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Jeffrey Pattinson points to O.J. Simpson during the first day of Simpson's road rage trial Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001, in Miami. (AP)

MIAMI (AP) - OCT 18 - O.J. Simpson's attorneys asked for a mistrial Thursday in his road-rage trial after jurors admitted talking among themselves about testimony in violation of routine instructions from the judge.

"O.J. has a lot of faith in this jury, and he wants to finish with this jury," defense attorney Yale Galanter said afterward. But he said both sides must research the legal issue, which will be decided when the trial resumes Monday.

"It's not something either side relishes," said prosecutor Abbe Rifkin.

Simpson allegedly yanked the eyeglasses off another motorist in an angry road encounter Dec. 4. The charges of felony auto burglary and misdemeanor battery carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in state prison.

At the end of the day, Judge Dennis Murphy told jurors that he noticed them talking in the jury box and asked each of them individually what they had discussed.

"We had questions about some of the things that were said that may have been understood differently," said juror Jose Prado. Juror Ernesto Diaz assured everyone, "We didn't come to a verdict or anything like that."

The first day of testimony Thursday included prosecution witness Jeffrey Pattinson, who was the driver Simpson allegedly hit, and police officers who took his report and lifted Simpson's thumbprint from the glasses.

In opening statements earlier in the day, the two sides offered starkly different versions of the nighttime encounter that began when Simpson allegedly rolled through a stop sign.

Pattinson said he stayed inside his vehicle, but Galanter said both Simpson and Pattinson got out of their SUVs.

Pattinson remembered Simpson approach him shouting, "So I ran the damn stop sign. What are you going to do? Kill me and my kids?"

Pattinson said he answered, "Are you a madman or something?"

Simpson's teen-age son and daughter were in his SUV at the time. They have been questioned under oath on videotape about the event, but they are not expected to be called as witnesses.

Pattinson testified Simpson reached in and grabbed his eyeglasses off his face. Pattinson then said he heard a girl in Simpson's Lincoln Navigator shout, "No Daddy, no Daddy, no!"

Pattinson acknowledged honking his horn and flashing his lights while driving behind at Simpson for 150 to 200 feet. He said he could have done it more than once, but not several times as Galanter hinted.

A six-member jury and two alternates was seated Wednesday after their views on Simpson's acquittal in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend and any experiences with road emergencies were explored in depth.

Simpson was cleared of criminal charges in the slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but a civil jury ordered him to pay $33.5 million for their deaths.

A photograph of Jeffrey Pattinson, shown in court during the first day of O.J. Simpson's road rage trial, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 in Miami, shows the injury on his left temple. (AP)

MIAMI (AP) - OCT 18 - A motorist who accused O.J. Simpson of road rage testified Thursday that the former football star reached inside his car and snatched the glasses from his face during a confrontation in their neighborhood last year.

The incident happened after Simpson rolled through a stop sign and Jeffrey Pattinson honked and flashed his lights at him. Pattinson testified that Simpson approached his car shouting, "So I ran the damn stop sign. What are you going to do? Kill me and my kids?"

Pattinson said he answered, "Are you a madman or something?"

Simpson then reached in and grabbed his eyeglasses, Patios said. He said he heard a girl in Simpson's vehicle shout, "No, Daddy, no, Daddy, no!"

Pattinson said he turned back to Simpson and "it was as if somebody had turned off a light switch. The rage that had been there prior seemed to have dissipated substantially."

Simpson's teen-age son and daughter were in his SUV during the incident in suburban Miami last December. They are not expected to be called as witnesses.

The charges of auto burglary and battery carry a possible 16-year prison sentence. The trial before the eight-member jury is expected to last about two days.

Defense attorney Yale Galanter described a much different version of what happened. He said both men got out of their SUVs and Pattinson was holding his glasses in his hand when Simpson brushed against them.

The defense attorney also said Pattinson had pursued his neighbor, repeatedly honking his horn and flashing the lights.

