Simpson loses bid for new trial

OJ Simpson was denied a new trial today by the Nevada judge who presided over his conviction in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass said challenges raised by lawyers for Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “CJ” Stewart did not rise to the level of granting another trial.

“All of the issues have been preserved for the (Nevada) Supreme Court,” Judge Glass said, acknowledging that her rulings could be appealed in the state’s only appellate court.

Former football star Simpson and Stewart, who were shackled and in jail clothes, did not speak during the 20-minute hearing, at which the judge also denied requests to release them on bail pending sentencing on December 5.

“They face life sentences, mandatory prison,” Judge Glass said. “Your motions are being denied.”

Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, were convicted on October 3 of charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the hotel room confrontation on September 13, 2007. Simpson has argued that he was trying to recover stolen mementoes.

Each faces five years to life in prison on each of their two kidnapping convictions, and a mandatory sentence of at least two years or up to 30 years on each of the two armed robbery convictions.

Stewart’s lawyer, Brent Bryson, today raised a new allegation of misconduct by the jury foreman, Paul Connelly.

He said an investigator for Simpson’s lawyers found that Connelly was dismissed from a job with a soft drinks company after making racially disparaging statements.

“That’s problematic for our clients, who are black,” Mr Bryson said.

Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, did not address the jury misconduct issue during the hearing. Outside court, he confirmed Mr Bryson’s statements but declined to provide more information.

Mr Bryson has argued that Mr Connelly told the media after Simpson’s conviction that he thought he should have got life in prison for the 1994 killing of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.

Mr Connelly has said those comments were taken out of context, and he did not respond to telephone messages today from The Associated Press.

In her ruling, Judge Glass sided with prosecutor Chris Owens, who said defence lawyers “were not under any illusions” about Mr Connelly’s opinions after reviewing his jury questionnaire and asking him questions directly.

“I find that nothing has risen to a level of juror misconduct,” Judge Glass said.

In another matter, Nevada Attorney General Jill Davis submitted documents on Monday asking the state Supreme Court to uphold Judge Glass’s decisions to withhold jury questionnaires from the public until the trial was over and redact the documents when they were released.

Lawyer Colby Williams, representing the AP and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said today that case law is clear and jury questioning should be an open process and questionnaires should be made public.