A judge in Nevada has agreed to reopen the armed robbery and kidnapping case against O.J. Simpson. Simpson. 65, seeks release from prison where he is currently serving a sentence between nine and thirty-three years. This news comes following a May appeal by Simpson appeals lawyer Patricia Palm.
If Simpson is granted a retrial he could take the stand. Simpson was convicted of leading five men, two of them armed, into a September conforntation with two memorabilia dealers. The incident took place inside a Las Vegas casino-hotel.
According to ESPN “A key question will be whether [Yale] Galanter (Simpsons trial lawyer)Â had personal financial and business interests that posed a conflict that should have precluded him from handling Simpson’s case.
“Galanter was motivated by his own interests, which caused him to materially limit Simpson’s legal representation,” the appeal states. “Galanter remained on the case until rehearing was denied and denied Simpson the opportunity to raise this issue.”
While Galanter declined comment Friday, the prosectutor Chris Owens said that it just bringing up issues that were already settled by the conviction.
Palm though is requesting a chance to show that Galanter was in Las Vegas and knew about Simpson’s plan to retrieve the items that the former football player claims were stolen from him.
Galanter was paid more than $400,000 for Simpson’s defense in the robbery-kidnapping case and another $125,000 for the June 2010 appeal while Simpson’s trial lawyer was paid just $5,000.
Simpson now claims that Galanter advised him that the plan to confront the memorabilia dealers was league as long as no one trespassed and no force was used.
Further, Simpson claims he never was advised that the Clark County district attorney offered a pretrial deal that could have gotten Simpson two to five years in prison for pleading guilty to robbery. Palm says Simpson would have taken the offer.