Lawyers say that no matter what forensic evidence is found on a knife reportedly discovered on O.J. Simpson's former property, the former football star will not face a new trial in the 1994 deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
"What does this knife mean to O.J. Simpson?" sports and entertainment lawyer Eb Reinbergs told 麻豆传媒 Channel. "Really, it means nothing.鈥�
That鈥檚 because of the principle of 鈥渄ouble jeopardy,鈥� which means the same person cannot be tried twice for the same crime, according to the lawyer.
Reinbergs, who practices in Toronto, said double jeopardy is only waived if a case involves federal legal issues, which this case does not.
Mark Pearlstein, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who now practices criminal defence in Boston, agreed that Simpson cannot and will not be re-tried.
Pearlstein told 麻豆传媒 Channel that the investigation can theoretically restart if there is evidence linking a person other than Simpson to the knife. 鈥淏ut I think that鈥檚 extremely unlikely,鈥� he said.
鈥淎s a practical matter, the passage of time and the fact that (prosecutors) were very confident that they had the right defendant suggests this is a crime that will never close,鈥� he added.
Even if another potential suspect is identified and forensic evidence is found, Pearlstein says the 鈥渃hain of custody鈥� of the knife is 鈥渟o suspect鈥� that most judges will not allow it into evidence.
The only person who could face possible legal action is the now-retired Los Angeles Police Department officer who apparently didn't turn it in, according to Reinbergs.
That officer could theoretically be accused of withholding evidence, but that would require first determining 鈥渢he knife actually is evidence,鈥� said Reinbergs.
A construction worker claims he found the knife at the time Simpson's home was being demolished in the late 1990s, and gave it to an off-duty traffic officer working in the area.
That officer, now retired, says he kept the knife for himself until he last month, when he turned it over to the Los Angeles Police Department, who said Friday they will test it for forensic evidence.
Simpson is currently serving time behind bars for a botched hotel room heist in 2007, and is not eligible for parole until late 2017.
