube of margarine, marble cake, and a fruit drink,” Metro Police public information officer, Ramon Denby, said.
“It’s not fancy,” he said.
Breakfast – fruit, toasted oats, sausage hash and a slice of bread – is served at 4 a.m. and lunch is served at 10 a.m.
“A typical lunch would include spaghetti with sauce, a meat patty, green beans, two slices of bread, one cookie and a fruit drink,” Denby said.
Simpson eats his meals alone, either in his cell or in what’s called the detention center’s outer day room. He’s classified as a “protective custody – isolation” inmate, meaning he is kept in strict solitary confinement.
Even his cell is closed off from the rest of the detention center’s 3,000 other inmates. Simpson spends most of his time within those four cinderblock walls with the door locked shut.
“He remains in his room for the majority of the day while the other inmates are out on their free time,” Denby said.
Inside his cell is what Denby describes as a “wooden bunk with a little mattress” and a sink/toilet combination unit.
“He’s allowed two books or magazines in his room and up to five religious books or articles,” Denby said, but nothing else.
The former All-Star running back gets three to four hours of free time a day to eat meals, shower, shave or watch TV.
Denby said Simpson gets one hour in the detention center’s recreation room every day, where there are a few tables, a shower and a TV.
During the trial, Simpson said that he hoped to stay in shape during proceedings by working in training sessions at the Las Vegas Athletic Club. He’ll have to be creative with his work-out regime until his Dec. 5 sentencing, however, as there is no athletic equipment for the 61-year-old to use at the detention center.
“He can walk, do push-ups, jumping jacks,” Denby said, but there are no weights or cardio equipment for him to use.
He also gets 30 minutes of visitation privileges twice a week, but Simpson essentially watches his visitors on TV when they come to see him: they are kept on a different floor of the detention center and communicate through a video telephone.
Attorney visits are allowed in addition to his hour a week of family visitation.
Simpson is allowed outside once a week, but that, too, falls short of the five-star amenities the football legend has grown accustomed to over the years, and is done in solitary confinement.
“It’s basically four concrete walls with a mesh cage on top,” Denby said. “He’s afforded this once a week for an hour.”
Simpson will be sentenced on Dec. 5 and will likely be transferred to a state prison afterward. Simpson’s lawyers have indicated they will appeal the case, as will Stewart’s.
By Melissa Arseniuk
Wed, Oct 8, 2008 (7:22 a.m.)
On the eve of the 13th anniversary of O.J. Simpson’s high-profile double-murder acquittal, the former NFL star apparently needed a drink.
Simpson laid low on Oct. 3 and enjoyed a quiet drink at an established Las Vegas restaurant. Accompanied by a few close friends, Simpson approached the bar, ordered a Johnny Walker Black and Coke, and enjoyed it quietly.
There was no party at the Palms or splashy soiree on The Strip the night before the jury delivered their verdict in Simpson’s latest criminal trial. Instead, he returned to Rosemary’s Restaurant on West Sahara, where he had dined a few weeks earlier, had his drink and then called it a night. After all, it had been a long day and the Heisman Trophy winner had another big day ahead of him.
It was hardly a night for celebration: Earlier that day, after three long weeks of listening to secret audio recordings and hearing testimony from 22 witnesses, Jurors heard closing arguments from attorneys.
Thirteen years ago, Simpson was found not guilty in the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. A subsequent civil trial found him liable for the deaths, however, and placed a $33.5-million judgment against him.
Though Simpson was surely hoping last week for a repeat acquittal of the criminal charges – or a hung jury, if nothing less – his attorneys had already prepared him for what was to come.
He and his co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart, faced 12 robbery, kidnapping and weapons charges following an altercation last year in a Palace Station hotel room during which two memorabilia dealers claimed they were robbed at gunpoint.
Simpson denied any guns were involved but witnesses testified otherwise. The case against Simpson was not promising, and the 61-year-old knew it.
On Friday, Simpson was called to the Clark County Regional Justice Center at 9:30 p.m. only to have the predominantly white, predominantly female jury confirm his worst fears.
After nearly 14 hours of deliberations, the nine-women, three-man jury delivered a decidedly different verdict than what was heard 13 years before. Both men were found guilty on 11 felonies and one misdemeanor, including kidnapping with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon. Both were denied bail and ordered into custody.
Simpson and Stewart were promptly handcuffed and transferred from the Regional Justice Center’s courtroom to isolated cells in the Clark County Detention Center. They have remained there ever since.
The cold beige cinderblock walls of Simpson’s tiny cell are a bleak contrast from the warm and welcoming surrounds of the restaurant where Simpson had been the night before the jury returned their verdict.
There is no ambient lighting, attentive serving staff or full-service bar at the Clark County Detention Center. Simpson spends most of his time there in a 12 by 14-foot cell, away from the rest of the prison population.
He gets three meals a day, but they’re hardly gourmet. While Simpson often enjoyed meticulously prepared meals at Vegas’ finest tables during the trial, a typical meal for him now is a far cry from the beef or foie gras that he enjoyed, with a nice glass of Californian chardonnay, after the first week of proceedings.
“He had our beef carpacio, which is thinly sliced beef with blue cheese in the middle, and he had foie gras,” Rosemary’s front of house manager, James Repman, said.
“That was with an orange brioche bread and a Nevada nectarine coulis,” he explained, noting, “It was good, for one of his last meals.”
“He’s come in a couple of other times to just have cocktails at the bar but that was the first time he was in for dinner,” he said.
Repman said Simpson dined alongside his attorneys, Yale Galanter and Gabriel Grasso, and a few close friends who are regulars to the popular restaurant.
“He was a really nice guy, for what that’s worth,” Repman said.
Unlike many of Simpson’s former associates, who have pitched book deals and sold everything from autographs to damning audio tapes, Rosemary’s is not advertising or flaunting their affiliation with Simpson. Repman answered questions about Simpson’s patronage when contacted on Tuesday by the Sun, but made it clear that the owners and staff both did not want to capitalize on their recent guest’s patronage. The bartender who served Simpson his last Johnny Walker Black and Coke declined to be interviewed.
There is no Johnny Walker or Californian chardonnay at the Clark County Detention Center.
“Dinner is served (at) about 4 p.m. and a typical dinner would be an enchilada casserole, Spanish rice, garden salad with dressing, two slices of bread, a cube of margarine, marble cake, and a fruit drink,” Metro Police public information officer, Ramon Denby, said.
“It’s not fancy,” he said.
Breakfast – fruit, toasted oats, sausage hash and a slice of bread – is served at 4 a.m. and lunch is served at 10 a.m.
“A typical lunch would include spaghetti with sauce, a meat patty, green beans, two slices of bread, one cookie and a fruit drink,” Denby said.
Simpson eats his meals alone, either in his cell or in what’s called the detention center’s outer day room. He’s classified as a “protective custody – isolation” inmate, meaning he is kept in strict solitary confinement.
Even his cell is closed off from the rest of the detention center’s 3,000 other inmates. Simpson spends most of his time within those four cinderblock walls with the door locked shut.
“He remains in his room for the majority of the day while the other inmates are out on their free time,” Denby said.
Inside his cell is what Denby describes as a “wooden bunk with a little mattress” and a sink/toilet combination unit.
“He’s allowed two books or magazines in his room and up to five religious books or articles,” Denby said, but nothing else.
The former All-Star running back gets three to four hours of free time a day to eat meals, shower, shave or watch TV.
Denby said Simpson gets one hour in the detention center’s recreation room every day, where there are a few tables, a shower and a TV.
During the trial, Simpson said that he hoped to stay in shape during proceedings by working in training sessions at the Las Vegas Athletic Club. He’ll have to be creative with his work-out regime until his Dec. 5 sentencing, however, as there is no athletic equipment for the 61-year-old to use at the detention center.
“He can walk, do push-ups, jumping jacks,” Denby said, but there are no weights or cardio equipment for him to use.
He also gets 30 minutes of visitation privileges twice a week, but Simpson essentially watches his visitors on TV when they come to see him: they are kept on a different floor of the detention center and communicate through a video telephone.
Attorney visits are allowed in addition to his hour a week of family visitation.
Simpson is allowed outside once a week, but that, too, falls short of the five-star amenities the football legend has grown accustomed to over the years, and is done in solitary confinement.
“It’s basically four concrete walls with a mesh cage on top,” Denby said. “He’s afforded this once a week for an hour.”
Simpson will be sentenced on Dec. 5 and will likely be transferred to a state prison afterward. Simpson’s lawyers have indicated they will appeal the case, as will Stewart’s.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Simpson's future now hangs on armed robbery appeal
Simpson's future now hangs on armed robbery appeal
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 55 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's attorneys in his armed robbery case could be fighting long odds to convince an appeals court that he was a victim of racial prejudice and payback for his murder acquittal, legal experts say, but there may be other grounds for a new trial.
The 61-year-old Simpson's future depends, in part, on how successfully his lawyers argue that his 1995 acquittal was allowed to intrude in a Las Vegas courtroom.
Las Vegas defense attorney Al Lasso said that while the former football star's acquittal was the "elephant in the room everyone was trying to ignore," there were other errors that could bring a reversal of his conviction.
"This court would not hesitate to reverse if they saw cumulative errors that had the effect of prejudicing a defendant," Lasso said. "But then again it's O.J. Simpson, and he's unlike any other defendant."
Lasso, who watched the trial, said he was shocked at the jury's decision to convict Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges related to a hotel confrontation Sept. 13, 2007, with two sports memorabilia dealers.
The two face up to life in prison.
The day after the verdict, Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter said the jury was "on an agenda" to make up for Simpson's acquittal.
"This was just payback," Galanter said.
Lasso agreed, saying the conviction "feels like revenge justice."
The defense also will claim Judge Jackie Glass put such tough limits on defense questions that lying witnesses were shielded from exposure in court.
But the race issue will be the most difficult to prove, according to Sam Sommers, a Tufts University psychology professor whose area of expertise is race and the justice system.
"Short of attorneys admitting that, it's hard to convince an appeals court that it happened," Sommers said.
Both men are black and their jury included no African-Americans. Two blacks were eliminated by the prosecution through peremptory challenges in spite of defense claims that these were race-based actions designed to create an all-white jury.
One of the nine women and three men who convicted Simpson identified herself as Hispanic.
Simpson remains isolated in a 7-foot-by-14-foot cell in a Las Vegas jail, and his attorneys said they were preparing a request for new trial to be filed by week's end.
Attorney Gabriel Grasso said that request, which is expected to be denied, will offer a preview of appellate points to be raised after Simpson's scheduled sentencing Dec. 5.
Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years behind bars, and could bring as much as 30 years.
"In the motion for new trial, you're asking the person who tried the case to admit they screwed up," Grasso said. "It's very rare those are granted."
Nevertheless, Dayvid Figler, a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer, said the request for a new trial can be a prelude to sentencing and could include evidence of good deeds and character references, "basically to paint a picture of O.J. Simpson other than what we were left with."
"I would jam it full of stuff, get affidavits from the two victims saying they weren't really in fear and weren't victims," Figler said.
Once Simpson is sentenced, Grasso said, the focus will be on an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, which is the only appellate court in the state. An appeal could take a year and a half to resolve, and Simpson and Stewart would probably remain behind bars during that time.
Of all the potential appeal issues, Galanter said, "the worst was jury selection."
Galanter said the defense will argue that the judge's efforts to speed up jury selection "limited our ability to fully explore juror bias."
The defense asserts that jurors were influenced by Simpson's acquittal in California in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. At a news conference after Friday's verdict, jurors adamantly denied that the past case swayed the present one.
Once testimony began, Galanter said, the defense was restricted in its cross-examination from exploring the backgrounds of witnesses and exposing lies they might have told when compared with their preliminary hearing testimony last year.
"Speaking in broad terms, the issue is, 'Was the cross-examination so unduly restricted that the defendant didn't get a fair trial?'" said Tom Pitaro, a defense lawyer and adjunct professor at the University of Nevada.
Another issue, Galanter said, is whether there was judicial bias by Glass.
"I think the transcript is going to be rife with her cutting short cross-examinations and scolding the defense in front of the jury," Figler said.
"Here, you've got a judge being very animated and being less than tolerant of the defense in front of the jury," he said. "If the defense can show disparate treatment and also can tie it in with potential prejudice, then there is a line of cases they can point to on appeal where the judge's demeanor becomes an issue," Figler said.
For Stewart, the central issue of his appeal will be severance from the case against Simpson.
His lawyers repeatedly argued that he should not have been forced to stand trial with such a notorious figure.
