OJ jury makeup, judge conduct questioned in appeal
Criminal Law
The racial makeup of the jury and the conduct of the judge who oversaw O.J. Simpson's conviction have emerged as key issues in the former football star's appeal for the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn his conviction in a gunpoint Las Vegas hotel room heist.
"Mr. Simpson really believed he was recovering his own property," Simpson attorney Yale Galanter told a three-justice panel hearing oral arguments in Las Vegas on Friday. "Our theory of defense was never put before the jury."
Clark County District Attorney David Roger called the September 2008 trial contentious but fair, and the sentences just. He urged the justices to deny both appeals.
After Galanter characterized Simpson's conviction as prejudicial "payback" for his 1994 double-murder acquittal, justices Michael Cherry, Mark Gibbons and Nancy Saitta posed pointed questions about whether convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart received a fair trial alongside Simpson.
Both men were convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, conspiracy and other crimes for what Simpson maintained was an attempt to retrieve family photos and mementoes. Four other men took plea deals and received probation after testifying for the prosecution.
Related listings
-
Cops: Suspect at court tried to sell GPS to owner
Criminal Law 06/10/2010Police say a Connecticut man who appeared at a courthouse to answer a larceny charge broke into several cars in front of the building, took a GPS unit and inadvertently tried to sell it to its owner. Police say the arrest of 50-year-old Thomas Peno o...
-
Girl pleads guilty in Seattle bus tunnel beating
Criminal Law 06/09/2010A 15-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in a Seattle bus tunnel beating of another girl that was captured on surveillance video.The Seattle girl who entered her plea Tuesday had been charged with first-degree robbery in the Jan...
-
Mass. sen. who stuffed money in bra pleads guilty
Criminal Law 06/04/2010A Massachusetts state senator caught on video stuffing what prosecutors said was bribe money into her sweater and bra has pleaded guilty to corruption charges.Dianne Wilkerson, a Boston Democrat, entered the pleas to eight counts of attempted extorti...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.