Charge OJ with kidnapping. Good idea?

Prosecutors charged OJ with kidnapping after his arrest for an alleged sports memorabilia heist in Las Vegas. Today, at a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for OJ to stand trial on all charges including kidnapping.

How are prosecutors able to charge OJ with kidnapping when he tried to recover his sports memorabilia which he claims was stolen from him? You might ask, it sounds like robbery or armed robbery, where does kidnapping come from? He couldn’t have kidnapped anyone, could he? After all, he didn’t force anyone to go anywhere. He didn’t even take anyone anywhere.

Prosecutors alleged that OJ lured the alleged victims to the hotel room. Although OJ may not have taken anyone anywhere, forcibly or not, it is alleged that he brought them to the scene of the alleged crime where they would not have gone if not for his actions. It is the movement under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a crime that could be considered a kidnapping. Apparently, today, the judge agreed.

The bigger question is whether or not the prosecutor should have charged OJ with kidnapping, even if they would be allowed to bring him to trial for kidnapping. I’m sure that the prosecutor’s office spent a considerable amount of time examining the advantages and the disadvantages of charging OJ with kidnapping.

Of course, the advantages are that they could be successful in proving kidnapping which would result in a substantial sentence. Adding a charge of kidnapping also provides greater leverage during negotiations for a plea bargain.

The disadvantage is that members of the jury could form the belief that the prosecutor is overreaching with the charge of kidnapping and that the prosecutor has some ulterior motive. If the prosecutor has an ulterior motive, that would imply that there is no real substance to the kidnapping charge. Coming to that conclusion, a juror could form the question as to whether there is any substance to any of the other charges.

So the question is, what would you do if you were the prosecutor? Would you feel that a charge of kidnapping is justified or is overreaching? Would you go all out and charge OJ with kidnapping, taking the risk that you could alienate jurors? or would you forget about the kidnapping charge to eliminate the risk of alienating jurors?

Please leave your comments.

Philip L. Franckel, Esq.
Criminal Lawyer

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