"The fact that C.J. Stewart got the clean sweep on the verdict, as well, provides for a greater argument for the defense that there was 'spillover,'" Figler said.
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 55 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's attorneys in his armed robbery case could be fighting long odds to convince an appeals court that he was a victim of racial prejudice and payback for his murder acquittal, legal experts say, but there may be other grounds for a new trial.
The 61-year-old Simpson's future depends, in part, on how successfully his lawyers argue that his 1995 acquittal was allowed to intrude in a Las Vegas courtroom.
Las Vegas defense attorney Al Lasso said that while the former football star's acquittal was the "elephant in the room everyone was trying to ignore," there were other errors that could bring a reversal of his conviction.
"This court would not hesitate to reverse if they saw cumulative errors that had the effect of prejudicing a defendant," Lasso said. "But then again it's O.J. Simpson, and he's unlike any other defendant."
Lasso, who watched the trial, said he was shocked at the jury's decision to convict Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges related to a hotel confrontation Sept. 13, 2007, with two sports memorabilia dealers.
The two face up to life in prison.
The day after the verdict, Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter said the jury was "on an agenda" to make up for Simpson's acquittal.
"This was just payback," Galanter said.
Lasso agreed, saying the conviction "feels like revenge justice."
The defense also will claim Judge Jackie Glass put such tough limits on defense questions that lying witnesses were shielded from exposure in court.
But the race issue will be the most difficult to prove, according to Sam Sommers, a Tufts University psychology professor whose area of expertise is race and the justice system.
"Short of attorneys admitting that, it's hard to convince an appeals court that it happened," Sommers said.
Both men are black and their jury included no African-Americans. Two blacks were eliminated by the prosecution through peremptory challenges in spite of defense claims that these were race-based actions designed to create an all-white jury.
One of the nine women and three men who convicted Simpson identified herself as Hispanic.
Simpson remains isolated in a 7-foot-by-14-foot cell in a Las Vegas jail, and his attorneys said they were preparing a request for new trial to be filed by week's end.
Attorney Gabriel Grasso said that request, which is expected to be denied, will offer a preview of appellate points to be raised after Simpson's scheduled sentencing Dec. 5.
Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years behind bars, and could bring as much as 30 years.
"In the motion for new trial, you're asking the person who tried the case to admit they screwed up," Grasso said. "It's very rare those are granted."
Nevertheless, Dayvid Figler, a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer, said the request for a new trial can be a prelude to sentencing and could include evidence of good deeds and character references, "basically to paint a picture of O.J. Simpson other than what we were left with."
"I would jam it full of stuff, get affidavits from the two victims saying they weren't really in fear and weren't victims," Figler said.
Once Simpson is sentenced, Grasso said, the focus will be on an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, which is the only appellate court in the state. An appeal could take a year and a half to resolve, and Simpson and Stewart would probably remain behind bars during that time.
Of all the potential appeal issues, Galanter said, "the worst was jury selection."
Galanter said the defense will argue that the judge's efforts to speed up jury selection "limited our ability to fully explore juror bias."
The defense asserts that jurors were influenced by Simpson's acquittal in California in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. At a news conference after Friday's verdict, jurors adamantly denied that the past case swayed the present one.
Once testimony began, Galanter said, the defense was restricted in its cross-examination from exploring the backgrounds of witnesses and exposing lies they might have told when compared with their preliminary hearing testimony last year.
"Speaking in broad terms, the issue is, 'Was the cross-examination so unduly restricted that the defendant didn't get a fair trial?'" said Tom Pitaro, a defense lawyer and adjunct professor at the University of Nevada.
Another issue, Galanter said, is whether there was judicial bias by Glass.
"I think the transcript is going to be rife with her cutting short cross-examinations and scolding the defense in front of the jury," Figler said.
"Here, you've got a judge being very animated and being less than tolerant of the defense in front of the jury," he said. "If the defense can show disparate treatment and also can tie it in with potential prejudice, then there is a line of cases they can point to on appeal where the judge's demeanor becomes an issue," Figler said.
For Stewart, the central issue of his appeal will be severance from the case against Simpson.
His lawyers repeatedly argued that he should not have been forced to stand trial with such a notorious figure.
"The fact that C.J. Stewart got the clean sweep on the verdict, as well, provides for a greater argument for the defense that there was 'spillover,'" Figler said.
Jail Where O.J. Simpson will Await Sentencing
Jail Where O.J. Simpson will Await Sentencing
Last Edited: Tuesday, 07 Oct 2008, 11:00 AM EDT
Created: Tuesday, 07 Oct 2008, 11:00 AM EDT
We're getting a look at where O.J. Simpson will be calling home for the next couple of months after being convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping.
Simpson and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, will be sitting in jail cells at the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas.
Simpson's jail cell is big enough for a bed, desk, toilet and a sink, but not much else.
Jail officials say when Simpson is allowed to leave his cell, he can go to the jail's recreation room and that's about it.
Simpson will have some time to reflect on things as he will be sitting in the cell until December 5th when he is sentenced.
Monday, October 6, 2008
O.J. Simpson Had an Acquittal Party Planned
O.J. Simpson has made lots of mistakes in his life ... some allegedly and some actually quantifiable within a court of law. The latest "real" mistake though, is just an example of Juice messing with the karma that has been so kind to him (lost Heisman trophies or no, he still got off on the Brown - Goldman thing).
That's because, while heading towards the conclusion of his Las Vegas armed robbery trial, O.J. planned an acquittal party. I wish I was joking.
Simpson associate Thomas Riccio, after an in-studio interview Friday with radio talk-show host Anthony Crivello and retired Las Vegas police detective Phil Ramos, invited them to join O.J.'s entourage at an undisclosed location.
"That's how certain he was," Crivello said during an interview on Saturday, a day after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart were found guilty on all counts, including armed robbery and kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
"He's been predicting a hung jury," said Ramos, who attended the trial and provided expert commentary on Crivello's show, "The Sicilians" on Fox Sports Radio KBAD-AM, 920.
Maybe that prediction just stemmed from prior experience? Who knows.
What I do know is that you never plan a party like that so early, because it always comes back to bite you, like Simpson now.
It's pretty phenomenal though, and a testament to the type of person that Juice really is, that he actually went this far. In other words, we see (I think) O.J. as some bungling murderer in the Naked Gun fashion, but in reality, he's an incredibly cocky criminal who is finally getting his come uppin's.
Posted Oct 6th 2008 11:15AM by Will Brinson
That's because, while heading towards the conclusion of his Las Vegas armed robbery trial, O.J. planned an acquittal party. I wish I was joking.
Simpson associate Thomas Riccio, after an in-studio interview Friday with radio talk-show host Anthony Crivello and retired Las Vegas police detective Phil Ramos, invited them to join O.J.'s entourage at an undisclosed location.
"That's how certain he was," Crivello said during an interview on Saturday, a day after Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart were found guilty on all counts, including armed robbery and kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
"He's been predicting a hung jury," said Ramos, who attended the trial and provided expert commentary on Crivello's show, "The Sicilians" on Fox Sports Radio KBAD-AM, 920.
Maybe that prediction just stemmed from prior experience? Who knows.
What I do know is that you never plan a party like that so early, because it always comes back to bite you, like Simpson now.
It's pretty phenomenal though, and a testament to the type of person that Juice really is, that he actually went this far. In other words, we see (I think) O.J. as some bungling murderer in the Naked Gun fashion, but in reality, he's an incredibly cocky criminal who is finally getting his come uppin's.
Posted Oct 6th 2008 11:15AM by Will Brinson
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Simpson jury: We didn't need witnesses to convict
Simpson jury: We didn't need witnesses to convict
10/5/2008, 10:52 p.m. EDT
By LINDA DEUTSCH
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jurors who convicted O.J. Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas say they relied more on video and other documented evidence than on witness testimony.
Juror Michelle Lyons said Sunday that the panelists felt they "could not rely on that witness testimony."
She says jurors instead used video, audio and documented evidence to evaluate whether Simpson was guilty of each of 12 counts. She was one of seven jurors to speak to reporters.
Jury foreman Paul Connelly says it might have been a waste for prosecutors to give plea deals to several Simpson co-defendants in exchange for their testimony.
The 61-year-old Simpson was convicted Friday of charges stemming from a hotel room last year. Sentencing is set for December.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety but continues to hope for a new trial and a strong bid to reverse his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.
Attorney Yale Galanter told The Associated Press that Simpson will be living a lonely life, advised by his lawyers to do no media interviews and allowed to see only family members and a few friends placed on a special list at the jail.
Simpson will be held in the Clark County Detention Center until his Dec. 5 sentencing and then is expected to be moved to state prison. Galanter said he will pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond during the appeals process.
But because of the seriousness of the charges, Simpson would probably remain in jail during an appeal. Galanter said an appeal cannot be filed until after sentencing.
"We've been painted as an all-white jury who hates O.J., and that's just not true," Pettit said.
Jurors concluded that without the recordings, the prosecution might not have won convictions.
"It would have been a very weak case," Pettit said. Juror David Wieberg chimed in, "Yes, a weak case," and other jurors nodded in agreement.
Asked why they convicted Stewart, whom some observers saw as a minor player, juror Teresa Owens said: "The thing that clinched it for me is he drove the car. He walked out with items. He came out of that room with items that didn't belong to him."
Said juror Consuelo Saldivar: "He didn't leave. If he walked in and saw what was going on, he could have walked out."
He then continued to participate in a cover-up, jurors said, which made him a conspirator.
Simpson's lawyer Yale Galanter told The Associated Press earlier Sunday that the former Heisman Trophy winner is hoping for a new trial and a strong bid to reverse his conviction. He is being isolated from other prisoners in the Clark County Detention Center for his own safety, and is allowed to see only family members and a few friends, he said.
Simpson will be held in the Clark County Detention Center until his sentencing in December and then is expected to be moved to state prison. Galanter said he will pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond during the appeals process.
"He's disappointed and a bit melancholy," Galanter said.
Pettit, the juror, said she did not care what sentence Simpson got.
"If he walked out of there, I don't care," she said. "If he lives his life happily ever after, I don't care."
___
Associated Press writer Oskar Garcia contributed to this report.
10/5/2008, 10:52 p.m. EDT
By LINDA DEUTSCH
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jurors who convicted O.J. Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas say they relied more on video and other documented evidence than on witness testimony.
Juror Michelle Lyons said Sunday that the panelists felt they "could not rely on that witness testimony."
She says jurors instead used video, audio and documented evidence to evaluate whether Simpson was guilty of each of 12 counts. She was one of seven jurors to speak to reporters.
Jury foreman Paul Connelly says it might have been a waste for prosecutors to give plea deals to several Simpson co-defendants in exchange for their testimony.
The 61-year-old Simpson was convicted Friday of charges stemming from a hotel room last year. Sentencing is set for December.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety but continues to hope for a new trial and a strong bid to reverse his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.
Attorney Yale Galanter told The Associated Press that Simpson will be living a lonely life, advised by his lawyers to do no media interviews and allowed to see only family members and a few friends placed on a special list at the jail.
Simpson will be held in the Clark County Detention Center until his Dec. 5 sentencing and then is expected to be moved to state prison. Galanter said he will pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond during the appeals process.
But because of the seriousness of the charges, Simpson would probably remain in jail during an appeal. Galanter said an appeal cannot be filed until after sentencing.
"We've been painted as an all-white jury who hates O.J., and that's just not true," Pettit said.
Jurors concluded that without the recordings, the prosecution might not have won convictions.
"It would have been a very weak case," Pettit said. Juror David Wieberg chimed in, "Yes, a weak case," and other jurors nodded in agreement.
Asked why they convicted Stewart, whom some observers saw as a minor player, juror Teresa Owens said: "The thing that clinched it for me is he drove the car. He walked out with items. He came out of that room with items that didn't belong to him."
Said juror Consuelo Saldivar: "He didn't leave. If he walked in and saw what was going on, he could have walked out."
He then continued to participate in a cover-up, jurors said, which made him a conspirator.
Simpson's lawyer Yale Galanter told The Associated Press earlier Sunday that the former Heisman Trophy winner is hoping for a new trial and a strong bid to reverse his conviction. He is being isolated from other prisoners in the Clark County Detention Center for his own safety, and is allowed to see only family members and a few friends, he said.
Simpson will be held in the Clark County Detention Center until his sentencing in December and then is expected to be moved to state prison. Galanter said he will pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond during the appeals process.
"He's disappointed and a bit melancholy," Galanter said.
Pettit, the juror, said she did not care what sentence Simpson got.
