O.J., Lawyers Ready for Trial

October 3, 1995: Orenthal James Simpson, center, clenches his fists in victory upon the reading of the "NOT GUILTY" verdicts in regard to the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada---O.J. Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter told Judge Jackie Glass that he and his client were ready for jury selection, which will begin Monday. The judge said she believes jury selection will take a week and that the trial is expected to last about five weeks.

O.J. Simpson's only remaining co-defendant, C.J. Stewart, along with his lawyer, Robert Lucherini once again moved for a Motion for Stay and Sever and once again were denied by the judge:

"I am not granting your motion to continue," Glass told Lucherini. "I am not ... granting a stay. The jury selection process will begin next Monday."

Lucherini has vowed to the judge that he will ask the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider his Motion to Sever, claiming that his client cannot receive a fair trial if he should have to be seated next to O.J. Simpson. He adduced many reasons to the Court as to why he believes his client could not get a fair trial next to Simpson, most notably, Simpson's 1995 double murder acquittal of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.

The jury pool of 500 was reduced to 250 after defense attorneys and prosecutors spent several hours August 25th reviewing answers provided by those prospective jurors on a 26-page questionnaire:

"We did excuse most of the people, if not all of the people, who expressed extreme opinions about the parties," Glass said, "in an effort to have a very efficient jury selection process."

Those extreme opinions may be the result of the feelings many people have that O.J. Simpson got away with double murder. A recent poll has shown that over 80% of Americans now believe that the former National Football League player, turned actor and pitchman was guilty of the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend. The same poll has shown that black American, who once stood near 70% in favor of not guilty, have seen their favor of him fall to numbers near 40%.

This could be a result of O.J. Simpson's book, "If I Did It," which was published in 2007 after a Federal Bankruptcy Court granted the rights to the book to the Goldman family in an effort to offset the nearly $38 million wrongful death judgment they have against Simpson. In the book, Simpson talks about the problems plaguing his ex-wife and gives a very grisly, hypothetical look into how these murders would have occurred if he had committed them.

Simpson and Stewart have pled not guilty to 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a September 2007 confrontation they had with two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel who were allegedly selling stolen property of Simpson's. Some of that property was believed to include the suit Simpson wore the day of his 1995 double murder acquittal.

A kidnapping conviction could net Simpson and Stewart life in prison with the possibility of parole. A robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time. Their trial is set to begin with opening statements some time this month.