OJ Book...Interview Cancelled

[JimmyWint]

Rupert Murdoch put his foot down. I was kind of hoping that it would have went forward and OJ would have somehow incriminated himself. (Source foxnews.com)

[rkmsuf]

Maybe the NFL Network will pick it up as part of Thanksgiving Day programming.

[albionmoonlight]

O.J. could admit tomorrow that he did it, and he could not be convicted of the crime. Any such conviction would subject him to unconstitutional double jeopardy.

(I am not aware, however, of whether he testified at his trial. If so, then perhaps he could say something that would open him up to a subsequent perjury prosecution.)

[SirFozzie]

albionmoonlight: He did not testify at the trial (except for the putting on the glove part)

Full story from the AP:

NEW YORK (AP) -- After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the O.J. Simpson book and television special "If I Did It."

"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that his has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

A dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before the Nov. 30 publication of the book by ReganBooks. The publishing house is a HarperCollins imprint owned -- like the Fox network -- by News Corp.

In the projects, Simpson speaks in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman.

Relatives of the victims have lashed out at the now scuttled publication and broadcast plans.

"He destroyed my son and took from my family Ron's future and life. And for that I'll hate him always and find him despicable," Fred Goldman told ABC last week.

The industry trade publication Broadcasting & Cable editorialized against the show Monday, saying "Fox should cancel this evil sweeps stunt."

One of the nation's largest superstore chains, Borders Group Inc., said last week it would donate any profits on the book to charity.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder in a case that became its own television drama. The former football star and announcer was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Judith Regan, publisher of "If I Did It," said she considered the book to be Simpson's confession.

The television special was to air on two of the final three nights of the November sweeps, when ratings are watched closely to set local advertising rates. It has been a particularly tough fall for Fox, which has seen none of its new shows catch on and is waiting for the January bows of "American Idol" and "24."

[cartman]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

O.J. could admit tomorrow that he did it, and he could not be convicted of the crime. Any such conviction would subject him to unconstitutional double jeopardy.

(I am not aware, however, of whether he testified at his trial. If so, then perhaps he could say something that would open him up to a subsequent perjury prosecution.)

He never testified at his trial. He couldn't be tried for murder, but there is an extremely remote possibility that he could be tried under federal statutes for Civil Rights violations. This is how some of the Rodney King officers still got time after their California court "not guilty" verdicts. But the chances of that happening are almost nil, since it would be uncharted waters to bring up these charges against a citizen with no governmental ties accused of a crime on private property.

[Butter]

They've cancelled the book as well? That was coming out in a matter of days, was it not?

[SirFozzie]

yup. release date was supposedly 11/30

[Kodos]

Don't worry. The books that were printed already can still be used as props at Ikea.

[Deattribution]

I wonder if he still gets paid for this garbage.

[SirFozzie]

Yup, he got paid $3.5 million to write it, didn't say it was $3.5 million to publish it.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

To correct: he did testify at his civil trial (both on the stand and in deposition). It was not televised though like the criminal trial. You cannot take the 5th in a civil trial once you have been acquitted on criminal charges. Thus, perjury charge would be possible based on what he said in the interview, except I believe the statute of limitations in California for perjury has long run out.

[JimboJ]

Did anyone think this would actually make it on the air in this PC crazed society?

[Desnudo]

Political correctness has nothihng to do with this at all. It's about a murderer profiting off of his crime and a company doing the right thing.

[SirFozzie]

and the murderer still walking away with 3.5 Million Dollars in a trust fund that his victim's family can't get at, sadly.

[JPhillips]

The cynical side of me says this had nothing to do with "doing the right thing". I think they looked at a combination of sponsor backlash and possible legal ramifications and decided the negatives outweighed the positives. This is after all the same network that will exploit animal attacks and police chases for money.

In the end its always the same question, will this make us money? At first they thought yes, but now they think no and so they pulled it.

[molson]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The cynical side of me says this had nothing to do with "doing the right thing". I think they looked at a combination of sponsor backlash and possible legal ramifications and decided the negatives outweighed the positives. This is after all the same network that will exploit animal attacks and police chases for money.

You're right, and that's how things work in America, but I'm OK with that. Asking corporations to be moral in a capitalist economy in too much too ask, and is in no way desirable. At the end of the day, "the people" largely have the say in what they'll accept and won't accept - this is a perfect example of that.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The cynical side of me says this had nothing to do with "doing the right thing". I think they looked at a combination of sponsor backlash and possible legal ramifications and decided the negatives outweighed the positives. This is after all the same network that will exploit animal attacks and police chases for money.

In the end its always the same question, will this make us money? At first they thought yes, but now they think no and so they pulled it.

They can (and are) rehash the whole OJ thing on Foxnews due to this. so they are goina make money

[SFL Cat]

Originally Posted by molson

Asking corporations to be moral in a capitalist economy in too much too ask, and is in no way desirable.

