O.J. Simpson wants the Nevada Supreme Court to review his armed robbery conviction he picked up last year.

That’s not surprising.

What is surprising is that Simpson wants to be released from prison while the judges review his case. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports:

[Simpson’s] lawyers will try to convince a trio of justices in Nevada to comb through the convictions of both Simpson and C.J. Stewart, a one-time golf partner of Simpson’s. The attorneys are also pushing to have Simpson released on bail while the conviction gets reviewed.

Are you kidding me? There isn’t a sane person in America who would argue that a convicted Juice should be released from prison pending his appeal, is there?

After the jump, O.J.’s lawyer speaks.

O.J. Simpson is going to jail, finally:

OJ Simpson, who walked away a free man after one of America’s most sensational murder trials, was today sentenced to 15 years in prison for a botched attempt to recover sports memorabilia.

The sentence was handed down today by Judge Jackie Glass. The judge largely ignored Simpson’s pleas for leniency, which in and of themselves were hilarious:

“I just wanted my personal things. I was stupid. I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was confronting friends. I thought I was retrieving my things. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody and I didn’t mean to steal anything,” Simpson said.

As a general rule, when I’m confronting “friends” I leave my glock back at the safe house. But maybe O.J. confused real life with Grand Theft Auto IV.

But the best line was the way O.J. began his address to the court:

“I stand here today sorry, somewhat confused. I feel apologetic to people of state of Nevada,” Simpson began.

Fashionista editor Britt Aboutaleb opined: “he’s probably thinking to himself how did i get away with murder and now I’m going to jail for something retarded”

No doubt.

OJ Simpson jailed for 15 years [The Guardian]
O.J. Simpson: ‘I was stupid. I’m sorry’ [CNN]

Earlier: While You Were Sleeping: O.J. Simpson Convicted

* Bad news for the big three: the New York Times says Congress “is suffering from acute bailout fatigue.” [NYT]

* There were 13 law firm mergers in the third quarter this year (not unusual). The largest number of combinations (5) were in the southeast. [The Birmingham News]

* O.J. Simpson is finally going to jail. He will be sentenced today in Nevada. This time, he stole back sports memorabilia from two people. Can you think of a more inelegant end to the Simpson saga? [The Associated Press]

* If you break the law in New York, at least you get free day care. Thanks to Judge Judith S. Kaye (New York State’s cheif judge), there are 34 children’s centers across the state in family, criminal, and civil courts. They provide a safe and happy place for children whose parents are involved in legal battles. [NYT]

* The shareholder lawsuit against the merger of Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase was dismissed Thursday in the New York State Supreme Court. [Reuters]

* Singapore awarded Clifford Chance, White & Case, and Latham & Watkins licenses to practice law, as part of an attempt to compete with Hong Kong and other cities in China and the Middle East that have benefitted from having international law practices. [Bloomberg]

* Discover is mad at Morgan Stanley for secretly hanging-out with Visa and Mastercard behind Discover’s back. Sounds a lot like middle school, only in the real world, you can sue. [Bloomberg]

This news came in overnight. Via the AP (story filed at 2:33 AM Eastern time):

O.J. Simpson, who went from American sports idol to celebrity-in-exile after he was acquitted of murder in 1995, was found guilty Friday of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.

Simpson, 61, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentenc[ing] was set for Dec. 5….

The Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering up five men a year ago and storming into a room at a hotel-casino, where the group seized several game balls, plaques and photos. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one of them said Simpson asked him to bring a gun.

Talk about timing:

The verdict came 13 years to the day after Simpson was cleared of murdering his ex-wife and a friend of hers in Los Angeles in one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century.

Karma is a bitch. We previously expressed pessimism about the prospects of a conviction, but we can’t say we’re unhappy to be proven wrong.

Update: (Mystal, J., concurring): I do think that the verdict was bull$#TTT because a white man who tried to get his own stuff back would never have been found guilty of a “crime” in a western state like Nevada. But I’m not going to lie (go to the 6:15 mark); the man killed two people back in the day.

