LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jury selection began on Monday in the Las Vegas robbery and kidnapping trial of O.J. Simpson, and the judge told prospective panellists to put the former football star's 1990s murder trial out of their minds.
This trial centres on accusations that Simpson led the 2007robbery of his own sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotelroom.
"If you think you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for whathappened in L.A. ... this is not the case for you," ClarkCounty District Judge Jackie Glass said as the case opened,according to a Los Angeles Times report on its Web site.
She added that she didn't want jurors who were "looking tobecome famous ... write a book or be on TV."
Simpson was charged in Los Angeles in the June 12, 1994,murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friendRon Goldman. He was acquitted after a sensational so-called"Trial of the Century" that transfixed much of the world.
A civil court jury later found Simpson liable for thedeaths and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million (19 millionpounds) in damages to the victims' families, a judgment thatremains largely unpaid.
The Las Vegas case stems from accusations that Simpson, 61,led five accomplices in robbing a pair of sports collectors atgunpoint at the Palace Station hotel and casino.
He and a co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, could face life inprison if they are convicted on all the charges against him.
Four of Simpson's original co-defendants have pleadedguilty in the case and have cooperated with the prosecution.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)