his days of getting any sleep are far from over
It is not the jury of O.J. SIMPSON’s dreams, but neither does it shape up to be his nightmare. A jury has been selected to decide whether O.J. Simpson and a co-defendant kidnapped and robbed two sports memorabilia dealers last year in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas, Nevada — The all-white jury that on Monday will begin judging him and a co-defendant on robbery and kidnapping charges was culled from an initial pool of 500 who answered questionnaires, and the remaining dozens who were later quizzed in the courtroom.
Prosecutors removed two prospective African-American jurors with their challenges.
Simpson’s lawyers managed to eliminate those with the strongest opinions about his 1995 acquittal on murder charges. Prospective jurors who said Simpson got away with murder have been thanked and told to go home.
The ones who remained when jury selection ended late Thursday night said they could put aside any residual opinions about the slaying of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
“All in all, I can’t imagine that an all-white jury is what O.J. or his lawyers were hoping for,” said Michael Shapiro, a New York defense lawyer who has followed the Las Vegas case and provided commentary during Simpson’s 1995 murder acquittal in Los Angeles.
Most of the jury members said they didn’t care that much about Simpson’s “Trial of the Century” when it was televised gavel to gavel.
“One woman who said she had a toddler and a job at the time said, “I had my own drama going on in my life.”
All the panelists said they won’t let Simpson’s earlier case influence them when they judge him and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart on allegations that they robbed two sports collectibles brokers at gunpoint a year ago in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. Each man could face life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted of kidnapping, and mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery.
“These 12 jurors are really going to have to rise to the occasion,” Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter said Friday. “They must set aside their feelings about O.J. Simpson and judge him on what they see in the courtroom.” … And the O.J. Simpson court saga continues ladies and gentlemen. I say — it’s a long year ahead.
