OJ Simpson has filed for a new trial, in Las Vegas for the charges brought against him in 2008, where he and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart were found guilty on 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping.
Kind of ironic that the guilty verdicts came 13 years to the day after a Los Angeles jury acquitted Simpson of killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Earlier this week, that motion was denied and he could be facing another 4 years in prison. “All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently, are denied,” Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell said in her ruling Tuesday.
OJ is claiming his attorney’s did not represent his case properly.
OJ has already served time, and was sentenced to between 9 and 33 years in a Nevada state prison but was granted parole on some convictions in July. His legal defense team held firm on the fact that he was simply trying to retrieve his own sports memorabilia, which was stolen from him, when he rushed into that hotel room where he and his team lured the sports dealers, with guns, planning to use force if needed.
“It was my stuff,” Simpson said. “I followed what I thought was the law. My lawyer told me I couldn’t break into a guy’s room. I didn’t break into anybody’s room. I didn’t try to muscle the guys.”
Simpson’s new lawyer, Patricia Palm has claimed that the former football star’s legal team botched the case. “We’re confident that when we get to the right court we’ll get relief because he deserves relief, because he didn’t get a fair trial,” Palm told The Associated Press.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson disagrees with Palm, saying, “I believe Mr. Simpson received a fair trial and had more than competent counsel.”
His further appeal to the Nevada Supreme might just rest on deaf ears, as Bell’s 101-page ruling rejected arguments that Simpson received inadequate legal representation. The ruling was detailed and will be reviewed by the Supreme Court. “Mr. Simpson’s convictions stem from serious offenses,” she wrote. Judge Bell also noted the involvement of six co-conspirators and weeks of advance planning.
“As long as he has resources he can continue to try, but I don’t think he will get a new trial or a reduced sentence,” says Robert Pugsley, another law professor at Southwestern Law School.
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