O.J. Simpson Now Set to Face the Jury, Nevada Style
Jury selection begins next week for the infamous Football Hall of Famer
By Stacey Silberman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/04/08 – O.J. Simpson attorney Gabriel Grasso is ready to rumble as jury selection is set to begin September 8, in a trial that could potentially send the fallen football hero to prison for life, if found guilty of felony kidnapping. “Ready for trial judge,” said Grasso Tuesday during court proceedings in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately for him, the same is not true for Simpson’s one remaining co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart. Stewart’s attorney Robert Lucherini made his last-ditch motion in court to postpone or sever the high-profile trial. But the judge refused. “I am not granting your motion to continue. I am not granting a stay,” said Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. “The jury selection process will begin next Monday.”
O.J. claims that he and his friends went to recover his personal “stuff” he alleged was stolen from his Brentwood home years ago. He called the event a “sting operation.”
The charges against Simpson and Stewart are armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, kidnapping, felony kidnapping and coercion.
Lucherini appealed to a state high court panel, but lost last week in a 2-1 decision by Justices Ron Parraguirre and Bill Maupin, while Justice Michael Cherry dissented.
Judge Glass already allowed a postponement in April and promised that the trial would proceed this month as planned. Lucherini argued that Simpson’s beleaguered past will hamper his client’s right to a fair trial.
In late August a pool of 500 potential jurors were interviewed leaving about 250 prospective jurors for prosecutors and defense attorneys to question. “We did excuse most of the people, if not all of the people, who expressed extreme opinions about the parties,” said Glass.
The jurors were required to fill out a 26-page questionnaire for the dubious privilege of serving on Simpson’s jury. The no-nonsense judge expects jury selection to take about one week and the trial to last around five weeks. And though the trial is in Vegas, they won’t be spending five weeks at the Bellagio, more likely a Motel 6.
Simpson’s feisty Florida attorney Yale Galanter will be back in Las Vegas for the trial and is expected to question up to 30 witnesses for his client’s defense.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Tuesday that his team has approximately 25 witnesses slated for the prosecution, including Simpson’s former co-defendants Walter Alexander, Michael McClinton, and Charles Cashmore, who accepted plea bargains prior to the preliminary trial back in November 2007.
The defendants face 12 felony counts after O.J. and four of his golf buddies allegedly robbed Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley of thousands of dollars of sports memorabilia from a hotel room at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino on Sept. 13, 2007.
An armed robbery conviction would require mandatory prison time, while a kidnapping conviction could spell life in prison with the possibility of parole.