O.J. Simpson’s request for a new trial for his 2008 convictions for armed robbery and kidnapping was rejected by a Las Vegas judge on Tuesday. Simpson is currently serving nine to 33 years in prison for the crimes, but, the Associated Press reports, his attorneys argued that the disgraced former football star’s previous lawyers were incompetent and he should receive a new trial.
The original crime revolved around Simpson stealing sports memorabilia and was rehashed earlier this year during retrial hearings. Here’s the gist of the original crime, via the Los Angeles Times:
In May, the fallen Hall of Fame running back and Heisman Trophy winner from USC sat shackled to his seat, looking much heavier than his playing days, as witnesses testified about events leading up to the night in 2007 when he and several friends stormed into a $39-a-night hotel room here demanding the return of sports memorabilia Simpson said had been stolen from him. Defense lawyers argued that he was merely trying to recover property that was rightfully his. Simpson has said he didn’t know that the five men who accompanied him to the Palace Station hotel had guns. But he was convicted in the gunpoint robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers.
The judge ruled that the standard for a new trial wasn’t met by Simpson’s legal team, which put forth 22 claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and attorney conflict of interest, according to the AP.
