Before everyone starts to pile-on Orenthal...

[Lew]

Keep one thing in mind- he didn't kill anyone in Las Vegas.

You can go on about how he did this and that, but the fact is, our justice system aims to rehabilitate people. And no, the Juice never did any time for his past run-ins with the law, but he still had to go through the process.

And being the optimist that I am, I look at it this way- he used to kill people. Had this occurred in the mid-90s, he might have gone in there and killed everyone on the room.

As it is, all he did was go in there and discuss the sports momentos in a civil, gentlemanly manner. You can say what you want, but to me, that's improvement. That shows me that he's grown-up a little bit.

Sure he lost his temper there at the end, but on the whole, I think he did a good job of controlling himself, something he hasn't always done in the past.

[cincygreg]

If there were gloves involved, make sure they're his size first this time. [img]eek.gif[/img]
(or at least make him take off the plastic gloves before he tries them on) because as we all know...

"if the gloves dont fit, you must acquit"

Maybe there is a sequel to his book in this [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 17, 2007 10:05 AM: Message edited by: cincygreg ]</font>

[Lew]

Truth be told, this will be a greater challenge for him than in the past, due to several important distinctions- 1) There's not much forensic evidence at issue (one of the reasons he was acquitted in the murder case was incomplete and/or contaminated forensics); 2) he may have already confessed to certain elements of some crimes; 3) unlike the murder, where he said he wasn't there, he most certainly was at the scene in this case; and most of all, whereas in 1994-95 there was still that shock phase, i.e. how could this well-loved sports hero do such a thing, no one really has that view of him anymore.

Of course, he has a few things going for him as well: 1) the other witnesses appear not to be on the good character award nomination list (this can be good or bad for a defendant; it can be good because you can usually skewer these creeps on cross examination, but it can be bad because a jury often concludes that where's there's smoke there's fire, and if these are bad elements, and OJ's hanging with them, then he, too, must be a bad element); 2) the more the media keeps doing their thing, that affects a) his ability to get a fair trial, and b) possible witness tampering; and finally, he's the Juice. He has gotten over in the past, against seemingly insurmountable odds, and until someone beats him, I wouldn't be licking my chops just yet. Some of the best criminal defense lawyers in the world are in Las Vegas, and nothing is ever clear-cut.

As always, I favor waiting and seeing how the case develops. And I'm sorry, but what happened in 1994 is irrelevant to the case at hand. All that matters now is what happened in September 2007.

[Beachcomber]

It's kind of funny, every time you think the sob has already reached his low point he manages to sink even deeper. The mere sight of him anymore turns my stomach. To think all he had, the fame the wealth. Worthless p/o/s. He could have gone a long way in preserving some of his dignity after he killed his wife by just putting a bullet in his own head. But instead he chooses to drink the cup of shame to the very bottom..

[travelinman]

Lew,

You wait while I go get a rope.

Hang the bastard.

[cincygreg]

He is now known simply as...

Clark County Inmate 2648927

[Lew]

By adding the kidnapping charge, that's going to jack-up his bail big-time. If he does make bail, I have to think he's going to make a run for it. One of the things his lawyer will argue is that it's impossible for OJ to just "hide" since everyone knows who he is.

If he does run, he needs to go to a country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with us. Vietnam is one I know for sure, but I presume he could also flee to Afghanistan, Nigeria or Cuba.

[jumper69]

Admittedly I don't know all the facts of this case but it seems to me this is "piling on"

[Lew]

And all kidding aside, Jumper (which bothers me, because it's hard not to be a smart-alleck about this cat) the truth is, the media is doing their ususal, horrific job (the information age hasn't helped anything, it's only made matters worse because now people can get their misinformation 24/7) of covering this case, and battle lines have already been drawn before one shred of evidence has been displayed in court.

And if I can say, for all the bad things associated with litigation, one of the great things about that courtroom, when the witness is on the stand they are yours (as the lawyer) and it doesn't matter what talk radio says, it doesn't matter what the blogosphere says, it doesn't matter what your "take" is, all that matters is what you say under oath and subject to cross examination. And it's amazing how the evidence presented can vary so much from what "everyone knows" off of talk radio.

"If" the complaint is true as alleged, then yeah, he should go to prison for a long time. Unfortunately for the public at-large, it's that dreaded "if" that gets them every time.

First and foremost, what happened in 1994-1995 is irrelevant in this case. If I hear the Goldmans or the Browns come out and say this is "kharma" one more time....

And what the hell is Marcia Clark doing out there reporting on this case? One of the main reasons the Juice was acquitted in 1995 was the horrible job the State did in presenting its case against him, and Marcia Clark and Chris Darden were responsible for that. Though I do suspect the prosecutor this time around won't make the same mistakes as in California.

[jumper69]

Well, it seems to me, and this is only my opinion, that ever since OJ was found not guilty of the murders of Ron and Nicole, there has been a national "we need to lynch that n@*ger" kind of simmering vedetta that has been waiting for an oppotunity to come to the surface. I mean, a black man murdered two white people, one of them a very pretty (relatively speaking) white woman.

It seems ludicris to me that OJ would risk decades in prison for about $1500 dollars of stuff and give america, specifically white america, that chance. The man is a killer but he ain't stupid.

My instinct is telling me something about this case isn't right. I can't tell you what that is nor can I prove otherwise. But my instincts are becoming fairly well honed on the street here and, folks, I smell setup.