Case file · Los Angeles County Superior Court, California, and Clark County District Court, Nevada, United States

Orenthal James Simpson: charges, verdict and sentence

O. J. Simpson was acquitted in Los Angeles on 3 October 1995 of two counts of murder, and a civil jury in 1997 found him liable for the two deaths and awarded damages reported at 33.5 million dollars, a judgment the California Court of Appeal affirmed in 2001. In a separate Nevada case arising from a 2007 incident he was convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and related counts, sentenced to 9 to 33 years, paroled in October 2017, and he died on 10 April 2024.

Charges and outcomes

Sentence

No criminal sentence in the California case (acquitted). In Nevada, 9 to 33 years in prison, with parole granted in July 2017 and release in October 2017.

Court record, stage by stage

1. 9 November 1994
   trialCriminal murder trial began in Los Angeles¹

   Los Angeles County Superior Court
2. 3 October 1995
   verdictJury returned not guilty verdicts on both murder counts^1,2

   Los Angeles County Superior Court
3. 1997
   verdictCivil jury found Simpson liable in wrongful death and survival actions^2,5

   Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki
4. 26 January 2001
   appealCourt of Appeal affirmed the civil judgments and held the damages were not excessive²

   California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Two
5. 2008
   sentenceSentenced in Nevada to a term of 9 to 33 years after conviction on 12 counts^3,4

   Clark County District Court, Nevada
6. October 2010
   appealNevada Supreme Court upheld the conspiracy, kidnapping and robbery convictions and ordered a new trial for a codefendant³

   Supreme Court of Nevada
7. 20 July 2017
   releaseNevada parole board panel voted 4 to 0 to grant parole, with release possible from 1 October 2017⁴

   Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners
8. October 2017
   releaseReleased from prison on parole⁵
9. 2021
   releaseParole supervision ended in late 2021⁵
10. 10 April 2024
    deathDied in Las Vegas at age 76, his family said after cancer⁵

Related civil cases

• Rufo v. Simpson, wrongful death and survival actions brought by family members and estate representatives in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The jury awarded 8.5 million dollars in compensatory damages on the wrongful death claim and 12.5 million dollars in punitive damages on each of two survival actions, totals reported as 33.5 million dollars. Liability found, affirmed on appeal on 26 January 2001^2,5

Notable rulings

• California Court of Appeal, Second District, 26 January 2001. Affirmed the civil judgments, finding no error in evidentiary rulings or the denial of a mistrial, and that compensatory and punitive damages were not excessive.²
• Supreme Court of Nevada, October 2010. Upheld Simpson's convictions but granted a codefendant a new trial because of what the court called spill-over prejudice from Simpson's notoriety.³

Sources

1. California Lawyers Association, The Civil Case Against O. J. Simpson (California Litigation, Vol. 37, Issue 2) (August 2024)
2. Justia (California Court of Appeal opinion), Rufo v. Simpson, 86 Cal. App. 4th 573 (2001) (26 January 2001) · court or official record
3. ABA Journal, Nevada Supreme Court upholds conviction of O. J. Simpson (25 October 2010)
4. KPBS (Associated Press), O. J. Simpson granted parole (20 July 2017)
5. Boston.com (Associated Press), O. J. Simpson dies at 76 (11 April 2024)

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