OJ Simpson – No Slam Dunk Here

Posted on Sep 24, 2007 in Celebrity Justice, Courts

The Guardian has compiled a good overview of what happened in Vegas with OJ Simpson in the hotel room with all the sports memorabilia.  The Associated Press has prepared a timeline, as well. TMZ is quoting a story from the New York Post, where six weeks ago OJ allegedly appeared at the home of his handyman, girlfriend Christine Prody in tow, to accuse the guy of sleeping with Prody and threatening to kill him.  Included in the story is a reference to several domestic dispute calls made by Prody over the past 10 years. Meanwhile, OJ's being used as the prime example of a "well implemented asset protection strategy" by at least one law firm, while the Goldman Family is attempting to seize the Vegas sports memorabilia as part of collecting on its civil judgment and they're investigating the possibility of money stashed in offshore bank accounts.  They've already obtained OJ's Rolex, after seeing the watch in a news photo covering the Vegas caper. OJ made bail, even though several pundits were arguing that it would never happen.  He left Nevada, and returned to Florida without a problem.  He's said to be pleading "not guilty" to the charges. What's next? Well, there will be a long while before any trial happens in Nevada: probably a year will pass before there's any trial time.  Meanwhile, there are a variety of witnesses here.  All these men will be trying to negotiate the best deal for themselves.  The old adage "there's no honor among thieves," comes to mind as these guys all try to trade info for leniency. The character and credibility of these men is suspect.  And, the more that their stories begin conflicting, the better it is for OJ.  Look for his case to be tried last.  While the audio tape will be admissible, look for OJ to not know about the guns, and to not know that anything other than his stuff (i.e., the Montana and Rose memorabilia) was taken from the room.  And look for the tape to be discredited via the character and motivation of its source: Tom Riccio is a convicted felon, after setting this sting operation up, why was he taping all this? Until trial time, OJ's going to stay in Florida, where the law protects his home and his huge pension payments.  He'll live in his new mansion, keep sending his kids to college, and taking his girlfriend to Hooter's. The Goldmans will try and find those offshore accounts, and maybe the handyman will press charges - not likely, though, if he's waited six weeks now.  And, there's some talk that he and Prody did know each other .... Don't expect this to be the Slam-Dunk Case that the media is hyping.  Once again, OJ will have expert legal counsel at a trial to limit the admissible evidence, and discredit the rest.  And while OJ's reputation will be the elephant in that courtroom that no one wants to talk about, the standard will remain proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I wouldn't bet the ranch on OJ going down this time, either.  �

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