The folks in San Francisco hoping to bring the Super Bowl back to the Bay Area for the first time since the 1984 season didn?t get soft once the potential renovations of Sun Life Stadium fell through. The San Francisco host committee submitted the final bid for Super Bowl L via iPads sent to all?
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LAS VEGAS (AP) ? O.J. Simpson will return next week to the Las Vegas courthouse where he was convicted of leading an armed sports memorabilia heist to ask a judge for a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer botched his case.
Simpson will take the witness stand to testify that the Florida lawyer who collected nearly $700,000 is to blame for his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in 2008 and his failed appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2010.
Simpson's testimony in open court will offer a first look at the aging 65-year-old former football star since he was handcuffed and sent to prison more than four years ago. Simpson didn't testify at his Las Vegas trial or in the historic case that led to his 1995 acquittal in the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles.
Instead of an expensive suit and tie, Simpson will be dressed in blue Nevada Department of Corrections clothing ? grayer, heavier and limping a little more from long-ago knee injuries, friends say. He is now Nevada inmate No. 1027820, a far cry from his playing days when Simpson wore jersey No. 32, won the Heisman Trophy, earned the nickname "The Juice" in the NFL and gained induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Simpson is scheduled to be in Clark County District Court beginning Monday for the entire five-day hearing. He could testify Wednesday before a judge who has agreed to hear 19 separate points, mostly claiming that lawyer Yale Galanter provided such poor representation that Simpson deserves a new trial.
Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year sentence that makes him first eligible for parole at age 70.
If he wins a new trial, prosecutors would have to decide whether to retry him for an incident that happened in September 2007 or offer a plea deal sparing the time and expense of another trial.
In a sworn statement outlining his upcoming testimony, Simpson said he told Galanter in advance that he planned to confront two collectibles dealers in Las Vegas and retrieve what he expected would be family photos, heirlooms and personal sports mementoes that he believed had been stolen from him after his "trial of the century" in Los Angeles.
"I fully disclosed my plan to Yale Galanter, and he advised me that I was within my legal rights," he said.
Simpson said the two even had dinner the night before in Las Vegas, and Galanter told him the plan was OK as long as he didn't trespass on private property or use physical force.
Simpson claims that at trial, Galanter told him he didn't need to testify because prosecutors failed to prove their case, and didn't tell him about a plea offer by prosecutors that would have gotten him a minimum of two years in prison.
"Had I understood that there was an actual chance of conviction, I would have accepted such an offer," Simpson said.
Galanter, who is expected to testify Friday, declined to comment ahead of his appearance.
Throwing trial attorneys under the bus on appeals is a common legal tactic for people convicted of crimes ? but rarely successful.
The burden of proof in a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus is on the defendant to convince a judge ? not a jury ? that the trial was tainted and new evidence might yield acquittal. It's not yet clear whether Clark County District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell will make an immediate ruling or issue a written decision later.
Bell didn't handle the trial, and both prosecutors have retired. Most of the colorful cast of characters involved in Simpson's first trial won't be involved in next week's hearing. Attorneys put the number of expected witnesses at 16 ? including lawyers, experts, Simpson friends and his 44-year-old daughter, Arnelle.
Some legal observers think Simpson has a chance at getting a new trial.
"If Mr. Simpson can establish that the strategy of the defense was motivated by his lawyer's self-interest, and that it compromised Mr. Simpson's trial rights, he could overcome the defendant's burden and establish the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel sufficient to get him a new trial," said Las Vegas attorney Michael Cristalli. The veteran lawyer handled the successful appeal, retrial and 2004 acquittal of a former stripper in the 1998 death of wealthy casino executive Ted Binion.
Simpson's 94-page petition for a new trial exempts trial co-counsel Gabriel Grasso from the conflict-of-interest question. It says Grasso wasn't made aware of Galanter's pre-incident advice, wasn't privy to private strategy discussions between Galanter and Simpson, and was rebuked when he tried to advise Simpson without Galanter's approval.
