The Gipper Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - O.J. Simpson, the ex-football star famously acquitted of murder in 1995, appeared in court on Monday seeking a new trial in a Las Vegas armed robbery case that sent him to prison as witnesses testified to what they said were blunders by his lawyer. Simpson, 65, appeared older, grayer and heavier after five years behind bars as he entered a Las Vegas courtroom in blue jail garb, his hands and feet shackled, for a hearing that could last for a week into claims that his then-attorney mishandled the Nevada case. He was brought to court from a Nevada prison where he is serving up to 33 years for the 2007 incident in which he and five other men stormed into a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and took thousands of dollars in memorabilia from a pair of sports collectors at gunpoint. Defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Simpson was only trying to retrieve his own stolen memorabilia and was not aware that an accomplice had brought a gun along. He was found guilty on 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Simpson's current attorneys have asked a judge to throw out his 2008 conviction, saying his trial lawyer, Yale Galanter, had a conflict of interest because he knew in advance that Simpson planned to confront the sports dealers at the hotel. They also argue that Galanter never told Simpson that prosecutors had offered a plea deal in which he would have been sentenced to two to five years in prison. Much of the testimony during the first day of the hearing centered on an audiotape of the hotel room altercation that two witnesses said Galanter should have fought to keep out of the trial as inadmissible evidence. James Barnett, a longtime friend of Simpson who let the famous defendant stay at his home during the trial, said he told Galanter he questioned the integrity of the tapes and urged the lawyer to have them analyzed. He said Galanter agreed to do so only if Barnett put up the $250,000 he said it would cost. "I thought about it and I decided not to. I thought, this is one slick lawyer," Barnett said, adding that he believed the tapes could have been analyzed for $5,000. Barnett was followed on the witness stand by attorney Eric Bryson, who represented one of Simpson's co-defendants in the case. Bryson told the court that the tapes were "untrustworthy" and should have been challenged as evidence. "Without the tapes, I thought the state's case was very weak," he said. Simpson's 43-year-old daughter, Arnelle, took the witness stand shortly before the lunch break, testifying that her father had been drinking heavily during the weekend of the incident. That testimony was expected to be used by Simpson's lawyers to suggest that he was not aware that guns were drawn at the hotel. A separate appeal by Simpson of his conviction in the case was rejected by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2010. Simpson, a former star NFL running back turned TV pitchman, was accused of the 1994 stabbing and slashing murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted in 1995 after a year-long proceeding, dubbed the "Trial of the Century" in the press, that was carried live gavel-to-gavel on U.S. television. (Writing and additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Beech) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoorta Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Been there, seen that Gip. Best comment I saw regarding his request for a "new Trial"- sure, we'll give you one ,as long as we can re-try you on the Nicole murder case l too. Seriously, I look at his stay in the Nevada penal system as partial payment for the jury blowing the conviction in the other trial- and I was surprised to find out he got 33 years. Doofus could have been out already if he had taken the plea deal offered him- 2 years. Thought he could beat this rap too. Give OJ credit- he put HLN on the map with court TV. There's apparently a ton of court TV junkies that follow this stuff now, gavel to gavel. Casey Anthony, and now Jodi Arias. And regarding Jodi- there's apparently a few wackos out there who apparently believe her pack of lies, and want you to send money to help her cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Been there, seen that Gip. Best comment I saw regarding his request for a "new Trial"- sure, we'll give you one ,as long as we can re-try you on the Nicole murder case l too. Seriously, I look at his stay in the Nevada penal system as partial payment for the jury blowing the conviction in the other trial- and I was surprised to find out he got 33 years. Doofus could have been out already if he had taken the plea deal offered him- 2 years. Thought he could beat this rap too. Give OJ credit- he put HLN on the map with court TV. There's apparently a ton of court TV junkies that follow this stuff now, gavel to gavel. Casey Anthony, and now Jodi Arias. And regarding Jodi- there's apparently a few wackos out there who apparently believe her pack of lies, and want you to send money to help her cause. I have been wondering how those two, Anthony and Arias seem to get all this attention when there are hundreds or thousands of other murder trials that go on in this country. I can only attribute it to one thing: they were both "hot white chicks". Can there be any other reason? At least with OJ he was a very, very famous celebrity. As someone said, the most famous celebrity in US history to ever be charged with murder. In fact here is the list of the most famous celebrities charged with killing someone (some murder, some manslaughter, some