*The Nevada Supreme Court refused Friday to overturn O.J. Simpson’s armed robbery and kidnapping convictions, rejecting a claim that prospective jurors were dismissed because they were black.
Simpson attorney Yale Galanter planned to take Simpson’s appeal to federal court after his 2008 conviction in the gunpoint heist in a Las Vegas hotel room was upheld.
“This is but the first step in a very long line of appeals that Mr. Simpson has before him,” Galanter said.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” added Malcolm LaVergne, another Simpson lawyer. “I thought we had a very strong appeal.”
The court said all eight separate issues raised in the appeal were without merit.
Separately, the court ordered the conviction of Simpson’s co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart to be reversed and a new trial held. Stewart’s lawyers successfully contended that Simpson’s notoriety had hurt Stewart’s ability to get a fair trial.
Stewart’s attorney Brent Bryson said he and Stewart were happy with the ruling.
“This is no disrespect to O.J., but O.J. kind of made his own bed over the years,” Bryson said. “My guy was kind of taken along for the ride.”
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