I was happy that he got off back then, Fuhman was a racist cop, and I was happy that “society” learned that there is no justice when racist cops are involved. But I don’t suborn support killing people.

Acquittal via the race card, conviction via the race card … seems fair to me.

Simpson guilty on all charges in robbery trial [AP]
O. J. Simpson Found Guilty in Robbery Trial [New York Times]

Earlier: Do I Smell A Fuhrman?

Just to give you fair warning, O.J. Simpson could get off again.

The Juice is on trial for storming into the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas and “liberating” some sports memorabilia at gunpoint. The prosecution would like to make the case about the largely inescapable facts that O.J. and his friends stole the goods and had guns.

O.J. and his lawyer Yale Galanter would like the case to turn on some other factor: persecution, “justifiable” larceny, wookies.

After the train wreck that was Mark Fuhrman, you’d think that any cop investigating O.J. would be on his best behavior. But there seems to be something about police officers losing their collective minds when it comes to O.J.

In testimony last week, detective Andy Caldwell essentially admitted that he turned into the great Cornholio when he found out that O.J. Simpson was prominently involved:

Jurors who have been told to refrain from judging O.J. Simpson on his past heard a recording Thursday of a police employee exulting: “This is great. … California can’t get him. … Now we’ll be able to.”

The recording was made by Thomas Riccio, the star witness for the prosecution.

Nice.

Maybe this will still work out for Vegas PD. After all, finding 12 people who have not already pre-judged Simpson is practically impossible. But the heart of Simpson’s first brush with the law was shoddy and untrustworthy police work.

Here we go again.

Update (10/04/08): See here.

Vegas police talked of ‘getting’ O.J. on recording [My Way News]
In Session [CNN]

O.J. Simpson is set to stand trial, but this time the jury is all white (“So it’s all right,” says Chris Rock).

But let’s dig beyond identity politics for a moment.

Over at Deliberations they’ve posted a study that looks at jury issues based on jurisdiction, instead of ethnic origin. The study compares juries from urban districts to suburban ones. One can argue that splitting jury pools in this way is “code” for making a black-white distinction, but once the jurisdiction is picked it becomes harder to voir dire yourself into a conviction/acquittal.

The study finds urban juries to be “softer” on crime than suburban juries. D’uh. What is interesting is why there is this split.

Apparently, urban juries don’t trust the police, while suburban juries do.

Isn’t this a point that makes a lot of sense? Regardless of your race, if you live in a big city most of your interaction with the police involves them hassling you, your friends, and your rights. A tourist breathes a sigh of relief when they are walking down a dark alley and a patrol car rolls by. A city dweller avoids the stupid alley altogether, unless they are doing something that requires the privacy of dark, dank urban escapes.

Tempting fate after the break.

* Former congressman indicted in connection with group that allegedly funded terrorism. [Washington Post; CNN]

* Randy Moss denies battery allegations. [SI.com]

* SCOTUS upholds NY judicial selection. [New York Times]

* OJ released on doubled bail. [AP; Reuters]

* Delicious, buttery lawsuit pops up in Colorado. [MSNBC]

* Big award round-up: Apollo Group must pay shareholders $280 million; Libya must pay $6 billion for airplane bombing. [WSJ Law Blog; WSJ Law Blog]

* Pakistan sets parliamentary elections. [CNN]

* What’s going on with the AMT? [ABA Journal]

* State Department absolves Blackwater of certain shootings. [MSNBC]

* Initial OJ hearing begins today. [MSNBC]

* Reno businessman pleads guilty during murder trial. [CourtTV]

* O.J. freshly squeezed by a second co-defendant. [AP via Athens Banner-Herald]

* Law professors get appointed to do everything. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* Nevada holds off on an execution, waiting on SCOTUS. [Reno Gazette-Journal]

* Weiss pleads not guilty. [Jurist]

* iPoison. [PC World]

Last night’s Colbert Report was a bonanza for law nerds. The featured guest was Jeffrey Toobin, who spoke about his new book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. Toobin and Colbert had a relaxed and easy rapport, and their conversation was highly entertaining — perhaps the best CR appearance since Neal Katyal. You can check out Stephen Colbert’s interview of Jeff Toobin by clicking here.

