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

    Cops: Suspect at court tried to sell GPS to owner

    Criminal Law 06/10/2010

    Police 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

    Girl pleads guilty in Seattle bus tunnel beating

    Criminal Law 06/09/2010

    A 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

    Mass. sen. who stuffed money in bra pleads guilty

    Criminal Law 06/04/2010

    A 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 Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.

Business News

New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read