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O. J. Simpson

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O. J. Simpson
No. 32
Position:Running back
Career information
College:Southern California
NFL draft:1969 / round: 1 / pick: 1
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson (born July 9, 1947) (also known by his nickname, The Juice) is an American athlete who achieved stardom as a running back at the collegiate and professional levels, and was the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He later worked as an actor, spokesperson and broadcaster.

Besides his Hall of Fame career, Simpson is infamous for having been tried for the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. He was acquitted in criminal court in 1995 after a lengthy, highly publicized trial (see O. J. Simpson murder case). In 1997, Simpson was found liable for their deaths in civil court, but to date has paid little of the $33.5 million judgment.[1] He gained further notoriety in late 2006 when he wrote a book titled If I Did It, withdrawn by the publisher just before its release, which purports to be a first-person fictional account of the murder had he actually committed it (the book would later be released by the Goldman family and the title of the book was expanded to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer). In September 2007 O.J. faced more legal troubles, as he was arrested[2] and subsequently charged with numerous felonies including but not limited to robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary with a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon (carries possible life sentence), coercion with use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a crime.[3]

Biography

Early life

Simpson was born in San Francisco, California, to Eunice Durden (October 23, 1921–November 9, 2001) and James "Jimmy" Lee Simpson (January 28, 1920–June 9, 1986); his maternal grandparents were from Louisiana.[4] His aunt gave him the name Orenthal, which supposedly was the name of a French actor she liked.[5]

Politics

A Democrat and personal friend of former president Bill Clinton, Simpson revealed in an August 2007 interview that he is supporting Senator Hillary Clinton for President of the United States in 2008.[6]

Murder case

Criminal trial

Main article: O. J. Simpson murder case

In 1989, Simpson pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge and was separated from Nicole Brown, to whom he was paying child support. On June 12, 1994 Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead outside Brown's condominium. Simpson was soon charged with their murders. After failing to turn himself in, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit. The pursuit, arrest and trial were among the most widely publicized in American history. The trial, often characterized as being "the trial of the century", culminated on October 3, 1995 in a verdict of not guilty for the two murders. The verdict was seen live on TV by more than half of the U.S. population, making it one of the most watched events in American TV history. Immediate reaction to the verdict was noted for its division along racial lines.

Civil trial

On February 5, 1997 a civil jury in Santa Monica, California found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of Ronald Goldman, battery against Ronald Goldman, and battery against Nicole Brown. The attorney for plaintiff Fred Goldman (father of Ronald Goldman) was Daniel Petrocelli. Simpson was ordered to pay $33,500,000 in damages. However, California law protects pensions from being used to satisfy judgments, so Simpson was able to continue much of his lifestyle based on his NFL pension. In February 1999 an auction of Simpson's Heisman Trophy and other belongings netted almost $500,000. The money went to the Goldman family.[1] His payment for appearing in the video game All Pro Football 2K8 was also seized. A 2000 Rolling Stone article reported that Simpson also still makes a significant income by signing autographs. He subsequently moved from California to Miami, Florida. In Florida, a person's residence cannot be seized to collect a debt under most circumstances.

The civil and criminal trials of Simpson were not the only important legal cases that were spawned by the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on June 12 1994.

  • On September 5, 2006, Ron Goldman's father took Simpson back to court to obtain control over his "right to publicity" for purposes of satisfying the judgment in the civil court case.[1] On January 4, 2007 a federal judge issued a restraining order prohibiting Simpson from spending any advance he may have received on a canceled TV and book deal. The matter was dismissed before trial for lack of jurisdiction.[1] On January 19, 2007 a California state judge issued an additional restraining order, ordering Simpson to restrict his spending to "ordinary and necessary living expenses".[1]
  • On March 13, 2007 a judge prevented Simpson from receiving any further compensation from a canceled book deal and TV interview. He ordered the bundled book rights to be auctioned.[7]
  • In August 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family to partially satisfy an unpaid civil judgment. The title of the book was expanded to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, and comments were added to the original manuscript by the Goldman family, Pablo Fenjves, and prominent investigative journalist Dominick Dunne.[8]

