O.J. Jury Selection Begins

Las Vegas Robbery-Kidnapping Trial Resumes; Picking Jury Expected To Take A Week

(CBS/ AP)  Nearly a year after O.J. Simpson walked into a casino hotel room intent on reclaiming some sports memorabilia, he and his lawyers walked into a courthouse Monday to pick jurors for his robbery-kidnapping trial.

The fallen American football star, actor and advertising pitchman, and his remaining co-defendant, Clarence "C.J" Stewart, a 54-year-old golfing buddy, have both pleaded not guilty to 12 charges stemming from a heated encounter last September with two sports collectibles dealers peddling Simpson memorabilia at a Las Vegas hotel-casino.

Simpson's arrival at the Clark County Regional Justice Center on Monday morning was much more subdued than previous appearances at the courthouse, with no protesters and few people to greet him.

He declined to answer questions, but smiled and waved when one person called out "Good Luck!"

Simpson has said he put his faith in the jury system and was confident of an acquittal - a conviction could put him in prison for life.

Lawyer Robert Lucherini lost several last-ditch bids to get the Nevada Supreme Court to postpone or sever Stewart's trial from Simpson's.

He argued Stewart can't get a fair trial before a jury sure to know about Simpson's Los Angeles murder trial in the 1990s. Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. After the "Trial of the Century," Simpson was found civilly liable for the deaths and ordered to pay a $33.5 million judgment to Goldman's family.

Prosecutors, defense lawyers and Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass have used 26-page questionnaires to identify prospective jurors with biases and cut a jury pool of 500 to fewer than 250.

Clark is a no nonsense judge, who has already scolded Simpson for trying to contact a witness, reports CBS News correspondent Hattie Kauffman.

Jury selection still could take a week or longer, court officials said.

When the 12-member panel and six alternates are seated, the prosecution will tell them that Simpson and Stewart walked into the casino hotel room on Sept. 13, 2007, with four other men and robbed the sports collectibles peddlers at gunpoint of items that Simpson said had been stolen from him.

Simpson, 61, who has been living in Miami, maintains he didn't ask anyone to bring guns and that he didn't know anyone in the room was armed.

Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include burglary, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon. A robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time. A kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Four of the men who accompanied Simpson pleaded to lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution. But Simpson defense attorney Yale Galanter says he got one of those four men to admit that he would have slanted his testimony in Simpson's favor if the price was right.

[jetlizhan]

i hope this time his butt gets fried. burn baby burn!! look how much he''s aged in the last 14 years since he killed nicole and ron. guilt will do that to a person. his day''s coming.

[michaelt302]

Time for this murdering animal to go to jail. Once and for all. Every day this man walks free is an affront and assult on our entire justice system. OJ needs to be in jail and needs to rot a few years.

[questionnews]

Won''t this interfere with his investigation of who killed his former wife Nicole???

Just another attempt by whitey to keep OJ from finding the truth.

[murrey3]

"Galanter promised to expose troubled backgrounds of the witnesses lined up against Simpson."
-----------------------------------------

Since they were O.J.''s hand picked assault team and buddies, wouldn''t that fit O.J. into that group too?

[docpeter-2009]

i hope this time his butt gets fried. burn baby burn!! look how much he''''s aged in the last 14 years since he killed nicole and ron. guilt will do that to a person. his day''''s coming.

Posted by jetlizhan at 09:49 AM : Sep 08, 2008
_________________
Are you really looking for his "butt to get fried", or for "drill baby drill"?

[fstop100]

Maybe this time the murdering piece of slime will get
some jail time with Bubba!

[xmanborg]

JUST LEAVE OJ ALONE, LEAVE HIM ALONE !

[docnannie]

This worthless piece of trash should have been executed, or in prison for life, but here we are spending taxpayer dollars to prosecute this waste of space again!!!!!

[republic1776]

All the money waisted on this clown.
1000''s of hours...
It''s all about rich mans justice.

[mrjake7]

Another reason to vote McCain/Palin! The bombo would probably give him a pardon!

[love4all2]

hey nancy if he was innocent why did he get nailed in the civil court? he was guilty. he had a fabulous dream team defense. that is what got him off. the prosecution in the murder trial took to long and the dna confused people. he had blood on his car and his house . just like this case he did it. they need to lock him up

[edward1975-2009]

You''d figured that after getting away with a double homicide and catching a break with the most incredible group of imbeciles for a jury, he would just count his blessings. Not this idiot, he is bound and determined to become a ward of the state at some crossbar hotel for the remainder of his miserable existence. What a tool.

[gramto8]

From the article:
Four of the men who accompanied Simpson pleaded to lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution. But Simpson defense attorney Yale Galanter says he got one of those four men to admit that he would have slanted his testimony in Simpson''s favor **if the price was right.**

Note the last five words!! His lawyers are going to buy his way out of this one just like his other lawyers did.

[gorph001]

he got off from murdering 2 people by buying justice!!!, he will do it again!!!!!

[airboatboy]

I hope he''s acquitted! How could he possibly continue his hunt for the murderer of Nicole and Ron if he''s locked up in jail?

[erasmus81]

I wish I could be on that jury.

[sociald63]

hey o.j. - hope you drop that bar of soap, you thug

[mandalay-bay]

LEAVE OJ ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[susanhelit]

The stuff he took wasn''t his - in no meaning of the term. Some of it was from other sports figures, and the rest of it was stuff he arranged to have "stolen" when it was going to be sold to pay of the civil judgement against him for killing Nicole and Ron Goldman.

If it was his, all he would have had to do was to call the police. But the police - they wouldn''t just return stuff to him while keeping quiet and not validating that it really was his.

Like any thug, his response to someone having something he wanted was violence.

O.J. sins from his past have caught up with him.

[mawskrat]

prayers for the jury, that you come up with the correct verdict

[chyenna-2009]

Karma!! It''s way past time he gets what he deserves. Hang on Bubba, you may get him yet.

[chyenna-2009]

And to the person that referred to ''WHITEY", WOULD YOU PREFER N I G G E R? YOUR KIND, THE RACIST ONES, CALL WHITES EVERYTHING BUT WHITE. BUT LET ONE PERSON CALL YOU THE "N" WORD AND YOU SCREAM RACIST. YOU AND YOUR WHITE HATING BROTHERS ARE TWO FACED THUGS. WHATS GOOD FOR THE BLACK GOOSE IS FAIR PLAY FOR THE WHITE GANDER.

[louthesz9]

Don''t wanna serve on jury duty??? Just say he''s guilty of the double-murders and you''re out. That''s probably the quickest way to get the hell out of jury duty.

[louthesz9]

Or, if you wanna serve on the jury and then convict him, just play dumb and pretend you don''t know anything about O.J.. Tell that scumbag defense attorney Yale Galanter that you have absolutely no knowledge about O.J. Simpson''s past. And then, maybe, that idiot Galanter may give you a pass.

[keithle1]

O.J. is supposed to be tracking down the killer/s of his ex-wife not worrying about who is selling his old Bills/49er junk. He said he was working on some "leads."

Who hasn''t heard of O.J.? Newborn babies. Put them on the jury, judge.

Like he''s going to get convicted & go to prison for life. Please. I''ll believe that when I see it.

[keithle1]

Pray all you want. It won''t do any good.

[welshwoman-2009]

Please news media - do not make a dog and pony show out of this ignorant man''s need for attention again. He is not important in the scheme of life and only the news media thinks it''s worth covering! I will turn the channel and the page to run from it.