KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: O.J. Simpson Case -- What's Next?

I-Team: O.J. Simpson Case -- What's Next?

So what's next for the main defendant in this case -- O.J. Simpson himself? His next court date is in October but it is not likely he will actually be required to appear in person at that time. The I-Team has been looking into what will happen with the Simpson case in the months ahead.

O.J. Simpson's case is set for what is called a "status check" on Oct. 22. But in the Las Vegas justice court system, defendants are rarely required to attend these proceedings which are more administrative in nature.

During Wednesday's court hearing, District Attorney David Roger asked the judge to set what's called a "status check."

"We'd ask that you set this for a status check, perhaps the third week in October. There are other defendants who have received return dates sometime in October, and we would like to have everybody in court at the same time," he said.

But court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer says it is not likely that O.J. Simpson will be required to personally attend next month's hearing.

"Status checks are really more of an opportunity for the attorneys to get together and figure out where they're at and what needs they have to express to the court. Likely in a status check the judge would just waive the presence of the defendant," he said.

Judge Joe Bonaventure, Jr. will preside over this case through the preliminary hearing. If he rules there is enough evidence to warrant a full trial, the case would move to the higher-level district court.

It will then be assigned to one of two judges based on system called "team and track."

"Because what happens is once it is bound over to the district court, a random number is generated which then creates the random assignment to the judge that is going to go to. So in Bonaventure's case, we already know that under "team and track," he tracks his cases to Judge Gates or Judge Glass.

District Court Judge Jackie Glass was elected to the bench in 2002 and prior to that was in private practice with her husband -- Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Wolfson.

Judge Lee Gates is the only black judge in the district court system and has been on the bench since 1991. Ironically, this would not be Judge Gates' first contact with the Simpson case.

Papers were filed in multiple states relating to the civil judgment against Simpson for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman. It was Judge Gates that handled those documents in Nevada back in 1997.

Michael Singer, a Las Vegas-based former attorney for the Goldman family, told the I-Team he does not believe that should in any way disqualify Judge Gates should he get this case.