"If he walked out of there, I don't care," she said. "If he lives his life happily ever after, I don't care."
___
Associated Press writer Oskar Garcia contributed to this report.
Simpson isolated in jail, focuses on future appeal
Simpson isolated in jail, focuses on future appeal
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 5 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety, and is focusing on a motion for new trial and a strong bid for appellate reversal of his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.
Attorney Yale Galanter told The Associated Press he will continue to pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond pending appeal.
Meanwhile, Galanter said Simpson will be living a lonely life, advised by his lawyers to do no media interviews and allowed to see only family members and a few friends placed on a special list at the jail.
Simpson will be held in Clark County Detention Center until his Dec. 5 sentencing, then is expected to be transferred to state prison. Because of the seriousness of the charges, it is likely that Simpson would remain in jail during his appeal.
"He is in isolated custody and being protected from other inmates," Galanter said aboard a plane as he prepared to return to his Miami office. "The jail is taking very special precautions to make sure he is safe."
Galanter said that this will make for a difficult incarceration for the gregarious Simpson, because "it limits his contacts with other humans."
The attorney said Simpson was OK during a jail visit Saturday where they discussed future plans for the case. "He's disappointed and a bit melancholy," he said.
Galanter said the appeal cannot be filed until after Simpson is sentenced.
"We are planning to fast track that as much as possible," he said.
The 61-year-old Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering five men a year ago and storming a room at a hotel-casino to seize Simpson sports mementos — including game balls, plaques and photos — from two collectors. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one testified Simpson had asked him to bring a gun.
Galanter said he believes Simpson has a strong argument for reversal of his conviction because of legal errors made during the trial, beginning with the jury selection process.
He said issues to be raised on appeal will include the elimination of all African-Americans from the jury and the inclusion of jurors who believed that Simpson should have been convicted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in a 1995 Los Angeles trial.
Juror Fred Jones acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times that he thought Simpson killed his ex-wife and her friend, but said he put that aside when considering the Las Vegas case.
"We went out of our way not to mention that," Jones said. "That was never, never in our thoughts."
Jury foreman Paul Connelly said the murders "really didn't come up" as the jury deliberated.
"I honestly believe in my heart of hearts that it did not" affect the verdict," Connelly told the Los Angeles Times.
Lawyers for Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J" Stewart have said they also plan a strong appeal with focus on their claim that he was prejudiced by having to stand trial with Simpson. They had filed numerous severance motions, claiming that Simpson's notoriety would infect Stewart's case.
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 5 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety, and is focusing on a motion for new trial and a strong bid for appellate reversal of his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.
Attorney Yale Galanter told The Associated Press he will continue to pursue a request for Simpson to be released on bond pending appeal.
Meanwhile, Galanter said Simpson will be living a lonely life, advised by his lawyers to do no media interviews and allowed to see only family members and a few friends placed on a special list at the jail.
Simpson will be held in Clark County Detention Center until his Dec. 5 sentencing, then is expected to be transferred to state prison. Because of the seriousness of the charges, it is likely that Simpson would remain in jail during his appeal.
"He is in isolated custody and being protected from other inmates," Galanter said aboard a plane as he prepared to return to his Miami office. "The jail is taking very special precautions to make sure he is safe."
Galanter said that this will make for a difficult incarceration for the gregarious Simpson, because "it limits his contacts with other humans."
The attorney said Simpson was OK during a jail visit Saturday where they discussed future plans for the case. "He's disappointed and a bit melancholy," he said.
Galanter said the appeal cannot be filed until after Simpson is sentenced.
"We are planning to fast track that as much as possible," he said.
The 61-year-old Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering five men a year ago and storming a room at a hotel-casino to seize Simpson sports mementos — including game balls, plaques and photos — from two collectors. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one testified Simpson had asked him to bring a gun.
Galanter said he believes Simpson has a strong argument for reversal of his conviction because of legal errors made during the trial, beginning with the jury selection process.
He said issues to be raised on appeal will include the elimination of all African-Americans from the jury and the inclusion of jurors who believed that Simpson should have been convicted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in a 1995 Los Angeles trial.
Juror Fred Jones acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times that he thought Simpson killed his ex-wife and her friend, but said he put that aside when considering the Las Vegas case.
"We went out of our way not to mention that," Jones said. "That was never, never in our thoughts."
Jury foreman Paul Connelly said the murders "really didn't come up" as the jury deliberated.
"I honestly believe in my heart of hearts that it did not" affect the verdict," Connelly told the Los Angeles Times.
Lawyers for Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J" Stewart have said they also plan a strong appeal with focus on their claim that he was prejudiced by having to stand trial with Simpson. They had filed numerous severance motions, claiming that Simpson's notoriety would infect Stewart's case.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
In the end, O.J. Simpson comes up a loser in Vegas
In the end, O.J. Simpson comes up a loser in Vegas
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a city where luck means everything, O.J. Simpson came out the big loser — and his unlucky number in a case full of bizarre twists was 13.
He was convicted of an armed robbery that happened on Sept. 13 and was found guilty on the 13th anniversary of his Los Angeles murder acquittal. The Las Vegas jury deliberated for 13 hours after a 13-day trial.
And then, as only the racking sobs of Simpson's sister broke the silence late Friday, the lights went out.
Court marshals flipped on flashlights and shouted for everyone to stay seated. Only the judge knew what had happened. It was 11 p.m. and the courthouse lights had shut down automatically.
"Timed out," Judge Jackie Glass said in a fitting epitaph for the story of O.J. Simpson, which has long haunted America.
The 61-year-old Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering five men a year ago and storming into a room at a hotel-casino, where the group seized several game balls, plaques and photos. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one of them said Simpson asked him to bring a gun.
Once convicted, Simpson, the sports-idol-turned-celebrity-pariah, was handcuffed and led from the room with his co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart. They could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
"There is justice," said attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the family of his slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. "Justice was delayed, but in this case it was not denied. Now that he may spend the rest of his life in prison, the law, and not O.J. Simpson, will have the last word."
Still, many of those in the courtroom couldn't believe the verdicts. Simpson's sister, Carmelita Durio, fainted. The sister of Tom Scotto, whose wedding precipitated the hotel confrontation, wailed. His wife, Sabrina, wept.
Some observers said the Las Vegas case paled in comparison to the "trial of the century" in 1995, a yearlong opus in which Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.
A rapt nation followed the Los Angeles trial. Tales of a gruesome murder and a bloody glove, as well as the celebrity defendant, drew a media frenzy.
In Las Vegas, Simpson's fate played out in a small courtroom dotted with empty seats. Even the stunning verdict came as most of America slept, oblivious to the irony that Simpson might spend the rest of his life in prison for what most perceived as a petty crime, a tussle among dysfunctional middle-aged men.
Simpson's Las Vegas defense tried to tell the jury that the two cases had nothing to do with each other, but it was a losing battle.
"I don't know that one trial cancels out the other," said Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson, who attended Simpson's murder trial. "People will always be troubled by O.J. For the people troubled by the Los Angeles acquittal, this case will make small amends. Saying finally there is justice, at least from a legal perspective, is very crude way of looking at justice."
She predicted that Stewart, 54, will have a strong chance for reversal on appeal because he was forced to stand trial beside Simpson.
"O.J. was toxic, and he has been toxic since 1994, and this jury was just ready to clean up the mess," Levenson said.
Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter said Saturday he felt bad for Simpson but even worse for Stewart, who got dragged along in a campaign to convict Simpson.
"This was just payback," he said of the verdict. "They were on an agenda."
Galanter and Stewart's lawyers promised to appeal, in part because unlike the predominantly black jury that decided Simpson's murder case, this panel included no African-Americans. Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified.
Tom Scotto, who wept in court, called it "a public lynching."
"Was this something to put someone in jail for the rest of their life for? It's a total injustice. There was no justice served in that courtroom," Scotto said.
It was Scotto's wedding that had brought Simpson, a close friend, to Las Vegas on that fateful week in 2007, and details of wedding plans, flowers, a cake and parties formed an ironic counterpoint to testimony about Simpson gathering up a posse that included two gun-toting men to confront memorabilia dealers who were peddling Simpson's personal property to the highest bidder.
The case was set in motion by Thomas Riccio, a collectibles broker who tried to bring in the FBI when he heard that two memorabilia dealers were planning to sell a trove of Simpson artifacts. Failing to get their attention, he helped set up a "sting" by promoting an anonymous buyer who turned out to be Simpson.
Riccio, who has peddled goods including video of Anna Nicole Smith's breast implant surgery, saw a chance to profit by recording the confrontation between Simpson and collectibles dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
He rented a cramped hotel room away from the Las Vegas Strip for the meeting and planted a digital recorder atop an armoire. Riccio then sold the recordings of the six-minute confrontation for $210,000 before turning them over to police eight days later. Although they couldn't be authenticated, the recordings became the heart of the prosecution's case, along with audio recorded by gunman Michael McClinton at two wedding parties.
The recordings were sometimes garbled, but Simpson's voice came through loud and clear: "Don't let nobody out of this room." The words formed the basis of the prosecution's kidnapping charge.
The former football hero also was heard accusing the men of stealing his possessions. His lawyer would argue that Simpson was on a recovery mission to reclaim the artifacts of his life.
But District Attorney David Roger argued that ownership was not a defense to robbery.
Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a sentence of at least two years behind bars and could bring as much as 30.
Simpson and Stewart were taken to the Clark County jail, where the football star will live in a 7-by-14-foot cell, far removed from his ranch-style home in the lush Miami suburbs.
The once-gregarious entertainer doesn't have a cell mate. He lives in the company of white concrete block walls, a small toilet and sink, and a wooden bed covered with a thin cushion. He probably has a view of a scruffy Las Vegas street through two slit windows.
It will be his home until at least Dec. 5, when he and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced. They would then be sent to state prison.
Even before the verdict, Simpson appeared resigned that his luck had run out.
He had been prepared for the worst, his lawyer said.
And in a conversation with The Associated Press on Thursday, Simpson implied as much, saying, "I'm afraid that I won't get to go to my kids' college graduations after I managed to get them through college."
Associated Press writers Ken Ritter and Kathleen Hennessey in Las Vegas and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping
Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 5 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thirteen years to the day after being acquitted of killing his wife and her friend in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.
The 61-year-old former football star was convicted of all 12 counts late Friday after jurors deliberated for more than 13 hours. He released a heavy sigh as the charges were read and was immediately taken into custody.
Simpson, who went from American sports idol to celebrity-in-exile after his murder acquittal, could spend the rest of his life in prison.
His attorney said he would appeal.
Many people considered the four-week trial justice delayed. Simpson was cleared in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century, but was later found liable for the deaths in a civil case.
"I don't like to use the word payback," defense attorney Yale Galanter said. "I can tell you from the beginning my biggest concern ... was whether or not the jury would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr. Simpson and judge him fairly and honestly."
The Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering up five men a year ago and storming into a room at a hotel-casino, where the group seized several game balls, plaques and photos. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one of them said Simpson asked him to bring a gun.
Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, also was found guilty on all charges and taken into custody.
Simpson showed little emotion as officers handcuffed him and walked him out of the courtroom. His sister, Carmelita Durio, sobbed behind him in the arms of Simpson's friend, Tom Scotto, who said "I love you" as Simpson passed by. As spectators left the courtroom, Durio collapsed.
Jurors made no eye contact with the defendants as they entered the courtroom. They declined to answer questions after the verdict was read.
Galanter said his client had expected the outcome, and in a courthouse conversation with an Associated Press reporter on Thursday, Simpson had implied as much.
Simpson said he was "afraid that I won't get to go to my kids' college graduations after I managed to get them through college."
Galanter said it was not a happy day for anybody. "His only hope is the appellate process," he said.
Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said prosecutors would not comment until the case was "completely resolved."
Judge Jackie Glass made no comment other than to thank the jury for its service and to deny motions for the defendants to be released on bail.
She refused to give the lawyers extended time to file a motion for new trial, which under Nevada law must be filed within seven days. The attorneys said they needed time to submit a voluminous record.
"I've sat through the trial," Glass said. "If you want a motion for new trial, send me something."
Stewart's attorney, Brent Bryson, also promised to appeal.
"If there was ever a case that should have been severed in the history of jurisprudence, it's this case," he said of unsuccessful attempts to separate Stewart's case from Simpson's because of the "spillover" effect.
From the beginning, Simpson and his lawyers argued the incident was not a robbery, but an attempt to reclaim mementos that had been stolen from him. He said he did not ask anyone to bring a weapon and did not see any guns.