found guilty, many not): 1. OJ Simpson 2. Robert Blake 3. Phil Spector 4. Sid Vicious 5. Paul Kelly (old character actor, you would probably know him if you saw him) 6. Don King...actually killed 2 people, 13 years apart 7. Gig Young...murder/suicide 8. Fatty Arbuckle...silent film comedian 9. Snoop Dog 10. C-Murder, rapper. though, I don't know about this last one, I never heard of him. I am going to replace him with Rae Carruth. And what about Ray Lewis. Also, some people have killed people accidentally: Matthew Broderick Laura Bush John Landis Brandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Veering slightly into politics and filmfirst of all I really hope OJ is guilty. it seems pretty obvious to most of us but still if not his life has been ruined. I had also heard, on the movie front, that Louie Anderson had always planned to do a bio pic of Fatty Arbuckle. too bad that's never come to fruition. From all accounts he actually was innocent but it still destroyed his career. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoorta Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 I have been wondering how those two, Anthony and Arias seem to get all this attention when there are hundreds or thousands of other murder trials that go on in this country. I can only attribute it to one thing: they were both "hot white chicks". Can there be any other reason? Sure are Gip. Arias may be nymphomaniac hot- but she's not that attractive- and that's not just my opinion either. Interesting the defense tried to make her as UN-attractive as possible during the trial, fake glasses, dye hair from blonde to brunette. Interesting. Personally, her defense attorney is far more attractive. Those two- (as well as the Anna Nicole & Scott Peterson trials) are the same reason all the tabloids are in business. The more lurid the details, the better for national TV rankings. Apparently, there's a pretty significant percentage of the population that sucks this sort of stuff up. Anthony allegedly kills her kid, buries her in the backyard. Arias tops that one in spades. What I don't understand is why the Arias trial dragged on for 4 months- when the prosecution had a slam dunk case. You need to testify for 12 days? I could tell my entire life story with everything I remember in less time. "I wasn't there." "Well, I was there, but two guys broke in and killed him." "I killed him but it was self defense." Sure it was self defense, stabbing the guy in the back in the shower, stabbing him 20+ more times, cutting his throat, and then shooting him in the head to top it off. Self defense is sufficient force to repel the attack, not butcher your attacker because he pissed you off. Most people who claim "self defense" don't take a powder from the crime scene either, IIRC. Funny how grandpa's gun went missing, you needed a rental car to drive to Arizona, shut off your cell phone on the drive over, and the gun and knife magically disappear in the desert- because your mind went blank. Normally, I'm pro death penalty, but the death penalty is too good for her- unless you want to have a good old-fashioned Wild West Hanging on the town square. HGN could make millions putting that on pay-per-view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 I have been wondering how those two, Anthony and Arias seem to get all this attention when there are hundreds or thousands of other murder trials that go on in this country. I can only attribute it to one thing: they were both "hot white chicks". Can there be any other reason? At least with OJ he was a very, very famous celebrity. As someone said, the most famous celebrity in US history to ever be charged with murder. In fact here is the list of the most famous celebrities charged with killing someone (some murder, some manslaughter, some found guilty, many not): 1. OJ Simpson 2. Robert Blake 3. Phil Spector 4. Sid Vicious 5. Paul Kelly (old character actor, you would probably know him if you saw him) 6. Don King...actually killed 2 people, 13 years apart 7. Gig Young...murder/suicide 8. Fatty Arbuckle...silent film comedian 9. Snoop Dog 10. C-Murder, rapper. though, I don't know about this last one, I never heard of him. I am going to replace him with Rae Carruth. And what about Ray Lewis. Also, some people have killed people accidentally: Matthew Broderick Laura Bush John Landis Brandy Did you put these in some order? Because clearly sid vicious is more famous than Phil spector and snoop dogg is more famous than everyone before him except OJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted May 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2013 Did you put these in some order? Because clearly sid vicious is more famous than Phil spector and snoop dogg is more famous than everyone before him except OJ I didn't put them in this order...it was the website I consulted that did. And to that end, that website, and I, may disagree with you on whether or not sid vicious is more famous than Phil Spector. Phil Spector is most well know for his "Wall of Sound" and his work with the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike and Tina Turner and the Ramones, he also worked with both John Lennon and George Harrison, and he influenced the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen. He was also a principle in the Warner Bros/Spector label. So, he may have been THE most famous producer ever...and even had a major record label named for him ....but none of that kept him from going goofy...and worse apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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