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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Seeking Retrial, Simpson Is Demure but Unbowed | Seeking Retrial, Simpson Is Demure but Unbowed |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| LAS VEGAS — His hands cuffed to his belt, his legs shackled, O. J. Simpson shuffled to the front of a courtroom here Wednesday after four years in prison, testifying in an effort to overturn the kidnapping and armed robbery conviction that sent him to state prison after he was acquitted of the double murder that made him notorious. | |
| Mr. Simpson cut a far different figure than he did during the “trial of a century” in Los Angeles in 1995 or as the American hero football player he had once been. At 65 — “nearing 66,” Mr. Simpson said, almost plaintively, his voice clearly audible across the small courtroom — he is grayer, balder, slightly stooped and heavier. | Mr. Simpson cut a far different figure than he did during the “trial of a century” in Los Angeles in 1995 or as the American hero football player he had once been. At 65 — “nearing 66,” Mr. Simpson said, almost plaintively, his voice clearly audible across the small courtroom — he is grayer, balder, slightly stooped and heavier. |
| Yet in three and a half hours of questioning over the course of the day, Mr. Simpson was amiable and unbowed, grinning and even joking as he answered questions from his lawyer and a district attorney about the confrontation in a hotel room here four years ago that led to his conviction on charges of stealing sports memorabilia and a sentence of up to 33 years in state prison. | Yet in three and a half hours of questioning over the course of the day, Mr. Simpson was amiable and unbowed, grinning and even joking as he answered questions from his lawyer and a district attorney about the confrontation in a hotel room here four years ago that led to his conviction on charges of stealing sports memorabilia and a sentence of up to 33 years in state prison. |
| At one point, Mr. Simpson politely refused an offer by his lawyer, Patricia Palm, to help him pour a glass of water with the one hand that a court officer had unshackled after he took the witness stand. At another, he nodded when she asked if he had his reading glasses as she walked over to show him a transcript. | At one point, Mr. Simpson politely refused an offer by his lawyer, Patricia Palm, to help him pour a glass of water with the one hand that a court officer had unshackled after he took the witness stand. At another, he nodded when she asked if he had his reading glasses as she walked over to show him a transcript. |
| And he seemed to enjoy an often lively back-and-forth with Leon Simon, the chief deputy district attorney, who was skeptical of Mr. Simpson’s account of what took place in the hotel room. | And he seemed to enjoy an often lively back-and-forth with Leon Simon, the chief deputy district attorney, who was skeptical of Mr. Simpson’s account of what took place in the hotel room. |
| Mr. Simpson was once a symbol of spectacle, of an era of televised car chases and what at the time were novel, round-the-clock crushes of attention from the news media. No more. Only a dozen members of the public were waiting outside for a seat in the courtroom on the third floor of the Regional Justice Center, and a few were empty by midmorning. | Mr. Simpson was once a symbol of spectacle, of an era of televised car chases and what at the time were novel, round-the-clock crushes of attention from the news media. No more. Only a dozen members of the public were waiting outside for a seat in the courtroom on the third floor of the Regional Justice Center, and a few were empty by midmorning. |
| Yet as Mr. Simpson recounted his story of the robbery — he was trying to peacefully reclaim some personal items stolen from him and put on the lucrative sports memorabilia market — he commented on the outsize celebrity he had become, the object of polarized fascination since his transformation from a football star and Hertz pitchman to a man accused of the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. | Yet as Mr. Simpson recounted his story of the robbery — he was trying to peacefully reclaim some personal items stolen from him and put on the lucrative sports memorabilia market — he commented on the outsize celebrity he had become, the object of polarized fascination since his transformation from a football star and Hertz pitchman to a man accused of the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. |
| Even as he lives out of public sight, Mr. Simpson, a man who clearly continues to pay close attention to his newspaper clippings, remains a subject of what he suggested were wildly inflated accounts of his life. | Even as he lives out of public sight, Mr. Simpson, a man who clearly continues to pay close attention to his newspaper clippings, remains a subject of what he suggested were wildly inflated accounts of his life. |
