For the second time in his life O. J. Simpson is facing life in prison. The former American football star, who notoriously escaped conviction for the murder of his ex-wife at a racially charged trial in 1995, was last night ordered to stand trial for the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas.

The decision raises the question of whether Mr Simpson, now a pariah in America, will ever be able to get a fair trial.

“This is what we expected,” Mr Simpson, 60, said last night of the ruling that followed this week’s preliminary hearing. “If I have any disappointment it’s that I wish a jury was here [at the hearing]. As always, I rely on the jury system.”

Mr Simpson will get his wish: he is expected to face a jury by the end of next year. Once again, the rest of his life will be at stake, although it remains to be seen if Americans will be as transfixed as they were with his previous trial, which was televised, and helped to define the modern mass-media celebrity justice industry.

Mr Simpson is accused of storming a Las Vegas hotel room with a gang of gun-toting men on September 13, and seizing sports memorabilia worth $100,000 (£48,000) from Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley. It is claimed that Mr Simpson and his accomplices left the hotel with the items stuffed into pillowcases.

Mr Simpson has said that the memorabilia had originally been stolen from him, and has described the confrontation — tape-recorded by at least one man present — as a “sting”. He has denied that weapons were involved. However, after this week’s hearing, Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure ruled that Mr Simpson should face all 12 charges against him, of which only kidnapping carries a life sentence, with the possibility of parole.

Two of Mr Simpson’s alleged accomplices, Charles Ehrlich and Clarence Stewart, have also been ordered to stand trial on charges including robbery, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.

Justice Bonaventure made the decision despite concerns over the credibility of the witnesses to the alleged crime — three of whom made plea deals in October and testified against Mr Simpson during the hearing. “The ultimate determination of credibility of the witnesses should be left to the jury,” Justice Bonaventure said.

One of the most famous American football players during a glamorous career during the 1970s, Mr Simpson was the prime suspect in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Although he was ultimately acquitted, Mr Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims’ families totalling $33.5 million, virtually none of which has been paid.

Mr Simpson attempted to cash-in on his notoriety with a book entitled If I Did It, but the book’s publication by HarperCollins, part of the News Corporation — parent company of The Times — was halted. The rights to the book were later awarded to the Goldman family, who have since published it themselves. Judith Regan, who was fired by HarperCollins after the affair, this week filed a $100 million lawsuit against her former employers, accusing them of defamation.

Times Recommends

• Strange burns increase phosphorus concerns
• Smart meters call time on parking cheats
• Four-eyed fish uses mirrors to see in dark