Personally, I would blame individual greed and cultural rot in cases like this more than capitalism. But luckily society as a whole still seems to have enough decency to put its foot down and draw the line about something like this.

That said...if the book had been released...I have no doubts it would have been (if for only a short time) a bestseller.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

and the murderer still walking away with 3.5 Million Dollars in a trust fund that his victim's family can't get at, sadly.

Do you know that he killed them? Care to prove it?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Noop

Do you know that he killed them? Care to prove it?

Are you for real or are you in character?

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Noop

Do you know that he killed them? Care to prove it?

This should settle things once and for all.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Are you for real or are you in character?

Character. I like to stir the pot a bit.

[Ksyrup]

Rollie Fingers wins another battle against OJ...which is ironic given the fact that he owes Wisconsin millions in back-taxes...


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A federal judge prohibited O.J. Simpson from using money he may have received from a canceled book deal and TV interview in which he reportedly told a hypothetical tale of how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real issued the order Wednesday, freezing the money during a hearing about a lawsuit filed last month by Goldman's father. It remains in effect until a January 24 hearing.

The federal lawsuit accuses Simpson of "fraudulent conveyance" and alleges that he created a shell corporation called Lorraine Brooke Associates last March that received at least $1.1 million.

The suit contends the company was created to hide money from the book and TV deal so the Goldman family could not seize any of it to satisfy a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit judgment. With interest, that judgment is estimated at $38 million.

Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges in the 1994 killings of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

The latest lawsuit seeks about $1.1 million plus punitive damages, although Goldman family attorney Jonathan Polak said he did not know how much money Lorraine Brooke Associates currently had in its account.

He called the order preventing transfer or use of the money a first step to determining the figure. Otherwise, it would be a "moving target" because Simpson could move the money, Polak said.

A call to Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, was not immediately returned Thursday.
Simpson has said that he spent the proceeds he received as part of the deal. The book, titled "If I Did It" and scheduled to come out November 30, was never released by News Corp.-owned HarperCollins and the TV interview never aired.

News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch called off the project on November 20, apologizing for "any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

News Corp. has said the company paid $880,000 to a third party in connection with the project.

Simpson has told The Associated Press that he took part in the project solely for personal profit and acknowledged that any financial gain was "blood money."

[SackAttack]

What, like he hasn't moved it already?

[stevew]

Rollie Fingers at it again....

MIAMI - A federal bankruptcy judge Friday awarded Ron Goldman's family the rights to O.J. Simpson's canceled book, "If I Did It," which the Goldmans want to rename "Confessions of a Double Murderer."

Goldman was slain along with Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson in 1994. The Goldmans want the book's proceeds included as part of a nearly $33.5 million civil jury award they have been trying to collect for almost a decade.

The ruling "ensures that Mr. Simpson will never see another dime from this book," said Paul Battista, an attorney for the Goldman family.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol ruled that Lorraine Brooke Associates, which owned the rights to the book, can be considered as belonging to the former football star. The company is run by Simpson's daughter, Arnelle.

O.J. Simpson's book contract with HarperCollins, and a money trail showing $630,000 transferred from the publisher to LBA and then to Simpson for his expenses, confirm his connection to the company, Cristol said.

LBA was "clearly accomplished to perpetuate a fraud," Cristol said.

Kendrick Whittle, the attorney for Simpson's daughter, said he had not decided yet if he would appeal. Arnelle Simpson attended the hearing but did not speak with reporters afterward.

Whittle said Cristol's ruling set a "scary" precedent: "What if she opens another business tomorrow? Are the Goldmans allowed to pursue that, too? Where do they stop?"

O.J. Simpson has maintained his innocence since his 1995 acquittal in the killings; a civil jury later found him liable.

In the book, Simpson explains how he might have committed the slayings. HarperCollins had planned to publish it, but canceled the deal with Simpson after public outrage.

The book's rights now pass to an independent trustee, Drew Dillworth, who will decide what to do with them, Battista said. A manuscript of the book was given to the trustee Friday, Whittle said.

Dillworth's attorney, Brian Rich, said they will now attempt to try to sell the rights to everything pertaining to the book and the HarperCollins contract "so that there will be funds to pay creditors of LBA, including the Goldmans."

Rich said there have been expressions of interest in buying the rights, but would not say who they were from.

Arnelle Simpson testified in a deposition Wednesday that the book was her idea, Battista said at Friday's hearing.

"LBA was to baby-sit — her words — baby-sit the book to make sure everything would go smoothly," Battista said.

Arnelle Simpson had sought to reorganize her company, which would have allowed her to maintain temporary control over the book's rights.

[JeeberD]

And the book has apparently been leaked...

hxxp://rs73.rapidshare.com/files/39117218/O.J.Simpson.If.I.Did.It.pdf

[Karlifornia]

This going on the DO NOT READ list, right next to "If I Did It, by John Mark Karr"