| “I’ve spent the last four and a half years as the most uneventful four and half years of my life,” he said. “But I still get the headlines in the media. ‘I’m getting married to a guy.’ ‘I got cut up.’ ” | “I’ve spent the last four and a half years as the most uneventful four and half years of my life,” he said. “But I still get the headlines in the media. ‘I’m getting married to a guy.’ ‘I got cut up.’ ” |
| When he was asked about the $350,000 he had paid to a lawyer who represented him in the original trial here, he just shrugged. | When he was asked about the $350,000 he had paid to a lawyer who represented him in the original trial here, he just shrugged. |
| “It was kind of expensive,” he said. “But I’ve spent a lot of money on lawyers in the past. This was nothing.” | “It was kind of expensive,” he said. “But I’ve spent a lot of money on lawyers in the past. This was nothing.” |
| Mr. Simpson was, in effect, giving the testimony he never gave in his 2008 trial. | Mr. Simpson was, in effect, giving the testimony he never gave in his 2008 trial. |
| He said he had gone to the hotel room to retrieve his belongings — including signed footballs and what he had thought were family photographs, including one of him with J. Edgar Hoover — after an auction dealer alerted him that they were being sold. He said his lawyer had told him that his method of retrieval was legal as long as he did not trespass or use force. | He said he had gone to the hotel room to retrieve his belongings — including signed footballs and what he had thought were family photographs, including one of him with J. Edgar Hoover — after an auction dealer alerted him that they were being sold. He said his lawyer had told him that his method of retrieval was legal as long as he did not trespass or use force. |
| Despite testimony to the contrary at his earlier trial, he said there had been no discussion of using weapons in taking back his property. | Despite testimony to the contrary at his earlier trial, he said there had been no discussion of using weapons in taking back his property. |
| “It was my stuff,” Mr. Simpson said. “I followed what I thought was the law. I didn’t break into the room. I didn’t beat up anyone. I didn’t try to muscle anyone.” | “It was my stuff,” Mr. Simpson said. “I followed what I thought was the law. I didn’t break into the room. I didn’t beat up anyone. I didn’t try to muscle anyone.” |
| Ms. Palm asked Mr. Simpson repeatedly if he had been drinking before the robbery, one of the many grounds upon which Mr. Simpson is seeking a new trial. Mr. Simpson, archly, noted that he had been in Las Vegas for a friend’s wedding. | Ms. Palm asked Mr. Simpson repeatedly if he had been drinking before the robbery, one of the many grounds upon which Mr. Simpson is seeking a new trial. Mr. Simpson, archly, noted that he had been in Las Vegas for a friend’s wedding. |
| “I wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “I’m in Las Vegas! I’m in Las Vegas with a lot of friends.” | “I wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “I’m in Las Vegas! I’m in Las Vegas with a lot of friends.” |
| There was the “Bloody Mary, or two,” for breakfast (he had slept in that morning, missing a golf game, after a heavy night of drinking the night before). That afternoon by the pool, he told a cocktail waitress that he was under doctor’s orders never to carry an empty glass, he said. Later, he and his compatriots met at a bar in preparation for going to the hotel room where his material was being held. | There was the “Bloody Mary, or two,” for breakfast (he had slept in that morning, missing a golf game, after a heavy night of drinking the night before). That afternoon by the pool, he told a cocktail waitress that he was under doctor’s orders never to carry an empty glass, he said. Later, he and his compatriots met at a bar in preparation for going to the hotel room where his material was being held. |
| After the confrontation at the hotel, Mr. Simpson joined friends for dinner at a Las Vegas restaurant. He told Ms. Palm that he suspected then he was in trouble — at least in the court of the tabloid media — even as he insisted that he had not done anything wrong. | After the confrontation at the hotel, Mr. Simpson joined friends for dinner at a Las Vegas restaurant. He told Ms. Palm that he suspected then he was in trouble — at least in the court of the tabloid media — even as he insisted that he had not done anything wrong. |
| “Here we go again: I’m going to need a bail bondsman,” he said, recalling what he said that night. “I’ve gone through a couple of incidents before that I thought was nothing — the media ended up making a big deal. Here we go again. There’s no way this is not going to be made a big deal.” | “Here we go again: I’m going to need a bail bondsman,” he said, recalling what he said that night. “I’ve gone through a couple of incidents before that I thought was nothing — the media ended up making a big deal. Here we go again. There’s no way this is not going to be made a big deal.” |