Former District Attorney David Roger is due to testify. In an interview, he recalled discussing a possible plea with Galanter during trial, but said discussions didn't yield "negotiations in the legal sense."
Galanter said Simpson might be willing to serve 24 months in prison, Roger recalled. Prosecutors countered with 30 months. Galanter later said Simpson wanted no more than 12 months. Roger said he thought Galanter had spoken with Simpson.
"That's where the conversation ended," the former prosecutor said.
A key element in Simpson's bid for a new trial is his claim that because Galanter handled his appeal and oral arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court, Simpson was blocked from claiming that Galanter had conflicted interests.
H. Leon Simon, the chief deputy district attorney now handling the case, said Simpson isn't owed a new trial. Evidence was overwhelming, he said.
Hotel security video showed Simpson and five other men arriving at the Palace Station casino-hotel with middleman Thomas Riccio, and leaving with boxes of items. Jurors heard audio recordings of Simpson and others talking about the plan ahead of time and of the five-minute confrontation involving nine men crammed around a big bed in a small room. Two of the men said they had guns.
Simpson trial co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart served more than two years of a 7?-to-27 year prison sentence before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. The justices ruled Simpson's fame tainted the Las Vegas proceedings and Stewart should have been tried separately.
Stewart took a plea deal to avoid a retrial and was convicted of felony robbery and conspiracy but set free.
"As far as Simpson is concerned, I wish him luck," said Stewart, now 59 and driving limousine in New Orleans. "He needs to tell the truth about Yale Galanter. Yale only represented him to protect himself, to make sure his name didn't come up."
_____
Find Ken Ritter on Twitter: http://twitter.com/krttr
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oj-vegas-court-hearing-bid-trial-081924394.html
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) ? Academy award-winning director Ang Lee says modesty and diligence have been the keys to his success in penetrating the foreign cultures that were part of many of his most notable films.
Earlier this year, the Taiwanese filmmaker won his second best director Oscar for "Life of Pi," a fantasy adventure about a 16-year-old Indian boy on an epic journey of survival. He also won the best director award for "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Thursday, Lee said "I have to read everything and watch everything" before directing films with distinctly non-Taiwanese or non-Chinese themes, like "Sense and Sensibility," which takes place in early 19th century England, or "Brokeback Mountain," a gay love story set in late 20th century Wyoming.
"I grew up here until I was 23," he said, referring to his native Taiwan. "Taiwan is a very open society. It's an island, so we have a lot of influences."
Still, he said, successfully penetrating the foreign backdrops that feature in many of his best films is often difficult going.
"I have to be modest and diligent in adopting all kinds of cultures," he said.
Lee's next project ? a television series for FX entitled "Tyrant" ? focuses on an American family caught up in the turbulence of the contemporary Middle East.
He said that while the project represented a significant departure for him, he was still looking forward to doing it.
"'Tyrant' is the first TV pilot I ever read," he said. "I don't really watch TV."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/director-ang-lee-touts-diligence-key-success-100407356.html
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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/05/did-nick-lachey-really-just-say-that-just-wow-video/
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[Updated 4:30 p.m. ET]
CLEVELAND, Ohio?A judge set bail at $8 million at a brief hearing Thursday for Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping and keeping three young women as captives for a decade. The lawyer prosecuting the case said he may seek the death penalty against Castro.
Cleveland Municipal Judge Lauren C. Moore set bail at $2 million per charge, an amount that indicated the judge wants to keep Castro in jail. He was ordered not to have any contact with the three women or their families.
Castro appeared in court Thursday morning along with his brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50. All three were handcuffed, but Onil and Pedro Castro were not charged. They appeared before the same judge this morning on outstanding misdemeanors and were released around noon.
The Cleveland Police Department announced it had handed over custody of Ariel Castro had to county authorities.
Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. Police say the former school bus driver held Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, at his west side Cleveland home. The women were reportedly restrained with ropes and chains. Court documents indicate Castro repeatedly raped the women throughout their captivity.