The defense portrayed Simpson as a victim of shady characters who wanted to make a buck off his famous name, and police officers who saw his arrest as an opportunity to "get" him and avenge his acquittal.
Prosecutors said Simpson's ownership of the memorabilia was irrelevant; it was still a crime to try to take things by force.
"When they went into that room and forced the victims to the far side of the room, pulling out guns and yelling, `Don't let anybody out of here!' — six very large people detaining these two victims in the room with the intent to take property through force or violence from them — that's kidnapping," prosecutor David Roger said.
Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years behind bars, and could bring as much as 30. Sentencing was set for Dec. 5.
Simpson, who now lives in Miami, did not testify but was heard on a recording of the confrontation screaming that the dealers had stolen his property. "Don't let nobody out of this room," he declared and told the other men to scoop up his items, which included a photo of Simpson with former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Four other men charged in the case struck plea bargains that saved them from potential prison sentences in return for their testimony. Some of them had criminal records or were otherwise compromised in some way. One, for example, was an alleged pimp who testified he had a revelation from God telling him to take a plea bargain.
Memorabilia dealer Thomas Riccio, who arranged and secretly recorded the hotel-room confrontation, said he netted $210,000 from the media for the tapes.
Similarly, minutes after the Sept. 13, 2007, incident, one of the alleged victims, sports-memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley, was calling news outlets, and the other, Bruce Fromong, spoke of getting "big money" from the case.
Simpson's past haunted the case. Las Vegas police officers were heard in the recordings chuckling over Simpson's misfortune and crowing that if Los Angeles couldn't "get" him, they would.
During jury selection, Simpson's lawyers expressed fears that people who believed he got away with murder might see this case as a chance to right a wrong.
As a result, an usually large pool of 500 potential jurors was called, and they were given a 26-page questionnaire. Half were almost instantly eliminated after expressing strong feelings that Simpson should have been convicted of murder.
The judge instructed the jurors to put aside Simpson's earlier case.
In closing arguments, Galanter acknowledged that what Simpson did to recover his memorabilia was not right. "But being stupid, and being frustrated is not being a criminal," he said.
He added: "This case has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement. You know that. I know that. Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money, the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson."
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 5 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thirteen years to the day after being acquitted of killing his wife and her friend in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.
The 61-year-old former football star was convicted of all 12 counts late Friday after jurors deliberated for more than 13 hours. He released a heavy sigh as the charges were read and was immediately taken into custody.
Simpson, who went from American sports idol to celebrity-in-exile after his murder acquittal, could spend the rest of his life in prison.
His attorney said he would appeal.
Many people considered the four-week trial justice delayed. Simpson was cleared in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century, but was later found liable for the deaths in a civil case.
"I don't like to use the word payback," defense attorney Yale Galanter said. "I can tell you from the beginning my biggest concern ... was whether or not the jury would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr. Simpson and judge him fairly and honestly."
The Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering up five men a year ago and storming into a room at a hotel-casino, where the group seized several game balls, plaques and photos. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one of them said Simpson asked him to bring a gun.
Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, also was found guilty on all charges and taken into custody.
Simpson showed little emotion as officers handcuffed him and walked him out of the courtroom. His sister, Carmelita Durio, sobbed behind him in the arms of Simpson's friend, Tom Scotto, who said "I love you" as Simpson passed by. As spectators left the courtroom, Durio collapsed.
Jurors made no eye contact with the defendants as they entered the courtroom. They declined to answer questions after the verdict was read.
Galanter said his client had expected the outcome, and in a courthouse conversation with an Associated Press reporter on Thursday, Simpson had implied as much.
Simpson said he was "afraid that I won't get to go to my kids' college graduations after I managed to get them through college."
Galanter said it was not a happy day for anybody. "His only hope is the appellate process," he said.
Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said prosecutors would not comment until the case was "completely resolved."
Judge Jackie Glass made no comment other than to thank the jury for its service and to deny motions for the defendants to be released on bail.
She refused to give the lawyers extended time to file a motion for new trial, which under Nevada law must be filed within seven days. The attorneys said they needed time to submit a voluminous record.
"I've sat through the trial," Glass said. "If you want a motion for new trial, send me something."
Stewart's attorney, Brent Bryson, also promised to appeal.
"If there was ever a case that should have been severed in the history of jurisprudence, it's this case," he said of unsuccessful attempts to separate Stewart's case from Simpson's because of the "spillover" effect.
From the beginning, Simpson and his lawyers argued the incident was not a robbery, but an attempt to reclaim mementos that had been stolen from him. He said he did not ask anyone to bring a weapon and did not see any guns.
The defense portrayed Simpson as a victim of shady characters who wanted to make a buck off his famous name, and police officers who saw his arrest as an opportunity to "get" him and avenge his acquittal.
Prosecutors said Simpson's ownership of the memorabilia was irrelevant; it was still a crime to try to take things by force.
"When they went into that room and forced the victims to the far side of the room, pulling out guns and yelling, `Don't let anybody out of here!' — six very large people detaining these two victims in the room with the intent to take property through force or violence from them — that's kidnapping," prosecutor David Roger said.
Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years behind bars, and could bring as much as 30. Sentencing was set for Dec. 5.
Simpson, who now lives in Miami, did not testify but was heard on a recording of the confrontation screaming that the dealers had stolen his property. "Don't let nobody out of this room," he declared and told the other men to scoop up his items, which included a photo of Simpson with former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Four other men charged in the case struck plea bargains that saved them from potential prison sentences in return for their testimony. Some of them had criminal records or were otherwise compromised in some way. One, for example, was an alleged pimp who testified he had a revelation from God telling him to take a plea bargain.
Memorabilia dealer Thomas Riccio, who arranged and secretly recorded the hotel-room confrontation, said he netted $210,000 from the media for the tapes.
Similarly, minutes after the Sept. 13, 2007, incident, one of the alleged victims, sports-memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley, was calling news outlets, and the other, Bruce Fromong, spoke of getting "big money" from the case.
Simpson's past haunted the case. Las Vegas police officers were heard in the recordings chuckling over Simpson's misfortune and crowing that if Los Angeles couldn't "get" him, they would.
During jury selection, Simpson's lawyers expressed fears that people who believed he got away with murder might see this case as a chance to right a wrong.
As a result, an usually large pool of 500 potential jurors was called, and they were given a 26-page questionnaire. Half were almost instantly eliminated after expressing strong feelings that Simpson should have been convicted of murder.
The judge instructed the jurors to put aside Simpson's earlier case.
In closing arguments, Galanter acknowledged that what Simpson did to recover his memorabilia was not right. "But being stupid, and being frustrated is not being a criminal," he said.
He added: "This case has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement. You know that. I know that. Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money, the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson."
Friday, October 3, 2008
Las Vegas jury deliberating in O.J. Simpson case
Las Vegas jury deliberating in O.J. Simpson case
By KEN RITTER – 3 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial had dinner delivered Friday so they could continue deliberating the fate of the former football star and a co-defendant, accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.
"They have requested to continue deliberating tonight, and we are bringing in dinner to them," court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said in the late afternoon.
The 61-year-old former football star and a golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J." Stewart each face five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery. They've pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including conspiracy, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.
Deliberations began 13 years to the day after Simpson was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.
The Clark County jury heard 12 days of testimony, capped by prosecutors' arguments Thursday that the Las Vegas case had its roots in the 1994 slayings.
Prosecutor Chris Owens said Simpson planned — and Stewart helped carry out — a plot to retrieve personal items that Simpson lost after squirreling them away to avoid turning them over to Goldman's family to satisfy part of a $33.5 million civil wrongful death judgment levied in 1997 by a California court.
Owens told the jury to convict Simpson, denouncing him for "arrogance" of thinking he could commit a crime "against the dignity and the peace of the state of Nevada."
"The kind of arrogance ... that would make them think they could come in and get away with this kind of crime and that nobody would report it and they thought they could spin it that, 'It's all OK; It was my stuff.'"
Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, told the jury the prosecution didn't prove Simpson was guilty in the criminal case that he said "has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement."
"Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money — the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson," Galanter said. "He has always been the target of this investigation, and nothing else mattered."
Galanter reminded the jury of a surreptitious recording of police investigators in the hotel room after the incident. "They're making jokes. They're saying things like, 'We're gonna get him,'" he said.
Since Sept. 15, the jury heard 22 often colorful witnesses — including seven of the nine people who were in the cramped hotel room. They've listened to numerous replays of secret recordings made before, during and after the alleged robbery.
Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified, and jurors were instructed not to consider that when judging the case. Two former co-defendants who said they brought guns did testify.
Judge Jackie Glass kept a tight rein on the proceedings and rejected several mistrial motions. She read 41 legal instructions to the jurors and six alternates before lawyers began closing arguments.
Galanter told the jury that the incident got out of hand because of former co-defendant Michael McClinton, who admitted displaying a gun during the confrontation.
"For whatever reason, Michael McClinton takes over," Galanter said, "and when McClinton takes over, he starts yelling and screaming and giving people orders and telling people to bag stuff up. And O.J.'s saying, 'Don't take anything that's not mine.'"
By KEN RITTER – 3 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial had dinner delivered Friday so they could continue deliberating the fate of the former football star and a co-defendant, accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.
"They have requested to continue deliberating tonight, and we are bringing in dinner to them," court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said in the late afternoon.
The 61-year-old former football star and a golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J." Stewart each face five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery. They've pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including conspiracy, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.
Deliberations began 13 years to the day after Simpson was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.
The Clark County jury heard 12 days of testimony, capped by prosecutors' arguments Thursday that the Las Vegas case had its roots in the 1994 slayings.
Prosecutor Chris Owens said Simpson planned — and Stewart helped carry out — a plot to retrieve personal items that Simpson lost after squirreling them away to avoid turning them over to Goldman's family to satisfy part of a $33.5 million civil wrongful death judgment levied in 1997 by a California court.
Owens told the jury to convict Simpson, denouncing him for "arrogance" of thinking he could commit a crime "against the dignity and the peace of the state of Nevada."
"The kind of arrogance ... that would make them think they could come in and get away with this kind of crime and that nobody would report it and they thought they could spin it that, 'It's all OK; It was my stuff.'"
Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, told the jury the prosecution didn't prove Simpson was guilty in the criminal case that he said "has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement."
"Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money — the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson," Galanter said. "He has always been the target of this investigation, and nothing else mattered."
Galanter reminded the jury of a surreptitious recording of police investigators in the hotel room after the incident. "They're making jokes. They're saying things like, 'We're gonna get him,'" he said.
Since Sept. 15, the jury heard 22 often colorful witnesses — including seven of the nine people who were in the cramped hotel room. They've listened to numerous replays of secret recordings made before, during and after the alleged robbery.
Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified, and jurors were instructed not to consider that when judging the case. Two former co-defendants who said they brought guns did testify.
Judge Jackie Glass kept a tight rein on the proceedings and rejected several mistrial motions. She read 41 legal instructions to the jurors and six alternates before lawyers began closing arguments.
Galanter told the jury that the incident got out of hand because of former co-defendant Michael McClinton, who admitted displaying a gun during the confrontation.
"For whatever reason, Michael McClinton takes over," Galanter said, "and when McClinton takes over, he starts yelling and screaming and giving people orders and telling people to bag stuff up. And O.J.'s saying, 'Don't take anything that's not mine.'"
October 3rd found not guilty, back in 1995, will it happen again
OJ Simpson was found NOT GUITY of MURDER this day back in 1995. Could it happen again, well the jury now is in deliberation and it's early on the 3rd of October. Personally, this webmaster feels the jury will find Mr. Simpson guilty of at least one count. We wait, we will see soon enough.
Fate of O.J. Simpson rests with Las Vegas jury
Fate of O.J. Simpson rests with Las Vegas jury
By KEN RITTER – 4 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's fate is in the hands of nine women and three men in a Nevada court.
Thirteen years to the day after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, a Clark County jury was to begin deliberating Friday whether the 61-year-old former football star and golfing buddy Clarence "C.J." Stewart are guilty of the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers.
Prosecutors told the jury Thursday that Simpson planned — and Stewart helped carry out — a plan to retrieve personal items that Simpson lost after squirreling them away after his Oct. 3, 1995, acquittal in Los Angeles of slaying Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
"He had the people to carry the property," prosecutor Chris Owens said of the four men and a middle man who set up the meeting and accompanied Simpson and Stewart to the Palace Station casino hotel Sept. 13, 2007. The other men four men later pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution along with Thomas Riccio, who arranged the meeting.
