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OJ Simpson trial jury pick starts | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Jury selection is under way at a court in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the trial of former US football star OJ Simpson. | |
Mr Simpson was arrested last September for allegedly robbing at gunpoint two sports memorabilia dealers in a hotel. | Mr Simpson was arrested last September for allegedly robbing at gunpoint two sports memorabilia dealers in a hotel. |
He faces 12 charges including assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and burglary. If found guilty he could face life in prison. | He faces 12 charges including assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and burglary. If found guilty he could face life in prison. |
Mr Simpson, 61, and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, 54, have pleaded not guilty to all charges. | Mr Simpson, 61, and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, 54, have pleaded not guilty to all charges. |
Mr Simpson's legal team has said he was trying to retrieve stolen memorabilia that belonged to him from a Las Vegas hotel and has denied that any guns were involved. | |
Polarising figure | |
Arriving at the Clark County Regional Justice Center, Mr Simpson declined to answer reporters' questions, but smiled and waved when someone called out "Good luck!" | Arriving at the Clark County Regional Justice Center, Mr Simpson declined to answer reporters' questions, but smiled and waved when someone called out "Good luck!" |
Prosecutors, defence lawyers and District Judge Jackie Glass have used 26-page questionnaires to identify jurors with biases and cut the pool from 500 to fewer than 250 candidates. | |
Selecting the 12-member panel and four alternatives could take a week or longer, court officials said. | Selecting the 12-member panel and four alternatives could take a week or longer, court officials said. |
Some legal experts wonder if Mr Simpson's notorious past - instead of the facts - may decide the case, the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani in Los Angeles reports. | |
In 1995, in what was billed as America's trial of the century, Mr Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. | |
Later he was found liable for the deaths in a civil case and ordered to pay millions to Mr Goldman's family. | |
Mr Simpson has remained a polarising figure in American popular culture ever since, our correspondent says. |
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