Judge won't delay Simpson trial in Las Vegas

[August 26, 2008]  LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A judge on Monday rejected a request by a co-defendant of O.J. Simpson to delay their upcoming trial on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping.

A lawyer for Clarence "C.J." Stewart had asked Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass to put off the Sept. 8 trial until the Nevada Supreme Court considers Stewart's request for a separate trial.

Stewart's lawyers argue that it will be impossible for him to get a fair trial because most of the focus will be on Simpson, an NFL Hall of Fame player, actor and advertising pitchman who was acquitted in 1995 of charges that he murdered his ex-wife and her friend.

A hearing date on the fair trial issue has not been set. Stewart lawyer Robert Lucherini said he also would appeal the decision to not delay the trial. The trial is expected to last at least five weeks.

Stewart and Simpson face felony charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room last September.

They are the last two defendants in the case. Four men who accompanied Simpson and Stewart accepted plea deals and agreed to testify against Simpson.

A kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole, and a robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time.

Simpson maintains that he went to the hotel room to retrieve items stolen that had been from him, that he didn't ask anyone to bring guns and that he didn't know anyone in the room was armed.

[Associated Press; By KEN RITTER]

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