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| Not Smiling Now |
Nevada Appeal Court judge's denied his request for a re-hearing over his prison sentence of up to 33-years which he received when he and four accomplices confronted a sports memorabilia dealer in a Las Vegas Hotel.
The former American football player turned actor, notorious after being acquitted of the 1995 murder of his wife, Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, had hoped to get his sentence reduced.
The ex-sport star's attorneys followed with a request to reconsider,
saying they thought the justices overlooked or misunderstood several key arguments.
They claimed he lacked the necessary intent to commit a crime because he was retrieving personal items when during the confrontation in September 2007.
They also argue the last two black prospective jurors were dismissed without proper cause, and that jurors weren't completely screened for bias.
But the judges didn't buy it and made the ruling which Simpson lawyer Malcolm LaVergne claimed was: "Expected."
The 63-year-old will now appeal to the entire seven-member state high court.
Laverne said: "It's tough to convince the same three justices who denied it the first time to reconsider. This isn't the last step. We'll talk with Mr. Simpson. Now what we have the opportunity to do is petition the entire court to hear the appeal."
Simpson's hopes had been raised after one of his co-defendants, Clarence 'C.J' Stewart had his conviction overturned.
Then, the judges ruled that his former golfing buddy's defense had been tainted by the presence of Simpson a the trial.
He pleaded an equivalent of no contest Jan. 4 to felony robbery and conspiracy and was sentenced to three years of probation, including nine months of home detention.
Simpson, who Shortly before the armed robbery in Las Vegas, wrote a book titled If I Did It, which recounted a hypothetical account of his wife's murder wasn't so lucky.
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