OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 7 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 8 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 9 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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IT'S ON --- NEVADA SUPREME COURT SAYS NO

Court won’t delay OJ trial


By BRENDAN RILEY Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 08/28/2008 03:17:03 PM PDT

CARSON CITY, Nev.—A request from O.J. Simpson’s last remaining co-defendant to delay the Sept. 8 start of the pair’s armed robbery and kidnapping trial was rejected Thursday by a divided Nevada Supreme Court panel.The high court’s 2-1 order went against Clarence “C.J.” Stewart, with Justices Bill Maupin and Ron Parraguirre refusing to stay the upcoming trial, which is expected to take at least five weeks, and also refusing to consider Stewart’s petition for a separate trial.

Justice Michael Cherry dissented, saying he would have granted the stay and called for an answer from prosecutors to the petition for separate trials.

The brief majority order said justices “are not satisfied that this court’s intervention by way of extraordinary writ is warranted at this time.”

Stewart’s attorney, Robert Lucherini, appealed to the Supreme Court after Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass refused to halt proceedings. The lower court judge had delayed the start of the trial once in April, and had vowed not to postpone it again.

Lucherini argued it will be impossible for Stewart to get a fair trial sitting next to Simpson, an NFL Hall of Fame player, actor and advertising pitchman who was acquitted in 1995 in Los Angeles of criminal charges that he murdered his ex-wife and her friend.

Simpson and Stewart are the last two remaining defendants in the case that stems from a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel room in Las Vegas.

Each man faces 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. A kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole, and a robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time.

Four former co-defendants who accompanied Simpson and Stewart accepted plea deals and agreed to testify against Simpson about the ill-fated meeting with the two collectibles dealers, Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley, and Tom Riccio, another dealer who arranged the meeting.

Simpson maintains he went to the hotel room to retrieve items stolen that had been from him, that he didn’t ask anyone to bring guns and didn’t know anyone in the room was armed.

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 12 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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JUDGE WILL NOT DELAY THE NEXT OJ TRIAL

A Las Vegas judge has rejected a request to delay the start of the O.J. Simpson's upcoming trial for armed robbery and kidnapping.

A lawyer for Clarence "CJ" Stewart said he will appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. He had argued that it would be impossible for Stewart to get a fair trial because most of the focus will be on Simpson.

The judge is also hearing from an attorney who says he recorded a key witness contradicting his sworn testimony.

That witness, Michael McClinton, testified that Simpson asked him to bring guns to confront two sports memorabilia dealers at Palace Station last September.

Simpson and Clarence "CJ" Stewart's trial is expected to begin on September 8, 2008.

OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 13 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 14 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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Co-defendant seeks delay of OJ Simpson trial

By KEN RITTER – 3 hours ago

LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's only remaining co-defendant made a last-ditch pitch Wednesday to persuade a judge to postpone the start of their armed robbery and kidnapping trial.

A lawyer for Clarence "C.J." Stewart filed a motion asking Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass for a delay of the Sept. 8 trial until the Nevada Supreme Court considers his request for a separate trial.

Attorney Robert Lucherini argues it will be impossible for Stewart to get a fair trial because of Simpson's celebrity.

Glass has twice rejected requests for a separate trial. The judge pushed back the trial date once, from April 7, but says he won't do it again.

A Supreme Court clerk said the justices hadn't scheduled discussions on Lucherini's Aug. 4 appeal for a separate trial.

Stewart is one of five men who accompanied Simpson during a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers last Sept. 13 at a Las Vegas casino hotel room.

Stewart, 54, and Simpson, 61, have pleaded not guilty to felony charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. A kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole, and a robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time.

Their four former co-defendants have accepted plea deals and agreed to testify against Simpson.

Lucherini argues in his state Supreme Court filing that it will be impossible for Stewart to get a fair trial partly because of Simpson's 1995 acquittal in Los Angeles of criminal charges that he murdered his ex-wife and her friend. The former Hall of Fame football player, actor and commercial pitchman was later found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, and was ordered to pay a $33.5 million civil judgment to Goldman's family.

Lucherini said a Las Vegas jury would swayed by reminders of the "hideous murders that many people believe were committed by Mr. Simpson," and that Stewart could be convicted only because he was named as a defendant with Simpson.

Simpson maintains he went to the hotel room to retrieve items stolen from him, that he never saw guns in the room, didn't know anyone had guns, and never asked anyone to bring guns.

Stewart's lawyer has said Stewart believed Simpson was retrieving property that belonged to him.

Lucherini and lawyers for Simpson did not immediately respond Wednesday to messages seeking comment about the latest request, which Glass is scheduled to consider at a hearing Monday.

Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said 500 people had been summoned for jury duty for the trial.

OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 19 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 20 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 22 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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Simpson to help John Edwards

Edwards admitted cheating on his cancer-stricken wife but is denying paternity of his mistress's new baby. Upon hearing the news, O.J. Simpson volunteered to help Edwards find the real father.

OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 23 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 25 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 26 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 27 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 28 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 34 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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Last OJ CO-DEFENDANT BEGS, ''Please Give Me A Separate Trial''

OJ co-defendant appeals for separate trial
By KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago

LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's last remaining co-defendant in an armed robbery and kidnapping case is asking the Nevada Supreme Court for a separate trial, saying if they are tried together he would be unfairly convicted.

Clarence "C.J." Stewart's lawyer says the armed robbery and kidnapping charges in Las Vegas are all about Simpson.

"Anybody sitting next to him isn't going to get a fair trial," attorney Robert Lucherini said of the trial scheduled to start Sept. 8. "Ninety-five percent of the evidence is about O.J."

A state Supreme Court clerk in Carson City said Tuesday that Stewart's request arrived Monday. The court did not immediately schedule a hearing.

Stewart is one of five men who accompanied Simpson during a confrontation in September with two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel room. Simpson says he was retrieving items stolen from him.

Another former co-defendant, Charles Ehrlich, pleaded guilty Monday to reduced felony charges and agreed to testify against the Hall of Fame football player. He's the fourth former co-defendant to take a plea deal and agree to testify.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass has twice rejected requests from Stewart and Ehrlich for separate trials.

Simpson's lawyer in Las Vegas, Gabriel Grasso, said Tuesday he doubted Lucherini could persuade the high court to overturn Glass' rulings. "Good luck with that," Grasso said.

Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to felony kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon charges that could put them in prison for life if convicted.

Lucherini said he expected Stewart's defense would be "antagonistic and mutually exclusive" of Simpson's.

"Mr. Stewart will acknowledge that ... following the events in question, he became aware that Mr. Simpson was involved in persuading others regarding the presence of firearms," Lucherini said. "Mr. Stewart asserts that he was not involved in this persuasion, and paid it no heed."

Simpson has said he never saw guns in the room, didn't know anyone had guns, and never asked anyone to bring guns.

Lucherini also referred to the trial at which Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was later found civilly liable for the deaths and ordered to pay a $33.5 million judgment.

Lucherini predicted that the Las Vegas jury would be reminded "of the hideous murders that many people believe were committed by Mr. Simpson."

"The problem is that in their zeal to convict Mr. Simpson, and to correct a perceived miscarriage of justice, the jurors will likely ... convict Mr. Stewart as well," Lucherini said.

OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 35 Days, www.OJTalk.com

35 days until the start of the OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial. Stay on top of all the news at www.OJTalk.com

Jury Selection Begins As Another Roles On OJ

There's just five weeks until the O.J. Simpson robbery and kidnapping trial is set to begin. Monday, one of the key players in the hotel room shakedown flipped and agreed to testify against Simpson. Charles Ehrlich is one of the five men who joined Simpson during last year's alleged heist at the Palace Station. So what will this deal mean for the case against O.J.?

Monday marked the start of an astounding 500 prospective jurors filling out questionnaires. The first batch of 100 people came to the Regional Justice Center to begin the process. But the most significant development of the day involved a co-defendant taking a deal. Charles Ehrlich has now become the fourth man in the Simpson case to accept a plea deal from prosecutors, leaving only Clarence Stewart and O.J. Simpson himself as defendants in this case.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the greatly reduced charges of attempted accessory to robbery and attempted burglary, Ehrlich agrees to join the other deal-takers in testifying against Simpson at the upcoming trial. Simpson's attorney told the Associated Press Monday, "Getting this type of sweetheart deal this late in the game shows the prosecution is stretching to fill holes in an otherwise weak and crumbling case."

Whether it is weak or not, prosecutors aren't backing down. They'll be using surveillance pictures, victim statements, co-conspirator testimony, and Simpson's own words as evidence during the trial. Simpson is accused of trying to steal from a memorabilia dealer at the Palace Station. During the preliminary hearing, another one of the former co-defendants, Michael McClinton, told the court that Simpson orchestrated the confrontation, saying, "I brought my weapon because O.J. Simpson wanted me to have a weapon."

Prosecutors are hoping that Charles Ehrlich will have similar things to say when he takes the stand against Simpson. No decision was made Monday as to whether Ehrlich will have to spend any time in prison. His sentencing will happen after the Simpson trial is over.

STAY

Another Simpson Pal Pleads GUILTY

Co-defendant in O.J. Simpson case enters plea
By AP WRITER KEN RITTER – 1 hour ago

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Another co-defendant has taken a plea in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery and kidnapping case in Las Vegas.

Charles Ehrlich stood before a judge Monday and pleaded guilty to reduced charges of attempted accessory to robbery and attempted burglary. He also agreed to testify against Simpson at the Hall of Fame football player's upcoming trial.

The 54-year-old Ehrlich faces a possible sentence ranging from probation to nine years in prison. The judge said he would be sentenced after Simpson's trial.

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 38 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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OJ Simpson Las Vegas Trial Starts In 39 Days, www.OJTalk.com

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