O.J. Simpson files new appeal of Las Vegas robbery conviction

Reporting from Las Vegas —  Just when you thought you’d seen the last of O.J .Simpson, the former NFL standout known to fans as “the Juice” is back, with another appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court over his conviction in a hotel room armed robbery.

In legal papers filed Wednesday, Simpson’s lawyers sought his release from prison in northern Nevada, where he is serving nine to 33 years for his role in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel.

Simpson, 66, was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and will not be eligible for parole until 2017.

His attorneys want the high court to review Simpson’s claim that his 2008 trial was biased by his notoriety after his 1995 criminal trial acquittal in Los Angeles in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.

The new appeal totals nearly 20,000 words, according to the Associated Press.

Simpson attorneys Patricia Palm, Ozzie Fumo and Tom Pitaro could not be reached for comment.

Last year, after five days of hearings, Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell rejected Simpson’s claim that his former trial attorney botched his Las Vegas criminal trial and first appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Bell ruled that evidence was overwhelming that Simpson had orchestrated the armed kidnapping and robbery and that his new attorneys did not demonstrate how Simpson did not receive proper legal counsel in the trial.

Simpson testified that he was retrieving stolen memorabilia from dealers. On the stand, he told Bell he had a right to get his own belongings back, and did not know some people in his entourage carried guns.

Bell disagreed and sent him back to state prison.