Judge Says No Retrial For OJ

A judge denied OJ Simpson's bid for a retrial on Tuesday, saying that, "all grounds in the petition lack merit." The 66-year-old is serving out a nine-to-33 year term after being convicted for a 2007 robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. Simpson will be 70 when he is first eligible for parole, though his attorneys said he would appeal Tuesday's ruling before that. Simpson was also tried but acquitted in the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, as well as her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1995. In a later civil trial, though, he was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.

In case you, like I, have forgotten why we even care about who OJ is, I've got the answer: He used to be a pro football player and set a whole bunch of records, and was also inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. He even won the prestigious Heisman Trophy while a college player.

The failed appeal was filed on 22 grounds (many related to a previous defense team), and came after a failed "direct appeal." His extensive legal team was "shocked and disappointed" by the ruling, said Patricia Palm, and remains "convinced the law provides relief for Mr. Simpson." Clark County Judge Linda Marie Bell didn't quite see it the same way.

"Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson's conviction," Bell wrote.

The 2007 robbery charge stems from an incident where Simpson and several others were trying to recover photos and footballs that rightfully belonged to Simpson, defense attorneys claimed. His ex-lawyer (the one whose allegedly-faulty advice the current legal team was relying on to get them a new trial) said that Simpson had in fact known that his associates were bringing guns to the confrontation.

"As OJ's lawyer and confidante, it was gut-wrenching for me to have to be in a position to defend my strategy and efforts on his behalf as his lawyer and testify against my client," Yale Galanter, the former lawyer, told the AP.

Yeah, something tell us that in a high-profile case like this, loyalty really isn't a priority.