http://www.8newsnow.com/story/22282437/former-lawyer-says-oj-simpson-knew-about-gunsFormer Lawyer Says OJ Simpson Knew About Guns
Posted: May 17, 2013 9:59 AM Updated: May 17, 2013 3:21 PM
LAS VEGAS -- The lawyer who unsuccessfully defended O.J. Simpson against armed robbery charges in Las Vegas says his client knew two companions had guns in a 2007 confrontation with memorabilia dealers.
Simpson's former attorney Yale Galanter has been under attack all week. He took the witness stand Friday and fired back.
Simpson is seeking a new trial on grounds of ineffective legal representation. Simpson's current attorneys spent the day tearing apart the way Galanter defended Simpson at his 2008 trial that resulted in Simpson's conviction.
Miami attorney Galanter has been contradicting much of what Simpson testified to earlier this week.
On a key point, Galanter says he decided not to claim Simpson didn't see guns during the incident because Simpson confided to him that he'd asked companions to bring guns.
"Based on my conversations with Mr. Simpson on the day after the event, he had told me that he did in fact ask Alexander and McClinton to bring guns. He knew he had screwed up, he knew there were guns in the room," Galanter testified.
He said he felt a fondness for the former football great and he wanted nothing more than to win the case for Simpson.
"It is my testimony that the cross examination of the witnesses at the preliminary hearing was stellar. It is also my testimony that our defense of Mr. Simpson was stellar," Galanter.
Simpson claims Galanter did not discuss plea deals or negotiations offered by the prosecution. Galanter contends he did discuss the deals with Simpson and they were rejected because Simpson was not willing to do more than one year behind bars.
The 65-year-old Simpson is currently serving a sentence of nine to 33 years in prison.