O.J. Simpson's appeal rejected by Nevada Supreme Court

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Friday that all of O.J. Simpson's arguments for appealing his convictions on armed-robbery and kidnapping charges were without merit.

The court did order the conviction of Clarence "C.J." Stewart, Simpson's co-defendant in the case regarding a Las Vegas hotel room heist at gunpoint, to be reversed and that a new trial should be held.

Simpson, 63, is serving nine to 33 years in state prison, while Stewart had been serving 7 1/2 to 27 years at High Desert State Prison.

The former football star, who maintained he had been trying to retrieve family photos and mementos in the Las Vegas incident, used the racial makeup of the jury and the conduct of the judge in the September 2008 trial as the prime issues in his appeal.

Simpson attorney Yale Galanter portrayed the USC Heisman Trophy winner's conviction as payback for Simpson's acquittal in the 1994 double-murder case involving the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: O.J. Simpson in court during his sentencing hearing at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas in December 2008. Credit: Isaac Brekken / Associated Press