Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who is on trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, will get a few days to find an expert witness to testify on his behalf.  The prosecution alleges that Jefferson tried to charge money for securing legislation. However, Jefferson’s attorneys argue that if the government had such juicy evidence of bribery against their client they should have introduced it from the outset. Read more.

Rapper C Murder wants his new trial for the death of a teenager postponed. The brother of entertainment mogul Master P a.k.a. P. Miller says the election year could influence his ability to get a fair trial following the 2002 Louisiana shooting of Steve Thomas, 16. The judge, who ordered a new trial for C Murder after learning that witness testimony was compromised, is facing accusations that she’s soft on crime. Jury selection was set for this week.

Beyoncé “Boy” issue is settled. Singer Beyoncé has reportedly settled a legal dispute about the publishing rights to her new hit “If I Were a Boy” with songwriter B.C. Jean. Be’s dad and manager Matthew Knowles is said to have hoped his eldest daughter would get a writing credit for the tune, but reports have it that Jean had already written and recorded the track for herself. When her record deal went bust, Jean was said to have been done with the song – until she heard Beyoncé singing it on the radio. Terms of the agreement between Be and B.C. are confidential.

When questioned during jury selection, all 12 of the non-Blacks who were eventually chosen as jurors said they would give O.J. Simpson a fair trial, but the fact that at least five of them said they believed the former football legend had gotten away with murder 13 years ago is enough to make you wonder. Read the rest here.

Will O.J. Escape Prison Again?

A jury could decide whether O.J. Simpson spends the rest of his life in prison as soon as Friday. Simpson and co-defendant C.J. Stewart return to a Las Vegas courtroom this morning after prosecutors rested their case on charges that Simpson led a robbery and kidnapping against two memorabilia dealers last year. Simpson says that he only went to reclaim family photos and souvenirs from his stellar sports career that had been stolen from him. But prosecutors allege that he and Stewart forcibly held the collectors in a hotel room with help from four other men who’ve all accepted plea bargains, in exchange for testifying against Simpson. So far, defense testimony this week has included the words of a Vegas cop who says Simpson cooperated with the investigation, even volunteering his personal cell phone number. If closing arguments are given this week, it could mark the second time that a jury considers the ex-football star’s fate. He was acquitted of a double-homicide involving his ex-wife in 1994.

For the second time, a criminal jury is being assembled to determine the fate of ex-football star O.J. Simpson. The Heisman Trophy-winner faces possible prison in connection with his alleged robbery of two memorabilia collectors who he said stole valuables connected with his sports career. Simpson is also charged with kidnapping in the year-old incident at a Las Vegas hotel, where he and several men allegedly barged into the collectors’ room, reportedly held them against their will and seized thousands of dollars in souvenirs. Jury selection in the case is expected to take about a week. Simpson’s co-defendant C.J. Stewart is the only other remaining suspect to face trial in the episode after several others struck pleas and agreed to testify against Simpson. Judge Jackie Glass on Monday rejected a request by Simpson’s lawyers to ask potential jurors if they considered Simpson a murderer, despite his acquittal in the death of his wife and her friend in 1994.

It had been set for this month, but the trial of four men accused of murdering NFL star Sean Taylor won’t happen until next year. A judge on Friday set a new trial date of March 3, 2009. Prosecutors say the suspects shot the Washington Redskins safety last November during a robbery attempt at his home in the Miami area. One of the five suspects, 20-year-old Venjah Hunte, has pleaded guilty. The other four have pleaded not guilty and could get life in prison if convicted.

A flight attendant whose psychiatrist says felt “disrespected as a Black woman” is suing the wife of the pastor of one of the nation’s largest evangelical churches, saying she was assaulted on a flight from Houston to Colorado. Sharon Brown is suing Victoria Osteen, who is married to televangelist Joel Osteen, with whom she co-pastors the Lakewood Church in Houston, a converted football stadium that draws some 42,000 members each week. Brown claims that Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in her breast before the start of a flight three years ago, The Associated Press reports. The fracas on the Continental Airlines flight apparently began over a spill about the size of a 50-cent piece on a seat in first class. Osteen allegedly was agitated that the spill wasn’t being cleaned up fast enough. Another flight attendant, Maria Johnson, testified Thursday that Osteen was out of control and corroborated Brown’s claims. “She was demanding that attention be given to her immediately,” Johnson said. Osteen kept saying: “This is ridiculous. I’m a first-class passenger,” Johnson added. She confirmed Brown’s assertion that Osteen was so upset that she tried to force her way into the cockpit. “She took Sharon by the shoulders and pushed her out of the way. Sharon stumbled,” Johnson testified. Johnson, who is White, suggested that race might have been a factor, noting that Osteen only wanted to deal with her and not the other two flight attendants, who are Black. But Rusty Hardin, Victoria Osteen’s attorney, said the lawsuit is all about money. “This is nothing more than an attempted extortion,” Hardin told jurors during opening statements. While admitting that Victoria Osteen is sometimes a “very excitable and expressive person,” Hardin said she was never out of control. AP reports that Brown’s psychiatrist, Shayna Lee, testified that “Brown has suffered depression and post-traumatic stress disorder because of the incident. She also felt disrespected in her role as a leader and as a Black woman, and had her faith affected.” Brown’s attorney, Reginald McKamie, told jurors that Brown was only doing her job. “Sharon was attacked by someone in the community who supposedly represents a higher degree of human decency,” he said. Brown is seeking an apology and 10 percent of Victoria Osteen’s net worth as part of her suit. Is this about money or did Victoria Osteen mess up in a major way?

Abercrombie is sued over a Muslim head scarf. Arguing that Abercrombie & Fitch violated the civil rights of a Muslim job applicant by denying her application because of her head scarf, a Muslim civil rights group has sued the popular clothing outlet. According to the lawsuit, filed at the Oklahoma City branch of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the district manager for the clothing store at Woodland Hills Mall told a young woman in late June that her hijab, a head scarf worn observant Muslim women, did not fit the Abercrombie image. “Employers have a clear legal duty to accommodate the religious practices of their workers,” said Razi Hashmi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Oklahoma, which helped the girl file the complaint. “To deny someone employment because of apparent religious bias goes against long-standing American traditions of tolerance and inclusion.” The council declined to release the name of the plaintiff; she is younger than 18. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 stipulates that employers must attempt to accommodate the religious practices of an employee unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the employer.

The trial for the former dorm boss at Oprah Winfrey’s school for girls in South Africa , who is accused of physically and sexually abusing students, began Tuesday. The prosecutor in the case argues that Tiny Virginia Makopo, 28, assaulted six teens and a fellow dorm matron at the Johannesburg-based school for disadvantaged girls. The alleged victims, whom prosecutor Etienne Venter described as “very scared and very, very emotional,” will give their testimony behind closed doors. Makopo pleaded not guilty. Winfrey, herself a victim of child abuse, founded the school with $40 million in January 2007. The institute aims to prepare girls as future leaders.