Judge Jackie Glass, Who Sentenced O.J. Simpson and Hosted Swift Justice, Dies at 70
Judge Jackie Glass, the former Clark County judge who sentenced O.J. Simpson to prison and later presided over the syndicated courtroom show Swift Justice, died on Friday afternoon in Las Vegas. She was 70.
Her death was first reported by TMZ on 28 August 2026, after her daughter Rachel Wolfson posted a tribute on Facebook (Deadline). KSNV News 3 Las Vegas confirmed the news the same day (KSNV News 3).
Wolfson's tribute was direct and anguished. "RIP my rock," she wrote. "I don't know how I'll do this life without you, I love you so much mommy Jackie Glass, I'll see you again someday" (Deadline).
Glass served on the Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court, covering Clark County, after being elected to the bench in 2002 (Ballotpedia). But the case that put her name in front of a global audience came six years later. In 2008, she sentenced Simpson to 33 years in prison for armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel room — a case that returned the former football star to a courtroom more than a decade after his acquittal on murder charges in 1994 (Deadline). Simpson was released on parole in 2017 and died of cancer in Las Vegas in 2024 (Deadline).
In 2011, Glass moved from the real courtroom to the television one. She took over from legal commentator Nancy Grace as host of Swift Justice for its second season, a syndicated show in which a real judge heard small claims disputes and issued binding rulings — meaning the decisions held legal weight, not just dramatic effect. The production relocated from Atlanta to Los Angeles for the new season. Glass hosted the show until it ended in April 2012 (Deadline; TMZ).
She is survived by her husband, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, and two daughters (Deadline).
A cause of death has not been disclosed in the reporting so far.