"He had the guys with the guns, and he had the guy to get him in the door," Owens said.
Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, told the jury the prosecution didn't prove Simpson was guilty in the criminal case that he said "has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement."
"Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money — the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson," Galanter said.
Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, presented his 54-year-old client as the trial's forgotten man.
"I want to take an opportunity to introduce you to the other defendant in this case, Mr. Clarence Stewart," Bryson said in closing arguments.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against them. Each faces five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery.
In 12 days of testimony Sept. 15, the jury has heard 22 often colorful witnesses — including seven of the nine people who were in the cramped hotel room. They've listened to numerous replays of secret recordings of Simpson before, during and after the alleged robbery.
Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified, and jurors were instructed not to consider that when judging the case.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, who rejected several mistrial motions and kept a tight rein on the proceedings, read 41 legal instructions to the jurors and six alternates before lawyers began closing arguments.
In his closing, District Attorney David Roger focused on Simpson as the leader of a conspiracy, and said none of the men with him cared about the memorabilia he was after.
"But there was one person, and that was defendant Simpson," Roger said, raising his voice. "He is the person who put these crimes together. He is the one who recruited these individuals to help him commit the crimes."
Two witnesses who said they brought guns testified.
Galanter argued that Simpson never intended to commit a robbery but wanted to reclaim personal mementos of his career and family life that were being peddled by memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.
Witnesses told of Simpson's repeated declarations that he did not see any guns and did not know guns were to be present in the hotel room.
Galanter told the jury that the incident got out of hand because of former co-defendant Michael McClinton, who has admitted displaying a gun during the confrontation.
"For whatever reason, Michael McClinton takes over," Galanter said, "and when McClinton takes over, he starts yelling and screaming and giving people orders and telling people to bag stuff up. And O.J.'s saying, 'Don't take anything that's not mine.'"
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
By KEN RITTER – 4 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's fate is in the hands of nine women and three men in a Nevada court.
Thirteen years to the day after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, a Clark County jury was to begin deliberating Friday whether the 61-year-old former football star and golfing buddy Clarence "C.J." Stewart are guilty of the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers.
Prosecutors told the jury Thursday that Simpson planned — and Stewart helped carry out — a plan to retrieve personal items that Simpson lost after squirreling them away after his Oct. 3, 1995, acquittal in Los Angeles of slaying Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
"He had the people to carry the property," prosecutor Chris Owens said of the four men and a middle man who set up the meeting and accompanied Simpson and Stewart to the Palace Station casino hotel Sept. 13, 2007. The other men four men later pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution along with Thomas Riccio, who arranged the meeting.
"He had the guys with the guns, and he had the guy to get him in the door," Owens said.
Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, told the jury the prosecution didn't prove Simpson was guilty in the criminal case that he said "has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement."
"Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money — the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson," Galanter said.
Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, presented his 54-year-old client as the trial's forgotten man.
"I want to take an opportunity to introduce you to the other defendant in this case, Mr. Clarence Stewart," Bryson said in closing arguments.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against them. Each faces five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery.
In 12 days of testimony Sept. 15, the jury has heard 22 often colorful witnesses — including seven of the nine people who were in the cramped hotel room. They've listened to numerous replays of secret recordings of Simpson before, during and after the alleged robbery.
Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified, and jurors were instructed not to consider that when judging the case.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, who rejected several mistrial motions and kept a tight rein on the proceedings, read 41 legal instructions to the jurors and six alternates before lawyers began closing arguments.
In his closing, District Attorney David Roger focused on Simpson as the leader of a conspiracy, and said none of the men with him cared about the memorabilia he was after.
"But there was one person, and that was defendant Simpson," Roger said, raising his voice. "He is the person who put these crimes together. He is the one who recruited these individuals to help him commit the crimes."
Two witnesses who said they brought guns testified.
Galanter argued that Simpson never intended to commit a robbery but wanted to reclaim personal mementos of his career and family life that were being peddled by memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.
Witnesses told of Simpson's repeated declarations that he did not see any guns and did not know guns were to be present in the hotel room.
Galanter told the jury that the incident got out of hand because of former co-defendant Michael McClinton, who has admitted displaying a gun during the confrontation.
"For whatever reason, Michael McClinton takes over," Galanter said, "and when McClinton takes over, he starts yelling and screaming and giving people orders and telling people to bag stuff up. And O.J.'s saying, 'Don't take anything that's not mine.'"
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Both sides rest in Simpson's armed robbery trial
Both sides rest in Simpson's armed robbery trial
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Both sides have rested in the O.J. Simpson kidnapping and armed robbery case after a last-minute dispute threatened to derail the trial.
Judge Jackie Glass dismissed jurors for the day Wednesday. They're due to hear final arguments Thursday.
Glass rejected mistrial motions earlier but expressed concern that the trial was in jeopardy and said she was trying "to get this case back on track."
Prosecutors and defense lawyers thought the lead detective blurted out that a defense witness had been thrown out of a hearing for tampering with a witness.
But the judge found that the detective was referring to someone else.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's defense rested its case Wednesday without calling the former football star to the stand. Instead, his lawyers wrapped up with a voice mail from a key prosecution witness offering to tailor his testimony if he was paid enough.
Lawyers for Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, called only one witness before resting their case. Stewart's cousin, Linda Lockheart, said Stewart was elsewhere, entertaining friends, when Simpson and others gathered to plan a hotel room confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers.
Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Each man could face five years to life in prison if convicted in the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation.
The prosecution began calling rebuttal witnesses after the defense testimony. The voicemail left for Simpson's friend, Tom Scotto, was a last-minute surprise by the defense.
"If I get some help, I'll do whatever I can," said Walter Alexander, whose message was played for jurors in a hushed courtroom.
"I can do quite a bit," said Alexander, one of four former co-defendants who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in return for their testimony against Simpson.
Scotto was asked what he thought after hearing the message and responded: "Basically, he was selling his testimony."
The call came to Scotto about a month after Simpson and a group of men, including Alexander, were arrested on allegations of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers in a casino hotel room at gunpoint. The confrontation involved Simpson's effort to reclaim mementos of his storied career from two dealers peddling the items.
Scotto, 46, a North Miami Beach, Fla., auto repair shop owner who became a close friend of Simpson's over the past eight years, provided a dramatic account that played out against the backdrop of his impending wedding, which brought Simpson and others to Las Vegas.
His account was interspersed with details of trips to the marriage license bureau, the bakery and the florist.
Scotto told of being cornered by Alexander and former co-defendant Michael McClinton during a party being given for the wedding couple the night after the confrontation at the Palace Station casino and hotel. He said that the two men tried to extort him for $50,000, and that McClinton threatened violence if he wasn't paid.
"They said, 'Come outside. We want to talk to you," he recalled.
Scotto said they demanded $50,000, saying, "this thing went bad and O.J. got them involved in this, and he better call them."
Scotto quoted McClinton as saying, "You don't know me that well. ... I'll shoot everyone up."
He also quoted McClinton as saying there were no guns involved in the confrontation. Scotto said that he walked away from the men but that an hour later they summoned him and told him he had "better come up with the $50,000 or else."
Alexander admitted in earlier testimony that he asked Simpson for money, which he said was to hire a lawyer. In last year's preliminary hearing, he admitted he had offered to tailor his testimony for money, but he denied that during the trial.
Scotto said he felt threatened by the two witnesses but didn't tell police about the alleged shakedown when it happened because they had shown no interest in interviewing him. But when he heard voicemail at his Florida home, he said, he turned it over to police immediately because "I wanted it to stop."
District Attorney David Roger countered the defense testimony by accusing Scotto of telling Stewart he would "take out a contract" on Alexander's life, but he offered no evidence to support the allegation other than "a good faith belief."
"That's ridiculous," Scotto said.
Asked by Roger whether he ever tried to market a book, Scotto said he did but there were no takers.
"Nobody wants to hear a good book about O.J.," he said.
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Both sides have rested in the O.J. Simpson kidnapping and armed robbery case after a last-minute dispute threatened to derail the trial.
Judge Jackie Glass dismissed jurors for the day Wednesday. They're due to hear final arguments Thursday.
Glass rejected mistrial motions earlier but expressed concern that the trial was in jeopardy and said she was trying "to get this case back on track."
Prosecutors and defense lawyers thought the lead detective blurted out that a defense witness had been thrown out of a hearing for tampering with a witness.
But the judge found that the detective was referring to someone else.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's defense rested its case Wednesday without calling the former football star to the stand. Instead, his lawyers wrapped up with a voice mail from a key prosecution witness offering to tailor his testimony if he was paid enough.
Lawyers for Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, called only one witness before resting their case. Stewart's cousin, Linda Lockheart, said Stewart was elsewhere, entertaining friends, when Simpson and others gathered to plan a hotel room confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers.
Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Each man could face five years to life in prison if convicted in the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation.
The prosecution began calling rebuttal witnesses after the defense testimony. The voicemail left for Simpson's friend, Tom Scotto, was a last-minute surprise by the defense.
"If I get some help, I'll do whatever I can," said Walter Alexander, whose message was played for jurors in a hushed courtroom.
"I can do quite a bit," said Alexander, one of four former co-defendants who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in return for their testimony against Simpson.
Scotto was asked what he thought after hearing the message and responded: "Basically, he was selling his testimony."
The call came to Scotto about a month after Simpson and a group of men, including Alexander, were arrested on allegations of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers in a casino hotel room at gunpoint. The confrontation involved Simpson's effort to reclaim mementos of his storied career from two dealers peddling the items.
Scotto, 46, a North Miami Beach, Fla., auto repair shop owner who became a close friend of Simpson's over the past eight years, provided a dramatic account that played out against the backdrop of his impending wedding, which brought Simpson and others to Las Vegas.
His account was interspersed with details of trips to the marriage license bureau, the bakery and the florist.
Scotto told of being cornered by Alexander and former co-defendant Michael McClinton during a party being given for the wedding couple the night after the confrontation at the Palace Station casino and hotel. He said that the two men tried to extort him for $50,000, and that McClinton threatened violence if he wasn't paid.
"They said, 'Come outside. We want to talk to you," he recalled.
Scotto said they demanded $50,000, saying, "this thing went bad and O.J. got them involved in this, and he better call them."
Scotto quoted McClinton as saying, "You don't know me that well. ... I'll shoot everyone up."
He also quoted McClinton as saying there were no guns involved in the confrontation. Scotto said that he walked away from the men but that an hour later they summoned him and told him he had "better come up with the $50,000 or else."
Alexander admitted in earlier testimony that he asked Simpson for money, which he said was to hire a lawyer. In last year's preliminary hearing, he admitted he had offered to tailor his testimony for money, but he denied that during the trial.
Scotto said he felt threatened by the two witnesses but didn't tell police about the alleged shakedown when it happened because they had shown no interest in interviewing him. But when he heard voicemail at his Florida home, he said, he turned it over to police immediately because "I wanted it to stop."
District Attorney David Roger countered the defense testimony by accusing Scotto of telling Stewart he would "take out a contract" on Alexander's life, but he offered no evidence to support the allegation other than "a good faith belief."
"That's ridiculous," Scotto said.
Asked by Roger whether he ever tried to market a book, Scotto said he did but there were no takers.
"Nobody wants to hear a good book about O.J.," he said.
Simpson's lawyers rest
Simpson's lawyers rest, don't call him to stand
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's defense has rested after calling one witness on the former football star's behalf in his armed robbery and kidnapping trial in Las Vegas.
Simpson himself didn't testify. His only defense witness was his close friend Thomas Scotto.
Lawyers for co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart say they intend to call three or four witnesses and haven't decided whether Stewart will testify.
Scotto testified Wednesday that two key prosecution witnesses tried to extort $50,000 from him, and that one of them offered to change his testimony if he was paid.
Prosecutor David Roger accused Scotto of threatening to take out a contract on the life of one of the witnesses. Scotto called that "ridiculous."
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's defense has rested after calling one witness on the former football star's behalf in his armed robbery and kidnapping trial in Las Vegas.
Simpson himself didn't testify. His only defense witness was his close friend Thomas Scotto.
Lawyers for co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart say they intend to call three or four witnesses and haven't decided whether Stewart will testify.
Scotto testified Wednesday that two key prosecution witnesses tried to extort $50,000 from him, and that one of them offered to change his testimony if he was paid.
Prosecutor David Roger accused Scotto of threatening to take out a contract on the life of one of the witnesses. Scotto called that "ridiculous."
