Football hall of famer O.J. Simpson filed an appeal to be released from a Nevada prison Friday, where he has been serving a 33-year sentence, after being convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery stemming from an incident in a Las Vegas hotel in 2008. The case is now being reviewed by the Nevada Supreme Court.
In September, 2007, Simpson, along with three other men, allegedly broke into a Palace Station hotel-casino room and robbed two men of sports memorabilia at gunpoint. Simpson was initially questioned by police, but denied any wrongdoing, and was released. He was arrested two days later, and was charged with criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault and robbery, while using a deadly weapon.
Attorneys Patricia Palm, Ozzie Fumo and Tom Pitaro contest that Simpson was wrongly convicted, because he and his trial lawyer, Yale Galanter, had conflicting interests. Galanter also represented Simpson during a previous appeal in 2010, which the Nevada Supreme Court denied.
Clark County prosecutors filed documents on September 24, saying there was no need for another trial.
Out of roughly 2,400 appeals filed annually, the Supreme Court typically hears only 100 oral arguments. Any decision on the case of “The Juice” isn’t to be expected anytime soon.
Apparently, Yale Galanter, who had denied any conflict existing between he and Simpson, does not possess the same skill set of Johnny Cochran:
Simpson, 67, was infamously acquitted of the 1995 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. In 1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica, California, deemed Simpson liable for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. He was fined $33,500,000 in damages.
An auction of Simpson’s Heisman Trophy in 1999, along with various other memorabilia, raised roughly $500,000. The funds went to the Goldman family.
Regarding the Las Vegas incident, it can be assumed that The Juice doesn’t like to let go of his totems.
Simpson will become eligible for parole in 2017.