O.J. Simpson appears cuffed in Vegas courtroom seeking new trial

LAS VEGAS -- O.J. Simpson arrived in a courtroom Monday morning in wrist shackles and dressed in a blue jail suit seeking a new trial in his 2008 sports memorabilia robbery and kidnapping conviction that sent him to prison.

Several of his family members were seated in the Clark County courtroom of District Court Judge Linda Maria Bell. A bailiff told the crowd to refrain from calling out to Simpson or making contact with him.

Looking grayer and heavier, Simpson had his handcuffs removed before the proceeding began.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from USC will try this week to persuade a Nevada judge that his representation was so bad in the 2008 trial that a new trial should take place.

Simpson, 65, who is serving nine to 33 years in prison, is expected to testify Wednesday, which would be his first court statements in the case that led to his arrest. He still maintains that he didn’t know that two of the five men with him that night at the Palace Station hotel brought guns, according to the Associated Press.

Simpson says his trial attorney, Yale Galanter, never told him that the prosecutors had offered a plea bargain. He also said in a sworn statement that the same lawyer “advised me that I was within my legal rights” to attempt the memorabilia sting that led to the arrest.

Simpson will be 70 before being eligible for parole.

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