LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - O.J. Simpson, the former football star and Hollywood actor who was famously acquitted of his ex-wife's 1994 murder, appeared in a Las Vegas court on Monday seeking a new trial on his conviction on a Nevada armed robbery charge.

O.J. Simpson ( R) smiles as he sits with his attorney, Patricia Palm in Clark County District Court during his evidentiary hearing in Las Vegas, Nevada May 13, 2013. REUTERS/Julie Jacobson/Pool

Simpson, who appeared in court in blue jail garb with shortly cropped hair, is currently serving up to 33 years in prison for a 2007 armed robbery in which he claimed he was trying to recover his own sports memorabilia of his storied sports career and murder trial.

Now 65, Simpson was found guilty of the hold-up at gunpoint of two sports collectors in a Las Vegas hotel room that stemmed from a bungled attempt by Simpson to recover the memorabilia from the dealers in a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino.

Simpson's defence team argued during the trial that he was only trying to retrieve his own stolen property and he did not know an accomplice had brought a gun to the hotel room.

The star athlete-turned-actor was tried in the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was acquitted after a yearlong trial that was carried live gavel-to-gavel on U.S. television and transfixed much of the world.

Nevada's Supreme Court in 2010 refused to overturn O.J. Simpson's 2008 robbery conviction.

In that appeal his lawyers had argued that Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass failed to properly prevent the robbery and kidnapping trial from being tainted by Simpson's infamy from the murders or thoroughly screen the jury.

In the current case, a new team of lawyers was again seeking a new trial, this time citing incompetence by his trial attorney, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Simpson, who is serving his sentence at Lovelock Correctional Centre in northern Nevada, will be eligible for parole in 2017.

(Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Greg McCune and Andrew Hay)

Copyright © 2013 Reuters

• Dollar rise hits oil, gold; euro sags on ECB cut bets
• Scomi Group secures RM98.5m Turkmenistan contract
• KLCI at fresh record close, on fund buying of banks, Tenaga
• Puncak Niaga to issue warrants, raise RM165m Sukuk
• Moody's: Core Chinese shadow banking products total 21 trillion renminbi
• I-Bhd, Thailand's Central Pattana to build shopping mall in iCity
• MISC falls in active trade
• Firm dollar hits oil, gold, shares; Nikkei scales new peak
• Allianz targets RM150m new business premiums this year
• Mah Sing's Meridin@Medini records pre-selection of RM261m (Update)
• Samsung racing towards downloading a whole movie in one second through super-fast 5G
• KLCI up nearly 14pts at midday (Update)
• RAM Ratings ups Menara ABS’s Sukuk outlook to stable
• Leon Fuat to raise RM35.58m from share sale (Update)
• AirAsia X eyes up to US$300m Malaysia IPO - term sheet

• Taiwanese fishermen burn Filipino flags in protest
• Yemen army jet crashes in Sanaa, pilot killed
• US scientist depressed and left suicide notes, Singapore public inquiry told
• Philippines holds elections vital for Aquino reforms
• Samsung announces 5G data breakthrough
• Police in US arrest 12-year-old for sister's murder
• Warming to hit half of plants, a third of animals
• 17 people shot at New Orleans parade: report

• Woods wins Players Championship
• Silver lining in Fort Lauderdale for Pandelela-Mun Yee
• Affendi ruled out with nerve injury
• Hubbard leads hot Dragons to another easy win
• Teenager Praveen a Clearcut winner at Bukit Kiara
• Shalin wants more victories before calling it a day next year
• Puvendran upsets top seed Alwin in U-17 final
• Second title for Ramdan in Europe
• Coach wants badminton doubles pairs to be battle ready
• Milo aim to go even further in developing Malaysian sports
• KLHC-Tenaga showdown once again
• Argentina and South Africa to play in Johor Baru
• Serena sweeps aside Sharapova to retain Madrid crown
• Nadal wins Madrid title for fifth triumph this year
• Maria confirms romance with Bulgarian Dimitrov

• Please wait.

• New SARS-like virus can probably pass person-to-person
• Nurul Izzah says not eyeing PKR presidency when mum steps down
• Coronavirus epidemic awaits, not certain to be severe - discoverer
• Merkel says has no secrets about her communist past
• Appeals court frees six backers of black-clad Egypt protest group
• Scomi Group secures RM98.5m Turkmenistan contract
• Who will be the new IGP?
• Italy's Letta urges ministers to avoid clashing in public
• Greek state workers to strike against teachers' walkout ban
• Brothers of Cleveland kidnap suspect say he was aloof for years - CNN