LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson’s lawyers are asking a three-judge Nevada Supreme Court panel to reconsider whether the former football star should get a new trial following his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in Las Vegas.
Simpson attorney Yale Galanter asserts in a request for rehearing filed Tuesday that the justices overlooked or misunderstood several key arguments — including that the former football star lacked the necessary intent to commit a crime, that the last two black prospective jurors were dismissed without proper cause, and that jurors weren’t completely screened for bias.
Before trial in 2008, the judge had 500 potential jurors fill out 26-page questionnaires that included questions about Simpson’s 1995 acquittal in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
Half the Las Vegas jury pool was eliminated after expressing strong feelings about Simpson’s guilt in that case.
“This court fully understands Simpson’s name is shorthand for murder,” Galanter wrote, citing a reference in the court panel’s Oct. 22 opinion granting a new trial to convicted Simpson co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart.
That opinion was separate from the 24-page denial of Simpson’s appeal. Simpson, 63, is serving nine to 33 years in Nevada state prison in Lovelock, east of Reno.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Wednesday, November 17th 2010 at 3:26PM
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