Before turning to the SCOTUS, they discussed the most recent legal troubles of O.J. Simpson. As you may recall, Toobin was one of the lead correspondents on the original O.J. trial, as well as the author of a bestselling book about it, The Run of His Life. Toobin summarized the defense strategy in the armed robbery case against Simpson as follows: “If it’s his s***, you must acquit.”

But that’s not all! There was a special shout-out to Bingham McCutchen, during the ThreatDown.

More details, plus a video clip, after the jump.

* GM workers take break from, um, not working. [New York Times]

* Jena 6 charges thrown out because not filed in juvenile court. [CNN]

* O.J. gets squeezed for alleged Vegas robbery. [AP via Athens Banner-Herald]

* Mukasey it is. [New York Times]

I was just trying to get back my own stuff. From Fox 5 (Las Vegas):

Authorities are still investigating whether a gun was used when O.J. Simpson and others entered a Las Vegas hotel room and, after a heated argument, walked off with sports memorabilia.

The incident was reported to police during a 9-1-1 call as an “armed robbery,” though Simpson claims no break in or crime was committed and he was simply retrieving his own possessions.

And then he drove off in a white Bronco.

Okay, not really — but the story is similarly bewildering. It seems O.J. was engaged in a bit of self-help, conducting a “sting” operation against collectors he believed were in possession of sports memorabilia that really belonged to him. But it’s not clear how the collectors came into possession of the memorabilia in the first place.

If you care about this story — we’re trying hard, but not really feeling it — the AP has more details here.

Theft Probe: Police Question O.J. Simpson, Search For Gun [Fox 5]
Simpson Named Suspect in Casino Break-In [Associated Press via Las Vegas Review-Journal]

And he’s coming out on top, you know you’ve hit rock bottom. From TMZ.com:

We now have quantifiable proof that it’s better to be O.J. Simpson than Paris Hilton. What is wrong with the world?

You can now buy t-shirts that read “L.A. Court Scorecard: O.J. 1, Paris 0” from the Cafepress.com website. Some might call it ironic that O.J. got away with murder, while Paris is serving time for driving when she wasn’t supposed to.

You can purchase merchandise featuring the graphic at right by clicking here.

Paris Hilton, O.J. [CafePress.com]
It’s Good to Be O.J., Sucks to Be Paris [TMZ.com]

* So apparently the feds knew about law firm bonuses before ATL. [MSNBC]

* Guess which party just picked up two swing states. [CNN]

* Shutting down YouTube: the ultimate jealous boyfriend move. [MSNBC]

* OJ’s money is going nowhere for now. [AP]

* Federal court allows suit against Vatican. [MSNBC]

* The Volokh Conspiracy wins Best Law Blog. Congrats to the VC crew! [The Weblog Awards 2006 via 2nd Place Winner How Appealing]

* F&@% you, FCC!. [CNN.com]

* And in my-home-state-is-not-completely-backward news… [Jurist]

* If he sold it, Ron Goldman wants the money. [AP via FindLaw]

* Internet illiterate NY Mom, who doesn’t know “a kazaa from a kazoo,” is dropped from recording industry’s suit against her children. [AP via lexisONE]

* Another week, another Borat lawsuit.

* Wow — it doesn’t take much to get lawyers all hot and bothered. But ATL readers were evidently untroubled.

* Merry Christmas. There will be no O.J. Simpson book.

* But no Britney sex tape, either.

* Wesley Snipes has some harsh words for the IRS. And Judge Posner does, too.

* We hung out a lot with the Federalist Society. We watched the social conservatives and the libertarians slug it out over cultural issues. And we learned that Judge Edith Jones isn’t the woman we thought she was.

