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O.J. Simpson Seeks New Trial
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
May 23, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Rotting in Lovelock Correctional Facility in
Nevada, 66-year-old O.J. Simpson asked the Nevada Supreme Court through his
lawyer Patricia Palm to grant him a new trial for his Oct. 3, 2008 conviction of
12 counts of armed robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy, netting the Hall of Fame
NFL running back from 9-33 years in prison.
Viewed as payback for his Oct. 3, 1995 acquittal for the double-homicide
of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, legal analysts
view Simpson’s new request as a long-shot.
Simpson alleges he was incompetently represented by his former attorney
Yale Galanter, earning him an overly harsh sentence in the Nevada courts. While never testifying, Simpson
claimed through Galanter that he had no knowledge of any weapons used in an
attempt to recover what he called stolen sports memorabilia Sept. 13, 2007 in a
Las Vegas hotel room.
Submitting an extensive 19,993-word brief to Nevada’s High Court, the
documents exceeds the 14,000-word limit due to the case’s “complexity,”
according to Palm. High Court
spokesman Michael Sommermeyer wasn’t certain the court would accept the bulky
document, nearly 6,000-words over the court’s limit. Simpson’s prior attempts to appeal
the Oct. 3, 2008 conviction were denied by the High Court, finding Galanter’s
arguments about an improper trial unfounded.
Simpson appealed the Oct. 3, 2008 conviction May 5, 2009, only to be told
by the High Court that it upheld the trial court’s ruling Oct. 22, 2009. Simpson’s latest effort hopes to
capitalize on the court’s July 31, 2013 grant of parole, despite insisting that
Simpson serve at least four more years.
Simpson hopes that a new trial would save him four more years in prison
before granted parole in 2017
While the High Court disagreed that Simpson was inadequately represented
by Galanter in 2008, it’s worth a shot remaking the same arguments. Simpson disagreed with the Clark County prosecutors that he did anything wrong Sept. 13,
2007 when he and a few friends ambushed sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint
in the Palace Station Hotel room claiming he was simply trying to recover stolen
merchandise. Galanter tried to discredit an audio recording with Simpson saying, “get those guys,”
placing him squarely in the middle of the armed robbery. Simpson had claimed he knew nothing
about anyone possessing guns in the hotel room in an attempt to reclaim his
stolen property. Simpson’s new
basis for asking the Nevada High Court to grant a new trial blames Galanter for
not telling Simpson about the 2-5-year plea deal with the Clark County District
Attorney.
No matter how many pages Palm’s
brief to the High Court, it’s unlikely any material facts have changed since the
Supreme Court rejected Simpson’s last request for a new trial reviewed by a
three-judge panel of the High Court Aug. 3, 2009. When the High Court affirmed the
lower courts conviction Oct. 22, 2009, Simpson was hauled off the prison to do
his time. Simpson’s upset with Galanter stems purely from the outcome, where Simpson finally had to
face the justice system. District Court Judge Linda Bell rejected Simpsons’ request for a new trial May 5, 2009,
prompting Simpson’s appeal to the Nevada High Court. While Palm hopes to get Simpson
another trial, the High Court’s found no substantive grounds for overruling the
Oct. 3, 2008 ruling finding Simpson guilty on 12 counts of armed robbery,
conspiracy, kidnapping, etc. prompting the court’s harsh sentence.
Should the High Court accept Palm’s 19,993 brief, Palm hopes to show that
Galanter incompetently represented Simpson, failing to tell him about the
2-5-year plea deal which Simpson would have accepted. Simpson seeks to appeal the 100-page
ruling, detailing the legal grounds for conviction on all charges. Throwing the book at Simpson wasn’t
difficult for Judge Linda Bell, whose Oct. 3, 2008 conviction landed Simpson
behind bars for up to 33 years.
Since Simpson was granted parole July 31, 2013, his new attorney has tried to
get his sentence reduced. Faced
with another three years behind bars, Simpson hoped that Palm’s request for a
new trial would be granted. Palm
believes she has plenty of evidence to convince the High Court that Simpson was
not given due process with Galanter failing to inform him about his 2-5-year
plea deal. First the High Court needs to rule on Palm’s nearly 20,000-word brief.
Since acquitted of double-homicide Oct. 3, 1995, O.J. skated the criminal
justice system until Goldman and Brown wrongful death Atty. Daniel Petrocelli
won a $33.5 million judgment against Simpson in 1997. Unable to collect much of the judgment, the tabloids followed Simpson around various
nightclubs and golf courses in South Florida until he was nabbed Sept. 13, 2007
in Las Vegas in armed robbery.
Whatever happened in the Nevada courts to land Simpson 9-33 years, he had little
sympathy from the public who thought he finally got his comeuppance. Trying one more maneuver now to get
a new trial only adds insult-to-injury over one of the most tragic stories in
modern American history. Once a role model, sports and media icon, Simpson lived the American dream until he
self-destructed, like many successful folks, in a fit of rage, only to find his
success vaporize.
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