LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Nevada’s Supreme Court yesterday refused to overturn O.J. Simpson’s 2008 robbery conviction for a bungled attempt to recover his own sports memorabilia.
The former U.S. football star, serving a prison sentence of up to 33 years, appealed citing judicial misconduct and racial make-up of the jury and other grounds. But in a 24-page ruling, the Nevada court dismissed all eight issues raised in the appeal.
Simpson, 63, was found guilty of the hold-up at gunpoint of two sports collectors in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2007. He said he was trying to retrieve possessions that were stolen from him.
Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, suggested at the time that the Las Vegas jury was giving Simpson a payback for his controversial 1995 acquittal on charges of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles.
“We are extremely disappointed with the court ruling today, however it is not unexpected,” Galanter said yesterday, adding that he planned to continue the fight.
Simpson is serving his sentence in Nevada and is eligible for parole in seven years.
The Nevada Supreme Court judges ordered a new trial for one of Simpson’s co-defendants. They said that Clarence “C.J.” Stewart was not given a fair trial because of “the spill-over prejudice from Simpson’s notoriety.”