O.J. friend testifying
O.J. friend testifying for defense in Vegas trial
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A close friend of O.J. Simpson took the stand in his armed robbery and kidnapping trial Wednesday, and a prosecutor said he'll ask the witness about allegations he wanted to put out a murder contract on a former co-defendant.
"I just want to put everybody on notice," Clark County District Attorney David Roger told Judge Jackie Glass during a brief hearing before the jury returned to the courtroom and Thomas Scotto took the stand in the 12th day of trial testimony.
"I'm going to ask Mr. Scotto about putting a contract out on (Walter) Alexander," Roger said.
The prosecutor referred to allegations that Scotto, 46, a North Miami Beach, Fla., auto repair shop owner, told Simpson co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart in January that he wanted Alexander dead.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., testified last week that Simpson told him and another friend to carry guns when they went with Simpson to take back allegedly stolen items from two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Each man could face five years to life in prison if convicted in the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation.
Charles Jones, a lawyer for Stewart, began questioning Scotto about allegations that a "couple of state witnesses" tried to extort payments from him in return for favorable testimony in the case.
Simpson came to Las Vegas to serve as a best man in Scotto's Sept. 15, 2007, wedding.
Scotto did not accompany Simpson from the Palms resort pool to the alleged armed robbery in a Palace Station casino hotel room; he was preparing for his wedding at the time. But Scotto's name was heard on audio recordings played for the jury during the first 11 days of testimony in the case.
Scotto also served as go-between and banker for Simpson after Simpson's Sept. 16, 2007, arrest, and following his re-arrest in January when he was accused of violating terms of his bail release.
The prosecution rested Monday, and the courtroom was dark Tuesday for a scheduled day off. The jury will begin deliberating after closing arguments that Glass said could come as early as Thursday.
Simpson's lawyers said Scotto could be their last witness. Outside court, defense lawyers said no decisions had been made whether Simpson or Stewart would testify.
Stewart's lawyers said they expect to call several witnesses, including Simpson's daughter, Arnelle Simpson, 39. Arnelle Simpson was with O.J. Simpson when he met with Alexander and acknowledged gunman Michael McClinton in Simpson's room at the Palms resort before the alleged armed robbery at Palace Station, several miles away.
Alexander and McClinton were among four men who accompanied Simpson and Stewart to the confrontation and later took plea deals to plead guilty to lesser charges and testify against Simpson.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, was the last prosecution witness Monday. He told the jury he brought a gun at Simpson's request and displayed it near his chest during the six-minute confrontation with memorabilia dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
Simpson claims he never asked anyone to bring guns and never saw guns in the room. Stewart maintains he relied on Simpson's assertions that he was going to the Palace Station to retrieve personal items that had been stolen from him.
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A close friend of O.J. Simpson took the stand in his armed robbery and kidnapping trial Wednesday, and a prosecutor said he'll ask the witness about allegations he wanted to put out a murder contract on a former co-defendant.
"I just want to put everybody on notice," Clark County District Attorney David Roger told Judge Jackie Glass during a brief hearing before the jury returned to the courtroom and Thomas Scotto took the stand in the 12th day of trial testimony.
"I'm going to ask Mr. Scotto about putting a contract out on (Walter) Alexander," Roger said.
The prosecutor referred to allegations that Scotto, 46, a North Miami Beach, Fla., auto repair shop owner, told Simpson co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart in January that he wanted Alexander dead.
Alexander, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., testified last week that Simpson told him and another friend to carry guns when they went with Simpson to take back allegedly stolen items from two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Each man could face five years to life in prison if convicted in the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation.
Charles Jones, a lawyer for Stewart, began questioning Scotto about allegations that a "couple of state witnesses" tried to extort payments from him in return for favorable testimony in the case.
Simpson came to Las Vegas to serve as a best man in Scotto's Sept. 15, 2007, wedding.
Scotto did not accompany Simpson from the Palms resort pool to the alleged armed robbery in a Palace Station casino hotel room; he was preparing for his wedding at the time. But Scotto's name was heard on audio recordings played for the jury during the first 11 days of testimony in the case.
Scotto also served as go-between and banker for Simpson after Simpson's Sept. 16, 2007, arrest, and following his re-arrest in January when he was accused of violating terms of his bail release.
The prosecution rested Monday, and the courtroom was dark Tuesday for a scheduled day off. The jury will begin deliberating after closing arguments that Glass said could come as early as Thursday.
Simpson's lawyers said Scotto could be their last witness. Outside court, defense lawyers said no decisions had been made whether Simpson or Stewart would testify.
Stewart's lawyers said they expect to call several witnesses, including Simpson's daughter, Arnelle Simpson, 39. Arnelle Simpson was with O.J. Simpson when he met with Alexander and acknowledged gunman Michael McClinton in Simpson's room at the Palms resort before the alleged armed robbery at Palace Station, several miles away.
Alexander and McClinton were among four men who accompanied Simpson and Stewart to the confrontation and later took plea deals to plead guilty to lesser charges and testify against Simpson.
McClinton, 50, of Las Vegas, was the last prosecution witness Monday. He told the jury he brought a gun at Simpson's request and displayed it near his chest during the six-minute confrontation with memorabilia dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
Simpson claims he never asked anyone to bring guns and never saw guns in the room. Stewart maintains he relied on Simpson's assertions that he was going to the Palace Station to retrieve personal items that had been stolen from him.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Prosecution rests
Prosecution rests its case in O.J. Simpson trial
33 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) — Prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson trial rested their case Monday with testimony from a gunman who claimed the sports star asked him to bring a weapon to a confrontation with two memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel last year.
Michael McClinton demonstrated for the jury how he held his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun after bursting into a hotel room with Simpson and four other friends on Sept. 13, 2007.
The two dealers were robbed at gunpoint in a sting operation prosecutors allege was orchestrated by Simpson, 61, who was famously acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend at a 1995 trial in Los Angeles.
Simpson could be jailed for life if convicted of a dozen robbery and kidnapping charges at his current trial.
"The weapon was out the whole time I was in the room," McClinton said under cross-examination.
Simpson and friend Charles Stewart face a dozen counts of robbery, kidnapping and assault against the two memorabilia dealers who sought to sell personal Simpson items allegedly stolen from the star's home in the 1990s.
Four others who participated in the raid, including McClinton, testified for the prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges.
During two weeks of testimony, prosecutors called 18 witnesses comprised of the victims, former Simpson friends, police and crime scene analysts.
Prosecutors have sought to show Simpson had served as the ringleader to the operation and was aware that his cohorts would be carrying guns.
Defense lawyers allege Simpson didn't know weapons were being used and he was merely trying to retrieve items that were rightfully his.
Simpson and Stewart are expected to wrap up their defense cases on Wednesday, with closing arguments planned for Thursday. Court will not in be session Tuesday.
One of the most famous American football players of his generation during a glittering 1970s career, Simpson was the prime suspect in the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.
Simpson, who has always vehemently denied the killings, was acquitted of murder after a racially charged Los Angeles trial in 1995, a verdict that was greeted with widespread outrage across America.
Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims' families totaling 33.5 million dollars.
33 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) — Prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson trial rested their case Monday with testimony from a gunman who claimed the sports star asked him to bring a weapon to a confrontation with two memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel last year.
Michael McClinton demonstrated for the jury how he held his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun after bursting into a hotel room with Simpson and four other friends on Sept. 13, 2007.
The two dealers were robbed at gunpoint in a sting operation prosecutors allege was orchestrated by Simpson, 61, who was famously acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend at a 1995 trial in Los Angeles.
Simpson could be jailed for life if convicted of a dozen robbery and kidnapping charges at his current trial.
"The weapon was out the whole time I was in the room," McClinton said under cross-examination.
Simpson and friend Charles Stewart face a dozen counts of robbery, kidnapping and assault against the two memorabilia dealers who sought to sell personal Simpson items allegedly stolen from the star's home in the 1990s.
Four others who participated in the raid, including McClinton, testified for the prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges.
During two weeks of testimony, prosecutors called 18 witnesses comprised of the victims, former Simpson friends, police and crime scene analysts.
Prosecutors have sought to show Simpson had served as the ringleader to the operation and was aware that his cohorts would be carrying guns.
Defense lawyers allege Simpson didn't know weapons were being used and he was merely trying to retrieve items that were rightfully his.
Simpson and Stewart are expected to wrap up their defense cases on Wednesday, with closing arguments planned for Thursday. Court will not in be session Tuesday.
One of the most famous American football players of his generation during a glittering 1970s career, Simpson was the prime suspect in the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.
Simpson, who has always vehemently denied the killings, was acquitted of murder after a racially charged Los Angeles trial in 1995, a verdict that was greeted with widespread outrage across America.
Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims' families totaling 33.5 million dollars.
THE STATE REST IT'S CASE AGAINST OJ SIMPSON
DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAVID ROGERS SAYS THE STATE REST IT'S CASE AGAINST OJ SIMPSON
Last prosecution witness returns
Last prosecution witness returns
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 03:07:20 AM PDT
LAS VEGAS—With prosecutors poised to rest their case against O.J. Simpson, defense attorneys were aiming to cast doubt on the testimony of a man who said he brandished a gun during a hotel room confrontation after being told by Simpson to "look menacing."
Michael McClinton, testifying under a plea bargain which will likely save him from prison, faced cross-examination Monday in the armed robbery-kidnapping trial. He testified Friday that Simpson asked him to bring a gun to the casino-hotel where the former football star planned to reclaim mementos of his storied career from memorabilia dealers who were offering it for sale.
He was scheduled to be the prosecution's last witness but intense cross-examination could extend his stay on the witness stand. The defense planned to begin calling its own witnesses after McClinton concludes.
Simpson claims he saw no guns the night of Sept 13, 2007 but McClinton said that he had his gun drawn when he crossed into the hotel room and that Simpson was close enough that their shoulders could have touched.
Prosecutors bolstered McClinton's testimony with an audio tape recorded by McClinton during a party attended by Simpson only hours after the hotel room incident.
"This ain't no major crime," Simpson is heard saying on the tape.
District Attorney David Roger highlighted this exchange between Simpson and McClinton:
Simpson: "You didn't pull the piece out in the hall."
McClinton: "No, no, no, no, no, no, hell no."
Simpson added in the recording, "There ain't nothin' on that video and look, they gonna look at the video. ... Ain't nothin' they can see, they gonna see us goin' in the place. Then they gonna see us leaving with just the boxes."
McClinton testified that Simpson seemed concerned about security video cameras at the hotel. None of the surveillance videos shown at the three-week-old trial have included any image of a gun and witnesses have been conflicted about whether Simpson could have been in a position to see a gun in the cramped hotel room.
In one taped segment, Simpson mentioned co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart who, along with Simpson, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges including kidnapping, robbery, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.
"I told C.J., do me a favor get me some boys. I just want them to look menacing," he is heard saying on the tape.
When it was over, McClinton testified, "He was telling me there was no guns. I knew differently because I had a gun."
The damaging evidence against Simpson came on the same day that the defense scored points with another audio recording—this one of police investigators chuckling over Simpson's troubles, referring to him with foul language and rejoicing at his impending arrest.
"You're just picking on him because you're mad about the verdict," said Lt. Clint Nichols, head of the police robbery division.
"Yup," responded crime scene analyst Michael Perkins.
In another exchange, Nichols said, "He's gonna get arrested."
"Who, who's gonna get arrested?" the analyst replied.
"O.J.," Nichols said.
"Oh, good," Perkins replied.
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 03:07:20 AM PDT
LAS VEGAS—With prosecutors poised to rest their case against O.J. Simpson, defense attorneys were aiming to cast doubt on the testimony of a man who said he brandished a gun during a hotel room confrontation after being told by Simpson to "look menacing."
Michael McClinton, testifying under a plea bargain which will likely save him from prison, faced cross-examination Monday in the armed robbery-kidnapping trial. He testified Friday that Simpson asked him to bring a gun to the casino-hotel where the former football star planned to reclaim mementos of his storied career from memorabilia dealers who were offering it for sale.
He was scheduled to be the prosecution's last witness but intense cross-examination could extend his stay on the witness stand. The defense planned to begin calling its own witnesses after McClinton concludes.
Simpson claims he saw no guns the night of Sept 13, 2007 but McClinton said that he had his gun drawn when he crossed into the hotel room and that Simpson was close enough that their shoulders could have touched.
Prosecutors bolstered McClinton's testimony with an audio tape recorded by McClinton during a party attended by Simpson only hours after the hotel room incident.
"This ain't no major crime," Simpson is heard saying on the tape.
District Attorney David Roger highlighted this exchange between Simpson and McClinton:
Simpson: "You didn't pull the piece out in the hall."
