Jury selection begins in O.J. Simpson robbery trial

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 panelists to put the former football star's 1990s murder trial out of their minds.

This trial centers on accusations that Simpson led the 2007 robbery of his own sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room.

"If you think you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in L.A. ... this is not the case for you," Clark County 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 to become 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 friend Ron 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 the deaths and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the victims' families, a judgment that remains largely unpaid.

The Las Vegas case stems from accusations that Simpson, 61, led five accomplices in robbing a pair of sports collectors at gunpoint at the Palace Station hotel and casino.

He and a co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, could face life in prison if they are convicted on all the charges against him.

Four of Simpson's original co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the case and have cooperated with the prosecution.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)