Timothy McGinty, a Cuyahoga County prosecutor leading the case, said he and his team are evaluating whether to pursue charges eligible for the death penalty, which he said should be reserved for the "worst examples" of human conduct.
"I fully intend to seek to charges on each and every act of sexual violence, rape, each day of kidnapping, every felonious assault, all these attempted murders, and each act of aggravated murder he committed by terminating pregnancies that the offender perpetuaged against the hostages during this decade-long ordeal," McGinty told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Knight was taken on Aug. 22, 2002, Berry on April 21, 2003, and DeJesus on April 2, 2004.
Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday after leaving her job at a nearby fast-food restaurant, broke free from Castro's home with her 6-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, on Monday. After she called police, DeJesus and Knight were able to escape, too.
Court records indicate that in each case, Castro lured the victim into his car and took her to his Seymour Avenue home. Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told reporters on Wednesday that the women, as well as Ariel Castro, have given lengthy statements to police.
The women had several miscarriages during their captivity, police said.
Berry gave birth to Jocelyn on Dec. 25, 2006. Police said the girl was born in an inflatable swimming pool. The fourth kidnapping charge against Castro came from holding the girl, whom court papers identify as Jane Doe, in captivity as well.
Despite the gruesome details, Terry Gilbert, a Cleveland-based criminal defense lawyer, said prosecutors are facing a challenge proving aggravated murder against Castro.
Under Ohio law, a person can be charged with murder for causing the termination of a pregnancy. The prosecution, however, will need physical, medical, and forensic evidence in this case, Gilbert said.
?You?re going to have to have a body,? he said. ?Somebody just saying that (the women's pregnancies were terminated) may not be enough.?
Gilbert also said the case may not fit as a death penalty case because defense attorneys would argue whether aggravating specifications?kidnapping, assault, and crimes beyond murder?can be applied to a fetus.
?There?s a lot of road blocks to get to (the death penalty),? Gilbert said. ?It would be a highly unusual and difficult kind of prosecution to make.?
As they entered court, Pedro and Onil were looking up. Ariel Castro consistently looked down and never faced the court.
Public defender Kathleen DeMetz said she had met with Ariel Castro for about 30 minutes before the arraignment began to review the charges against him and brief him on how the proceedings would unfold. She would not comment on his demeanor or what he said to her.
Brian Murphy, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor, told the judge Castro "snatched" the three women off the streets of Cleveland. He asked that the court set bond at $5 million and that Castro not be allowed to have any contact with women or their families, whether he gets out on bond or not.
DeMetz told the judge that Castro has lived in the area for the past 32 years, is unemployed and, to her knowledge, had no prior convictions. After the hearing, DeMetz said it would be highly unlikely that he would make bond.
"He would have to come with $800,000 cash to get out," DeMetz said. "He clearly does not have that."
While Knight remains in a local hospital, both Berry and DeJesus were escorted home by police motorcades to raucous crowds on Wednesday.
Berry and her daughter went to Berry's sister?s home, while DeJesus returned to her parents' tan bungalow. Both families live just a few miles from the ramshackle row house where they were apparently held as prisoners.
Berry?s sister, Beth Serrano, briefly addressed the crowd outside her home and said that Berry needed time to recover before talking publicly about her ordeal.
?At this time our family would request privacy so my sister, niece and I have time to recover,? Serrano said. ?We appreciate all you have done for us for the past 10 years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statement."
Later in the day, DeJesus, wearing a bright yellow hoodie, was quickly taken inside her home without speaking or showing her face. She was seen giving a thumbs-up to the crowd of reporters and onlookers assembled outside.
Her parents, Felix DeJesus and Nancy Ruiz, and aunt Sandra Ruiz thanked the police and FBI for their assistance in the investigation. They asked for patience and promised to take questions from reporters soon.
?The three of them are doing great. Those were miracles," Nancy Ruiz said of her daughter, Berry and Knight.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/accused-kidnapper-3-women-appear-court-084310905.html
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Heroic Gizmodo reader Will Wilson took the audacious Onion Fart Scroll script
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