DirecTV satellite piracy case

On March 8, 2004, Satellite television network DirecTV Inc. accused Simpson in a Miami federal court of using illegal electronic devices to pirate its broadcast signals. The El Segundo, California-based company later won a US$25,000 judgment, and Simpson was ordered to pay US$33,678 in attorneys' fees and costs.[9][10]

Las Vegas theft allegations

Main article: O. J. Simpson Las Vegas robbery case
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On September 14, 2007, Simpson was questioned[11] with regard to missing memorabilia at Palace Station Casino. He admitted taking the items, which he said had been stolen from him, but denied breaking into a room, as well as the allegation that he or people with him carried weapons.[12][13] However, investigators named him a suspect at first and questioned him.[14]

On September 15, one of the alleged accomplices, Walter Alexander, was arrested and charged with two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary with a deadly weapon. Alexander was on his way to McCarran International Airport when he was approached by the police. Earlier in the day, police executed a search warrant at the home of one of the men and recovered two handguns:[15] a .22 caliber Beretta and a .45 caliber Ruger.

On September 16, Las Vegas police arrested Simpson[16], and initially held him without bail.[17] Simpson was charged with robbery using a deadly weapon as well as conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and coercion.[18] Simpson, was listed as inmate number 2648927, and scheduled to appear before a court on September 20, 2007. If convicted of all charges, he could face more than 60 years imprisonment.[17]

On September 18, the Clark County, Nevada District Attorney charged[19] Simpson, Alexander, Clarence Stewart, and Michael McClinton with multiple felony charges, including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, robbery, and using a deadly weapon.

On September 19, 2007, Simpson, represented by attorneys from Florida and Nevada, was granted a bail of US$125,000. Justice of the Peace judge Joe Bonaventure Jr. who presided over the hearing, stated the Simpson is not allowed to have any contact with any of the co-defendants and that Simpson must surrender his passport. Simpson did not enter a plea.[20][21]

The 60-year-old former football star strode out of the Clark County Detention Center wearing a light blue business suit and was whisked away in a car at about 3:20 p.m. EDT. Simpson said nothing as he got into the passenger seat. A few fans shouted "O.J.!" when he walked out.

Filmography

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d O.J. Simpson ordered to stop spending
  2. ^ "O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas Police Arrest Report" (HTML). FindLaw. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/09/18/criminal.complaint.pdf
  4. ^ Ancestry of O.J. Simpson
  5. ^ Schwartz, Larry (2000) "Before trial, Simpson charmed America." ESPN.com.
  6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoU2wyKfI5c
  7. ^ Judge Keeps O.J. From Book, TV Proceeds
  8. ^ http://www.beaufortbooks.com/books.php?id=53
  9. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8719276/
  10. ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ojtv1.html
  11. ^ {{"Las Vegas P.D. summary and excerpts of 9/14/07 interview with Simpson" (HTML). FindLaw. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Police: Simpson cooperating in armed robbery probe". CNN. September 14, 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "O.J. Simpson a Suspect in Casino 'Armed Robbery'". FOXNews. September 14, 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ {{"Las Vegas P.D. summary and excerpts of 9/15/07 interview with Alexander" (HTML). FindLaw. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Excerpt of Las Vegas P.D. Arrest Report detailing search and recovery of handguns" (HTML). FindLaw. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas Police Arrest Report" (HTML). FindLaw. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b Nakashima, Ryan (September 17, 2007). "Apparent tape released of O.J. in Vegas". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "OJ Simpson faces break-in charges". BBC. 17 September 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "State of Nevada v. O.J. Simpson, et al" (HTML). FindLaw. 18 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Judge sets $125K bail for O.J. Simpson" (HTML). Houston Chronicle. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Simpson's Bail Set at $125,000" (HTML). Forbes. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Juiced with O.J. Simpson was a pay per view special featuring O.J. Simpson doing candid camera antics with unsuspecting citizens. When Simpson would reveal that the people were on camera, he would say that they have been "juiced", which is similar to being Punk'd.

Civil and criminal trials

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