06-20-2025  10:11 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

During Record Eviction Rates, Advocates Decry Possible Slashes to Eviction Prevention

Pulling support will fuel homelessness crisis, advocates warn state leaders.

Juneteenth 2025 Celebrations in Portland and Seattle

Juneteenth is a young federal holiday, but the Black day of independence has been observed since June 19, 1865.

City Council Approves and Increases Central Albina Settlement

Black residents who were forcibly relocated for Emanuel Hospital expansion that never happened, and their descendants, sued over loss of property, wealth and community.

VanPort Mosaic Festival Fights Cultural Amnesia

Two-week event honors survivors of VanPort flood, their descendants and survivors of Japanese Internment in annual festival.

NEWS BRIEFS

Emmy-winning Journalist Launches Juneteenth Series

L.A. Times Columnist/ABC News Contributor speaks w/ Big Sean, Ledisi, more. ...

Former Motel 6 to Open as Delta Park Motel Shelter in North Portland

New shelter will provide 24/7 wrap-around services for unhoused neighbors ...

Oregon Housing and Community Services Awards $8.7 Million in Down Payment and Home Repair for Veterans 

Eligible veterans and their families at or below 100% of area median income can qualify ...

Upcoming Virtual Meeting to Shape Oregon Civil Rights Agenda

Members of the public can participate in the open comment period at the end of the meeting, providing an opportunity for local voices...

Oregon in Multi-State Legal Fight to Protect Genetic Information in 23andMe Bankruptcy Case

AG Rayfield: People did not submit their personal data to 23andMe thinking their genetic blueprint would be sold off to the highest...

OPINION

SB 686 Will Support the Black Press

Oregon State Senator Lew Frederick brings attention to the fact that Big Tech corporations like Google and Facebook are using AI to scrape local news content and sell advertising on their platforms, completely bypassing local news sites like The...

Policymakers Should Support Patients With Chronic Conditions

As it exists today, 340B too often serves institutional financial gain rather than directly benefiting patients, leaving patients to ask “What about me?” ...

The Skanner News: Half a Century of Reporting on How Black Lives Matter

Publishing in one of the whitest cities in America – long before George Floyd ...

Cuts to Minority Business Development Agency Leaves 3 Staff

6B CDFI affordable capital for local investment also at risk ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

LAS VEGAS (AP) _ Former football star O.J. Simpson's hopes of being let out of prison while the Nevada Supreme Court considers his appeal have been dashed.
His lawyer say there's not much to be made of the decision that followed a rare hearing before the state high court, and Simpson remains optimistic about getting his conviction in a gunpoint hotel room heist overturned.
If his appeal is denied, the 62-year-old NFL Hall of Famer who had been acquitted in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in Los Angeles will serve nine to 33 years in Nevada for an armed escapade with golfing buddies to retrieve items that he claimed were stolen from him.
Simpson is being held at Lovelock Correctional Center. Stewart, 55, is serving 71/2 to 27 years at Northern Nevada Correctional Center.
Other veteran defense lawyers not connected to the case said the court did not tip its hand on how it might rule on the appeal but predicted the justices would continue to give the case special treatment because of Simpson's celebrity.
"The shocking thing is that they gave a hearing on bail at all," said Howard Brooks, the Clark County public defender who handles appeals for the busiest court in the state. It was more than eight years since the Nevada Supreme Court heard such an argument.
"This is never going to be a normal case, because it's O.J. Simpson," Brooks said.
Lawyers for Simpson and convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart's lawyer had hoped being granted the bail hearing last month signaled that the state's only appellate court might see faults in their clients' convictions and be ready to rule they didn't receive a fair trial.
Afterward?
"I can't read anything from it," Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter said. "I'm not sure why they granted these hearings to begin with."
Despite Galanter's argument that Simpson is one of the most recognizable people on the planet and couldn't possibly run and hide, justices Michael Cherry, Nancy Saitta and Mark Gibbons ruled Sept. 4 that it would be too tempting for Simpson and Stewart to flee to avoid going back to prison if they lose their appeals.
Robert Langford, a Las Vegas defense lawyer who has argued cases before state and federal appeals courts, said he didn't read anything into the terse unanimous ruling by the three-judge panel "other than that they didn't believe bond is appropriate pending appeal."
"I don't think it says much about what might happen on the merits of the appeal," Langford said.
Galanter said Simpson believes the appellate process will ultimately vindicate him. Meanwhile his famous client will remain in state prison while the Supreme Court decides whether to uphold his conviction or order a new trial on kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges. That could take a year or more.
Galanter and Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, said they would not challenge the bail decision but instead focus on their respective appeals, filed last May.
"I think once they do an in-depth analysis of the appellate issues, that we have a strong chance of getting another trial for Mr. Stewart," he said.
Bryson said Stewart remains upbeat and optimistic. Meanwhile Bryson said he has asked for the chance to argue his appeal before the justices.
Brooks predicted the court would agree to hear oral arguments.
"I guarantee that if it wasn't O.J. Simpson, this type of case wouldn't get oral arguments," he said.
The men were tried together and found guilty last October of all 12 charges stemming from a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room in September 2007. Four other men who were with them took plea deals and received probation after testifying for the prosecution.
Simpson's lawyers maintained he was trying to retrieve personal items that had been stolen from him and didn't know guns were involved.
Stewart's lawyers said he went with Simpson to the Palace Station hotel-casino to help retrieve belongings and had no knowledge a crime would be committed.
Galanter challenged Simpson's conviction on grounds including judicial misconduct, insufficient evidence, a lack of racial diversity on the jury and errors in sentencing and jury instructions. Simpson's appeal accused Glass of preventing him from getting a fair trial, and accused prosecutors of improperly asking questions about allegations of witness intimidation in front of the jury.

 


theskanner50yrs 250x300