In just a few hours, O. J. Simpson will be sentenced to a lengthy period in the Nevada penal system. Simpson will not speak at the sentencing, because he is appealing the conviction. After all, he can't very well apologize or ask for leniency in sentencing for a crime he is not prepared to accept responsibility for committing. Instead, Simpson's attorney is planning to make the rather bizarre request that Simpson's victims be allowed to testify and offer their views on sentencing. Of course, the problem with that, not to be too legalistic, is that the charges are for crimes against the state, so sentencing in this country does not depend on the opinions of victims.

In following this case, it seemed obvious that most everyone involved was a moth drawn to the remaining light cast by the dying embers of Simpson's star: sycophants of the worst sort. But according to one local defense lawyer I spoke with Thursday, no victim testimony of any sort will make a difference to Judge Jackie Glass. In Nevada, what is going to matter most is that a crime involving a gun was committed in a casino. This lawyer pointed out: You don't even have to be famous to be in a world of trouble for that mix.

There certainly has been plenty of discussion over whether Simpson's acquittal for murder 13 years ago influenced this prosecution and conviction in Las Vegas. But less discussed and perhaps more relevant is the impression many have locally that we do indeed have a two-tier system of justice -- but based on geography, not celebrity. The perception is that crimes that take place inside the tourist corridor are pursued more aggressively than elsewhere in the Las Vegas Valley. I know when my car was vandalized at my old apartment, I could not get an officer to even show up. Whereas when I had a similar car issue in a casino lot, the resort security easily summoned police to assist me.

Anyway, to get back to Simpson, his defense lawyers are asking Judge Glass that the former football player be given the minimum six-year sentence, whereas the Division of Parole and Probation has recommended a sentence of at least 18 years. The law even allows Glass to give Simpson a life sentence. 

The Review-Journal interviews a local lawyer who suggests that Glass is likely to sentence Simpson to somewhere in the range of 11 years. But based on the lawyer I spoke to, who has appeared often before Glass in the past, I will not be surprised if she gives Simpson a very, very long sentence.

Then O.J. Simpson, for whatever length of time, will be led away to begin this perhaps final chapter of his life, once again in a uniform, albeit of jailhouse issue.