O.J. Simpson One Hand Freed During Vegas Hearing … Claiming Ineffective Counsel for Reason for New Trial (Update: Yale Galanter Takes Stand, Deefends Himself)

O.J. Simpson freed. Well not quite, just his right hand. Simpson won a small victory today when  District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell allowed the defense request that Simpson’s right hand will be unshackled to allow him to drink water and take notes during his trial. His left hand will be cuffed to his chair. Simpson is attempting to get a new trial citing grossly ineffective counsel. Currently Simpson is serving 9 to 33 years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping charges. Could it be possible that OJ Simpson could be back in another court room and another trial if he is granted his motion of ineffective counsel and be granted his writ of Habeas Corpus?

Simpson allowed use of right hand at trial … let’s hope there are no knives nearby

Lawyers for O.J. Simpson are claiming that his lawyer for his robbery trial gave such bad advice and had such conflicted interests that Simpson deserves a new trial.

LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson became so dependent on his lawyer during his Las Vegas armed robbery trial that the former football star would have done anything Yale Galanter advised — including passing up the chance to testify, his co-counsel testified Tuesday.

“I could advise O.J. all day long, and he was very respectful of me,” Gabriel Grasso told the court. “But if I advised him of something different from what Yale said, he would do what Yale said.”

It was Galanter’s decision not to have Simpson testify, Grasso said. [...]

Simpson won a small victory Tuesday when District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell granted a defense request to have one of Simpson’s hands unshackled to drink water and take notes. Simpson’s left hand was still cuffed to his chair.

Simpson managed a smile and a waist-high wave with his shackled hand as he entered the courtroom and found friends and family members in the audience. Among them was Tom Scotto, whose wedding was the reason for Simpson’s ill- fated trip to Las Vegas.

UPDATE I: Attorney angrily defends handling of O.J. Simpson case: The current and former defense lawyers clash as the onetime football star seeks a retrial, claiming the attorney in his 2008 conviction was incompetent.

Over a day of often-vitriolic cross examination, O.J. Simpson’s former defense attorney faced a barrage of pointed challenges that his representation was so shoddy and even duplicitous that the fallen football star deserves a new trial in a 2008 robbery and kidnapping conviction.

Among the accusations hurled at Miami-based lawyer Yale Galanter: That he refused to hire experts to testify for Simpson in order to boost his own profits in the case and that he failed to adequately advise Simpson about a possible plea agreement offered by prosecutors.