Judge Jackie Glass, Who Sentenced O.J. Simpson and Hosted Swift Justice, Dies at 70
Judge Jackie Glass, the Las Vegas jurist who sentenced O.J. Simpson to prison and later became a television courtroom host, has died at age 70. Her daughter, Rachel Wolfson, announced the death on Facebook. According to TMZ, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Glass died on a Friday in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal confirmed the news, noting her role in the 2008 Simpson robbery case that drew international attention.
Glass was a long-standing judge on the Clark County District Court in Nevada. Before being elected to the bench in 2003, she spent 18 years as a lawyer in private practice, including 12 years at Wolfson & Glass, a firm she founded with her husband, Steve Wolfson (The Hollywood Reporter).
Her name became globally familiar in 2008, when she presided over Simpson's armed robbery trial. Simpson had been convicted of leading a group of men into a Las Vegas hotel room to retrieve sports memorabilia. Glass granted a five-month delay in the trial at the request of defence attorneys, postponing it to September, after which jury selection began on 8 September 2008 (Reuters; Reuters).
After the conviction, Glass summarily rejected requests by Simpson's lawyers that he be allowed to remain free until sentencing (Reuters). She sentenced Simpson to nine to 33 years in prison (KTAR; The Hollywood Reporter).
Glass's last day on the bench was 10 June 2011, after eight years as a judge (Las Vegas Review-Journal; Ballotpedia). She resigned from the Clark County District Court to become a television judge (KTAR).
She took over hosting Swift Justice in 2011, succeeding Nancy Grace — the cable-news legal commentator — as the show's lead host. Swift Justice was a syndicated programme, meaning it was sold to individual local television stations rather than airing on a single network. Glass led the show through its final season in 2012 (The Hollywood Reporter).
After television, Glass continued in legal work. She joined Private Trials in May 2012 and then moved to Advanced Resolution Management (ARM) as a mediator and arbitrator in 2015, helping resolve disputes outside of court (National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; ARM).
Glass is survived by her husband and two daughters (The Hollywood Reporter).