The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin — who made his name as a legal affairs writer with his coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, later turned into a best-selling book — profiles Pablo Fenjves, the ghostwriter for Simpson’s ill-fated literary effort, If I Did It. Money quote:

Fenjves believes that, in the wake of Murdoch’s decision to cancel the book, another publisher may seek to release it….

“It’s going to be bigger than ever,” he said. “It’s like ‘Ulysses,’ except without the talent.”

The Ghostwriter [New Yorker via Gawker]

* Woo-hoo!!! Good news for online rumor-mongerers like ourselves. [Volokh Conspiracy; Instapundit]

* And a bit of bad news, too. [Concurring Opinions]

* We weren’t the only ones who had fun at Federalistapalooza. [Southern Appeal]

* “Conservative civil war”: Not just at the Federalist Society. [Andrew Sullivan; Instapundit; Ryan Sager]

* When the subject of gay marriage comes up, social conservatives bring out a parade of horribles — including polygamy. Now Ann Althouse wonders: Is it really so horrible? [Althouse]

* While we’re linking to contrarian thinking, here’s a different take on L’Affaire OJ.: “Rupert Murdoch’s relevant anatomy shrunk to the size of two shriveled peas.” [Crime & Federalism]

* Some food for thought: “If the [anti-burqa] legislation is enacted, a Dutch woman could marry her lesbian partner, spend her life smoking a little hashish now and then — and when the time comes, get a doctor’s assistance in pulling the plug — all well within Dutch law. But she couldn’t ride the subway with a veil over her face. What an odd country.” [PrawfsBlawg]

* Actually, Will, we think this is really cool. Who wants to tour Civil War battlefields when you can visit these instead? [Crescat Sententia]

The most infamous case of the last century has turned into one of the biggest P.R. disasters of this one.

After nearly universal criticism, from both within and outside the company, the News Corp. has pulled its plans to publish a book by O.J. Simpson — and to air a television interview with him — in which the ex-football star describes how he “might” have killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Hypothetically, mind you. ‘Cause he didn’t. And he is still searching America, or at least every golf course in America, for the person who murdered his ex-wife.

(News flash: Even Rupert Murdoch will only go so far — or sink so low.)

For those of you who are well-versed in the legal issues surrounding publishing contracts, some questions from the Washington Post:

Who owns the book now? Will Simpson still be paid? And what will happen now to Regan, whom many in the industry condemn for what they consider bottom-feeding instincts while grudgingly admiring her audacity?

Some info about these issues, from the New York Times:

Standard publishing contracts call for a percentage of an author’s advance, usually up to 50 percent, to be paid when a contract is signed, and for the remainder to be paid when the finished book is accepted by the publisher. The [anonymous] executive [involved in the deal] said Mr. Simpson’s book was covered by a standard publishing contract.

In an interview last week, Judith Regan, the publisher, said ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, had signed a contract with “a manager who represents a third party” who owned the rights to Mr. Simpson’s account.

Because the News Corporation and ReganBooks decided on their own to cancel the book and the television special, that money is likely to still have to be paid.

Your further thoughts are welcome, in the comments or via email.

Under Pressure, News Corp. Pulls Simpson Project [New York Times]
News Corp. Pulls Plug On O.J. Book, Fox Special [Washington Post]

Earlier: This Is Why the Founding Fathers Gave Us the Double Jeopardy Clause

* Let’s see. Romney wants the Massachusetts Supreme Court to force an anti-gay marriage amendment onto the ballot if the legislature fails to act on the issue before the session ends January 2. Wouldn’t that be, um, I dunno, activist? [Associated Press via How Appealing]

* It’s important to find something to occupy your time and stimulate your mind once you retire. It shouldn’t be anything like this, though. [CNN]

* Global warming: the new tobacco? [WSJ Law Blog]

* If he did it, you’re not gonna find out about it on these stations. [AP via Online Athens]

* Suit by stinky man kicked off flight fails to take off in Germany. [AP via Yahoo!]