McClinton: "No, no, no, no, no, no, hell no."
Simpson added in the recording, "There ain't nothin' on that video and look, they gonna look at the video. ... Ain't nothin' they can see, they gonna see us goin' in the place. Then they gonna see us leaving with just the boxes."
McClinton testified that Simpson seemed concerned about security video cameras at the hotel. None of the surveillance videos shown at the three-week-old trial have included any image of a gun and witnesses have been conflicted about whether Simpson could have been in a position to see a gun in the cramped hotel room.
In one taped segment, Simpson mentioned co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart who, along with Simpson, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges including kidnapping, robbery, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.
"I told C.J., do me a favor get me some boys. I just want them to look menacing," he is heard saying on the tape.
When it was over, McClinton testified, "He was telling me there was no guns. I knew differently because I had a gun."
The damaging evidence against Simpson came on the same day that the defense scored points with another audio recording—this one of police investigators chuckling over Simpson's troubles, referring to him with foul language and rejoicing at his impending arrest.
"You're just picking on him because you're mad about the verdict," said Lt. Clint Nichols, head of the police robbery division.
"Yup," responded crime scene analyst Michael Perkins.
In another exchange, Nichols said, "He's gonna get arrested."
"Who, who's gonna get arrested?" the analyst replied.
"O.J.," Nichols said.
"Oh, good," Perkins replied.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
O.J. Simpson now: Tapes offer a glimpse of his life
O.J. Simpson now: Tapes offer a glimpse of his life
Audio recordings secretly made by a business partner portray an aging but still charismatic man who draws crowds of adoring strangers in bars but counts few trustworthy friends.
By Harriet Ryan and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 28, 2008
When he's not on trial, O.J. Simpson wakes up at 5 a.m. and is driving to a golf course in Miami by 6:30. He takes an afternoon nap and goes to bed early. In between, the football great is beset by requests.
Strangers want to take his picture. Fans want to buy him a drink. And, according to audio recordings played in his Las Vegas robbery-kidnap trial, men who call themselves his friends try to cash in on his infamy.
The hours of recordings -- made surreptitiously by a Simpson business partner on Sept. 13, 2007 -- provide an unfiltered look at the Hall of Famer's life since his 1995 acquittal in the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Once, O.J. Simpson dated models and posed on Hollywood red carpets. The tapes portray him now as an aging but still charismatic man who draws crowds of adoring strangers in bars but counts few trustworthy friends.
His $400,000 annual pension and $1-million house seem at odds with the low-rent tactics of those who surround him. In the recordings, he complains about one confidant who tried to persuade him to film a sex tape and to pose for the National Enquirer with a mound of cocaine.
Another associate is heard hitting him up for autographs only to call him a killer as soon as he's out of earshot.
"I know my friends," Simpson says on one tape, just hours before he and five associates allegedly robbed a pair of memorabilia dealers. "I know better than anybody."
The prosecution's witness list belies his assessment. All but one of the eight other men at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino confrontation are testifying against Simpson. Several said that he was the scheme's ringleader and that at least one of his associates was armed. The 61-year-old faces a dozen counts, including kidnapping, which carries a potential life sentence.
Grayer and more weary-looking than at his Los Angeles trial, Simpson nonetheless arrives at Courtroom 15A each day smiling. His hearty laugh rumbles down the hall as he signs autographs and backslaps well-wishers.
"It gets old," he conceded after signing a book on a recent afternoon. But, he added, "I'm a public person. I love people."
His private life, however, is fraught with schemes and betrayals, according to the recordings, interviews and court testimony.
Consider Mike Gilbert, his former agent. Once the closest of friends -- the Gilbert children knew Simpson as "Uncle O.J." -- the men collaborated on a number of business ventures, including a planned auction of the suit Simpson wore the day of his acquittal.
In 1997, after a civil jury found Simpson liable for the pair of murders, Gilbert helped Simpson hide his assets, associates say on the recordings.
But a decade ago, the men had a bitter falling-out and no longer speak. Prosecutors say Simpson's anger toward his old friend -- he maintains that Gilbert stole valuable mementos from him -- led the NFL standout to mastermind the robbery.
On the recordings, Simpson rants about the agent's purported deceit to anyone who will listen. Gilbert, he tells one gathering, once paid a woman to seduce him in a hotel room in hopes of selling the tape to the Enquirer. The setup, which Simpson says he was unaware of, went belly up after he accidentally moved the hidden cameras.
The tabloid schemes Gilbert cooked up with Simpson's knowledge -- selling a staged photo of him with a pile of drugs and filming a porn video -- were just as unflattering.
"He used to tell me, 'Juice, man, let's make up some stories. . . . We can sell the [stuff],' " Simpson says.
Simpson's girlfriend, Christie Prody -- whom he has dated on and off for a dozen years -- remembers Gilbert promising her $1 million to install video cameras in her bedroom. "This is your friend?" she recalls asking Simpson incredulously.
In May, Gilbert published a memoir, "How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder," in which he claims a drug-addled Simpson confessed to killing his ex-wife and Goldman years after the crimes. An attorney for Simpson dismissed the book as the rantings of a "delusional drug addict" who needed money to clear up a tax debt.
Gilbert -- not among the men at the hotel confrontation -- was called as a prosecution witness last week, but the judge prohibited lawyers from asking him much. Outside the courtroom, his lawyer waved off other questions but said Gilbert was always available to talk about his book.
Gilbert was just one of the characters who relied on Simpson -- or at least his signature -- for income. Bruce Fromong, one of the alleged robbery victims, admits owning about 2,000 items autographed by Simpson. The other alleged victim, Alfred Beardsley, Simpson says on one tape, desperately wanted to buy his leather overcoat.
In conversation, those who deal in Simpson memorabilia bounce between obsessive devotion and derision, boasting of their close relationship with him in one breath and ridiculing him the next.
"How was he when you were around him? Wasn't it a blast?" Beardsley gushes at one point in the recordings.
Minutes later, he jokes that Simpson is so broke he would sell his own underwear and suggests that the retired athlete has a drinking problem.
The man who made the recordings, Thomas Riccio, has been called a "hero" by Simpson for alerting him that Beardsley was trying to sell his merchandise. But after leaving a meeting at which Simpson agreed to sign 200 copies of "If I Did It," the "hypothetical confessional" book about the slayings, Riccio tells a friend that Simpson began dating Prody "not long after he killed Nicole."
Days later, after Simpson's arrest, Riccio made more than $200,000 by selling copies of the recordings and snagging a book deal.
Simpson, however, is not always the opportunists' victim. Beardsley recounts how Simpson walloped Gilbert on the head -- reducing the agent to tears -- as they watched coverage of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 1999 plane crash. It was to demonstrate that, for a change, the media glare was not focused on Simpson. "I can do whatever I want this week," Beardsley quoted him as saying.
In one poignant moment, Simpson is flipping channels when he lands on a talk show appearance by reality TV star Kim Kardashian, whose late father was one of Simpson's oldest and most steadfast friends and a member of his murder trial's "Dream Team" defense.
"My goddaughter is being interviewed," Simpson announces. As Kardashian chats about being young and rich in Hollywood, Riccio and a man seeking a photo with Simpson make salacious comments about her exotic beauty. The former NFL star ignores them.
"I was in the hospital when she was born," he says softly.
Staring at a television set seems as close as Simpson can get to Tinseltown glamour and the loyal, well-connected friends of his pre-acquittal life. On the tapes, he talks about grasping at the remnants of his once-considerable fame.
He seems to have time for everyone who recognizes him -- even Riccio's friend, a limo driver who boasts to an uninterested Simpson about getting into strip clubs for free. When another man can't remember Simpson's movie roles, he gamely lists the "Naked Gun" movies.
After the televised saga of his murder trial, Simpson said recently, he was bitter. But his mother urged him not to let the experience darken his lighthearted personality. Since he arrived in Las Vegas for this trial, Simpson said, strangers had repeatedly treated him to dinner. He spends Sunday afternoons in a sports bar where people buy him drinks.
The experience mirrors a story Simpson tells in one recording about a wealthy nightclub patron treating him to a $75 shot. "Hey," he says, "they might as well spend it on me."
Audio recordings secretly made by a business partner portray an aging but still charismatic man who draws crowds of adoring strangers in bars but counts few trustworthy friends.
By Harriet Ryan and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 28, 2008
When he's not on trial, O.J. Simpson wakes up at 5 a.m. and is driving to a golf course in Miami by 6:30. He takes an afternoon nap and goes to bed early. In between, the football great is beset by requests.
Strangers want to take his picture. Fans want to buy him a drink. And, according to audio recordings played in his Las Vegas robbery-kidnap trial, men who call themselves his friends try to cash in on his infamy.
The hours of recordings -- made surreptitiously by a Simpson business partner on Sept. 13, 2007 -- provide an unfiltered look at the Hall of Famer's life since his 1995 acquittal in the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Once, O.J. Simpson dated models and posed on Hollywood red carpets. The tapes portray him now as an aging but still charismatic man who draws crowds of adoring strangers in bars but counts few trustworthy friends.
His $400,000 annual pension and $1-million house seem at odds with the low-rent tactics of those who surround him. In the recordings, he complains about one confidant who tried to persuade him to film a sex tape and to pose for the National Enquirer with a mound of cocaine.
Another associate is heard hitting him up for autographs only to call him a killer as soon as he's out of earshot.
"I know my friends," Simpson says on one tape, just hours before he and five associates allegedly robbed a pair of memorabilia dealers. "I know better than anybody."
The prosecution's witness list belies his assessment. All but one of the eight other men at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino confrontation are testifying against Simpson. Several said that he was the scheme's ringleader and that at least one of his associates was armed. The 61-year-old faces a dozen counts, including kidnapping, which carries a potential life sentence.
Grayer and more weary-looking than at his Los Angeles trial, Simpson nonetheless arrives at Courtroom 15A each day smiling. His hearty laugh rumbles down the hall as he signs autographs and backslaps well-wishers.
"It gets old," he conceded after signing a book on a recent afternoon. But, he added, "I'm a public person. I love people."
His private life, however, is fraught with schemes and betrayals, according to the recordings, interviews and court testimony.
Consider Mike Gilbert, his former agent. Once the closest of friends -- the Gilbert children knew Simpson as "Uncle O.J." -- the men collaborated on a number of business ventures, including a planned auction of the suit Simpson wore the day of his acquittal.
In 1997, after a civil jury found Simpson liable for the pair of murders, Gilbert helped Simpson hide his assets, associates say on the recordings.
But a decade ago, the men had a bitter falling-out and no longer speak. Prosecutors say Simpson's anger toward his old friend -- he maintains that Gilbert stole valuable mementos from him -- led the NFL standout to mastermind the robbery.
On the recordings, Simpson rants about the agent's purported deceit to anyone who will listen. Gilbert, he tells one gathering, once paid a woman to seduce him in a hotel room in hopes of selling the tape to the Enquirer. The setup, which Simpson says he was unaware of, went belly up after he accidentally moved the hidden cameras.
The tabloid schemes Gilbert cooked up with Simpson's knowledge -- selling a staged photo of him with a pile of drugs and filming a porn video -- were just as unflattering.
"He used to tell me, 'Juice, man, let's make up some stories. . . . We can sell the [stuff],' " Simpson says.
Simpson's girlfriend, Christie Prody -- whom he has dated on and off for a dozen years -- remembers Gilbert promising her $1 million to install video cameras in her bedroom. "This is your friend?" she recalls asking Simpson incredulously.
In May, Gilbert published a memoir, "How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder," in which he claims a drug-addled Simpson confessed to killing his ex-wife and Goldman years after the crimes. An attorney for Simpson dismissed the book as the rantings of a "delusional drug addict" who needed money to clear up a tax debt.
Gilbert -- not among the men at the hotel confrontation -- was called as a prosecution witness last week, but the judge prohibited lawyers from asking him much. Outside the courtroom, his lawyer waved off other questions but said Gilbert was always available to talk about his book.
Gilbert was just one of the characters who relied on Simpson -- or at least his signature -- for income. Bruce Fromong, one of the alleged robbery victims, admits owning about 2,000 items autographed by Simpson. The other alleged victim, Alfred Beardsley, Simpson says on one tape, desperately wanted to buy his leather overcoat.
In conversation, those who deal in Simpson memorabilia bounce between obsessive devotion and derision, boasting of their close relationship with him in one breath and ridiculing him the next.
"How was he when you were around him? Wasn't it a blast?" Beardsley gushes at one point in the recordings.