"Mr. Simpson didn't do anything wrong. Pattinson's actions in this case were those of a madman," Galanter said. Pattinson "gets out and starts screaming, cursing and letting Mr. Simpson know how upset he is."

Pattinson acknowledged honking his horn and flashing his lights while driving behind at Simpson for 150 to 200 feet. He denied being angry after having to slam on his brakes twice for Simpson.

Simpson seemed incredulous at times during the testimony, taking notes on a legal pad and whispering to his attorneys.

Police officer Ruth Dobson, who took Pattinson's report after he called authorities, gave conflicting testimony about whether Simpson struck Pattinson, the president of an export company.

Simpson "physically reached into the vehicle and hit him on the left side of the face," Dobson told the prosecutor. Pressed by the defense, she said, "I don't remember if he used the word `struck."'

Simpson moved to Florida last year. He was cleared of murder in the Los Angeles slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, but a civil jury later held him responsible for the slayings and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.

Before court convened Thursday, Simpson said he was up late the night before celebrating daughter Sydney's 16th birthday. His gift was a Lexus, which she drove to the homes of several friends.

Asked if he taught her to drive, Simpson said with a chuckle, "Yup, and I taught her to never stop."

Jury Seated for O.J. Simpson Trial

O.J. Simpson talks with a visitor in the court, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2001, prior to jury selection for his road rage trial. (AP)

MIAMI (AP) - An eight-member jury was selected behind closed doors Wednesday for the road-rage trial of former football player O.J. Simpson.

Jurors were selected over six days from a pool of 110 potential panel members. They were questioned about Simpson's acquittal in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend. A civil jury later found him liable and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million.

Defense attorney Yale Galanter said Simpson had significant input into selecting the panel of six men and two women.  Opening statements in the road rage case were set for Thursday.

Simpson faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted of felony auto burglary and misdemeanor battery charges over an encounter with a motorist on Dec. 4, 2000.

Jeffery Pattinson says he honked and flashed his lights when Simpson's sport utility vehicle rolled through a stop sign. Simpson stopped and approached Pattinson's SUV, and allegedly reached in and pulled off his glasses.

The key piece of prosecution evidence is Simpson's thumbprint taken from Pattinson's glasses.  The defense has portrayed Pattinson as the aggressor. Testimony is expected to last up to three days.

  Road rage claim lands O.J. Simpson back in court

MIAMI (AP) — October 9, 2001 - O.J. Simpson is on trial again, but this time around, O.J. fever is hardly sweeping the nation.

Jury selection was set to begin Tuesday in Simpson's trial on felony auto burglary and misdemeanor battery charges, stemming from an angry encounter with another motorist in his suburban Miami neighborhood. Simpson has been accused of scratching the motorist's face while pulling off his glasses.

In an earlier case that became a national obsession, Simpson was cleared by a criminal jury in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend. A civil jury later found him liable and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million.  Miami's top prosecutor has said the former football great and actor is unlikely to face jail time over the alleged road rage incident. The charges carry a maximum 16-year prison term, but counseling is the likeliest punishment.  Defense attorney Yale Galanter said that before the Dec. 4 encounter, Jeffrey Pattinson tailgated Simpson for a distance equivalent to "over half of a football field."  "That's a long way to be honking your horn and flashing your lights," Galanter said. "That just doesn't impress me as the act of a man who's cool, calm and collected."  Pattinson says he honked and flashed his lights when Simpson's sport utility vehicle rolled through a stop sign. Simpson allegedly reached in Pattinson's car window and pulled off his glasses.  "This is an incident that took place in at most 30 seconds, and there were two people there," Galanter said. He believes Simpson "is being unfairly targeted as a result of his celebrity status and notoriety."  Pattinson's 10-year-old, 800-page divorce file has been examined by attorneys on both sides. Prosecutor Abbe Rifkin said the record contains no sign that Pattinson was aggressive toward his wife. The defense has not said how or if it intends to use the divorce file.  It could take up to a month to pick a jury to hear testimony that is expected to take less than two days.

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