Minutes later, he jokes that Simpson is so broke he would sell his own underwear and suggests that the retired athlete has a drinking problem.
The man who made the recordings, Thomas Riccio, has been called a "hero" by Simpson for alerting him that Beardsley was trying to sell his merchandise. But after leaving a meeting at which Simpson agreed to sign 200 copies of "If I Did It," the "hypothetical confessional" book about the slayings, Riccio tells a friend that Simpson began dating Prody "not long after he killed Nicole."
Days later, after Simpson's arrest, Riccio made more than $200,000 by selling copies of the recordings and snagging a book deal.
Simpson, however, is not always the opportunists' victim. Beardsley recounts how Simpson walloped Gilbert on the head -- reducing the agent to tears -- as they watched coverage of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 1999 plane crash. It was to demonstrate that, for a change, the media glare was not focused on Simpson. "I can do whatever I want this week," Beardsley quoted him as saying.
In one poignant moment, Simpson is flipping channels when he lands on a talk show appearance by reality TV star Kim Kardashian, whose late father was one of Simpson's oldest and most steadfast friends and a member of his murder trial's "Dream Team" defense.
"My goddaughter is being interviewed," Simpson announces. As Kardashian chats about being young and rich in Hollywood, Riccio and a man seeking a photo with Simpson make salacious comments about her exotic beauty. The former NFL star ignores them.
"I was in the hospital when she was born," he says softly.
Staring at a television set seems as close as Simpson can get to Tinseltown glamour and the loyal, well-connected friends of his pre-acquittal life. On the tapes, he talks about grasping at the remnants of his once-considerable fame.
He seems to have time for everyone who recognizes him -- even Riccio's friend, a limo driver who boasts to an uninterested Simpson about getting into strip clubs for free. When another man can't remember Simpson's movie roles, he gamely lists the "Naked Gun" movies.
After the televised saga of his murder trial, Simpson said recently, he was bitter. But his mother urged him not to let the experience darken his lighthearted personality. Since he arrived in Las Vegas for this trial, Simpson said, strangers had repeatedly treated him to dinner. He spends Sunday afternoons in a sports bar where people buy him drinks.
The experience mirrors a story Simpson tells in one recording about a wealthy nightclub patron treating him to a $75 shot. "Hey," he says, "they might as well spend it on me."
Saturday, September 27, 2008
OJ even makes the news in ZAMBIA
O.J Simpson interrogators may have made improper arrest
Zambia News.Net
Saturday 27th September, 2008
O.J. Simpson's robbery and kidnapping jury in the US have been played recordings of spiteful Las Vegas police celebrating the disgraced sport's star imminent arrest last year.
On a secret tape, police investigators preparing to detain the American football legend could be heard talking and swearing about Simpson.
The inference being put to the jury is that the police were pleased to be arresting him because he had been acquitted in 1995 of murdering his wife and her friend.
According to the transcript, the following exchange occurred between Las Vegas Metropolitan police Lieutenant Clint Nichols and LVPD crime scene analyst Clint Perkins:
Nichols: "Uh, he's gonna get arrested."
Perkins: "Who, who's gonna get arrested?"
Nichols: "O.J."
Perkins: "Oh, good."
Later, Perkins says: "You're just pickin' on him cause you're mad about the verdict (in the murder case)."
Nichols: "Yep."
The tape was made by Simpson friend Thomas Riccio, who was with Simpson in the hotel room when he entered to retrieve allegedly stolen memorabilia.
During a police interview, he left a recorder running on top of a cabinet and it was not detected by police.
Simpson, 61, faces a dozen charges of armed robbery and kidnapping that could land him in prison for life if convicted.
He is accused of leading a gang of gun-carrying associates into a Las Vegas hotel room last September to confront two sports memorabilia dealers who were attempting to sell the memorabilia.
Zambia News.Net
Saturday 27th September, 2008
O.J. Simpson's robbery and kidnapping jury in the US have been played recordings of spiteful Las Vegas police celebrating the disgraced sport's star imminent arrest last year.
On a secret tape, police investigators preparing to detain the American football legend could be heard talking and swearing about Simpson.
The inference being put to the jury is that the police were pleased to be arresting him because he had been acquitted in 1995 of murdering his wife and her friend.
According to the transcript, the following exchange occurred between Las Vegas Metropolitan police Lieutenant Clint Nichols and LVPD crime scene analyst Clint Perkins:
Nichols: "Uh, he's gonna get arrested."
Perkins: "Who, who's gonna get arrested?"
Nichols: "O.J."
Perkins: "Oh, good."
Later, Perkins says: "You're just pickin' on him cause you're mad about the verdict (in the murder case)."
Nichols: "Yep."
The tape was made by Simpson friend Thomas Riccio, who was with Simpson in the hotel room when he entered to retrieve allegedly stolen memorabilia.
During a police interview, he left a recorder running on top of a cabinet and it was not detected by police.
Simpson, 61, faces a dozen charges of armed robbery and kidnapping that could land him in prison for life if convicted.
He is accused of leading a gang of gun-carrying associates into a Las Vegas hotel room last September to confront two sports memorabilia dealers who were attempting to sell the memorabilia.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Prosecution plays tape of Simpson after incident
Prosecution plays tape of Simpson after incident
By LINDA DEUTSCH
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS
Prosecutors in O.J. Simpson's robbery trial on Friday played a recording in which Simpson appeared to talk about a gun in a conversation with a man who has since testified that at the behest of the former football star he brought a weapon to a casino hotel room confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers.
"You didn't pull the piece out in the hall," Simpson said to Michael McClinton in the recording made just hours after the confrontation, in which Simpson is alleged to have stolen collectibles from the dealers.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, hell no," replied McClinton, a former co-defendant who accepted a plea deal and says he brandished a gun during the confrontation.
Simpson added in the recording, "There ain't nothin' on that video and look, they gonna look at the video. ... Ain't nothin' they can see, they gonna see us goin' in the place. Then they gonna see us leaving with just the boxes."
District Attorney David Roger suggested Simpson was worried about casino security cameras which had recorded the comings and goings of Simpson and seven other men on the evening of Sept. 13, 2007.
Roger highlighted for jurors another portion of the recording in which Simpson said: "They would love to say O.J. had a gun or O.J. pushed him. Or O.J. touched him. ... Nobody touched anyone."
McClinton responded: "No, ain't nobody touched anybody. There was a lot of ordering around and (expletive)."
The recording was made by McClinton, who like many other witnesses in the case, carried an audio recorder to a party Simpson attended after the incident.
At the start of the recording, Simpson was heard saying, "This ain't no major crime."
In another segment, Simpson mentioned co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart.
"I told C.J., do me a favor get me some boys. I just want them to look menacing," Simpson said.
Simpson, who denies seeing any guns during the incident, and Stewart have pleaded not guilty.
In testimony, McClinton said Simpson had chided him, saying "that I had heavy hands."
"He was telling me there was no guns. I knew differently because I had a gun," McClinton added.
McClinton testified that he had been asked by Simpson to bring a gun and to "look menacing."
He said that when he crossed the threshold into the hotel room he had his gun drawn and that Simpson was close enough that their shoulders could have touched.
But by the time they were back in the car, McClinton testified, "He (Simpson) was talking about the fact that there were no guns."
McClinton was to face cross-examination Monday before the prosecution rests its case.
Earlier Friday, jurors heard recordings of police investigators chuckling over Simpson's troubles, referring to him with foul language and rejoicing at his impending arrest.
"You're just picking on him because you're mad about the verdict," said Lt. Clint Nichols, head of the police robbery division.
"Yup," responded crime scene analyst Michael Perkins.
In another exchange, Nichols said, "He's gonna get arrested."
"Who, who's gonna get arrested?" the analyst replied.
"O.J.," Nichols said.
"Oh, good," Perkins said.
Simpson's defense played the recordings, which were made as investigators gathered evidence at the Palace Station casino and hotel after the alleged robbery.
The voices were captured on a digital recorder left running in the room by Thomas Riccio, the middleman who arranged the foray to reclaim Simpson memorabilia.
Defense attorney Gabriel Grasso showed jurors transcripts of the comments during testimony by Andy Caldwell, the lead detective on the case against Simpson and Stewart.
Caldwell acknowledged that the comments were made by Nichols and the crime scene analyst, and that Simpson called police almost immediately after the confrontation and agreed to talk to them.
"Yes, he's already confessed to havin' it," Nichols said. "Agreed to bring it back if need be. ... He told the cop that, which is not the brightest thing in the world to do."
"Yes, no kidding," Perkins laughed.
"You think after all his problems he would learn not to talk to anyone," Nichols laughed.
Prosecutors had called Caldwell to the stand to identify surreptitious phone recordings of Simpson talking to his daughter Arnelle Simpson from the Clark County jail after he was arrested on Sept. 16, 2007.
___
Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter contributed to this report.
Published: Friday, September 26, 2008 19:18 PDT
By LINDA DEUTSCH
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS
Prosecutors in O.J. Simpson's robbery trial on Friday played a recording in which Simpson appeared to talk about a gun in a conversation with a man who has since testified that at the behest of the former football star he brought a weapon to a casino hotel room confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers.
"You didn't pull the piece out in the hall," Simpson said to Michael McClinton in the recording made just hours after the confrontation, in which Simpson is alleged to have stolen collectibles from the dealers.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, hell no," replied McClinton, a former co-defendant who accepted a plea deal and says he brandished a gun during the confrontation.
Simpson added in the recording, "There ain't nothin' on that video and look, they gonna look at the video. ... Ain't nothin' they can see, they gonna see us goin' in the place. Then they gonna see us leaving with just the boxes."
District Attorney David Roger suggested Simpson was worried about casino security cameras which had recorded the comings and goings of Simpson and seven other men on the evening of Sept. 13, 2007.
Roger highlighted for jurors another portion of the recording in which Simpson said: "They would love to say O.J. had a gun or O.J. pushed him. Or O.J. touched him. ... Nobody touched anyone."
McClinton responded: "No, ain't nobody touched anybody. There was a lot of ordering around and (expletive)."
The recording was made by McClinton, who like many other witnesses in the case, carried an audio recorder to a party Simpson attended after the incident.
At the start of the recording, Simpson was heard saying, "This ain't no major crime."
In another segment, Simpson mentioned co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart.
"I told C.J., do me a favor get me some boys. I just want them to look menacing," Simpson said.
Simpson, who denies seeing any guns during the incident, and Stewart have pleaded not guilty.
In testimony, McClinton said Simpson had chided him, saying "that I had heavy hands."
"He was telling me there was no guns. I knew differently because I had a gun," McClinton added.
McClinton testified that he had been asked by Simpson to bring a gun and to "look menacing."
He said that when he crossed the threshold into the hotel room he had his gun drawn and that Simpson was close enough that their shoulders could have touched.
But by the time they were back in the car, McClinton testified, "He (Simpson) was talking about the fact that there were no guns."
McClinton was to face cross-examination Monday before the prosecution rests its case.
Earlier Friday, jurors heard recordings of police investigators chuckling over Simpson's troubles, referring to him with foul language and rejoicing at his impending arrest.
"You're just picking on him because you're mad about the verdict," said Lt. Clint Nichols, head of the police robbery division.
"Yup," responded crime scene analyst Michael Perkins.
In another exchange, Nichols said, "He's gonna get arrested."
"Who, who's gonna get arrested?" the analyst replied.
"O.J.," Nichols said.
"Oh, good," Perkins said.
Simpson's defense played the recordings, which were made as investigators gathered evidence at the Palace Station casino and hotel after the alleged robbery.
The voices were captured on a digital recorder left running in the room by Thomas Riccio, the middleman who arranged the foray to reclaim Simpson memorabilia.
Defense attorney Gabriel Grasso showed jurors transcripts of the comments during testimony by Andy Caldwell, the lead detective on the case against Simpson and Stewart.
Caldwell acknowledged that the comments were made by Nichols and the crime scene analyst, and that Simpson called police almost immediately after the confrontation and agreed to talk to them.
"Yes, he's already confessed to havin' it," Nichols said. "Agreed to bring it back if need be. ... He told the cop that, which is not the brightest thing in the world to do."
"Yes, no kidding," Perkins laughed.
"You think after all his problems he would learn not to talk to anyone," Nichols laughed.
Prosecutors had called Caldwell to the stand to identify surreptitious phone recordings of Simpson talking to his daughter Arnelle Simpson from the Clark County jail after he was arrested on Sept. 16, 2007.
___
Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter contributed to this report.
Published: Friday, September 26, 2008 19:18 PDT
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