Judge: Don't use this trial to 'punish' O.J.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Jury selection in O.J. Simpson's trial on robbery and kidnapping charges started Monday, with the judge seeking prospective jurors who are not influenced by his 1995 murder trial.

Simpson was acquitted of the slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. He was later found civilly liable for their deaths.

"If you are here to think that you're going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in Los Angeles back in '95, this is not the case for you," Judge Jackie Glass told the jury pool.

Dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt and light-gray tie, Simpson, 61, sat with his lawyers at the defense table and appeared to be following the proceedings closely.

If convicted on all counts, Simpson could receive up to life in prison. Watch Simpson's long legal saga »

The first day wrapped up after lawyers questioned three prospective jurors, all who were deemed qualified to serve.

The high-profile case started with 500 prospective jurors. Based on their answers to questionnaires, 252 were rejected, leaving 248 in the jury pool. On Monday, Judge Jackie Glass called in 86 and excused 14, most of them for medical reasons.

In all, 40 prospective jurors are needed to pass the "voir dire" -- or questioning -- process before challenges from lawyers on each side reduce their numbers to 12 jurors and six alternates.

Glass said her goal is to start testimony next week.

The case comes nearly a year after Simpson, Clarence Stewart and four other men allegedly stormed into a Las Vegas hotel room on September 13, 2007, to recover sports memorabilia that Simpson said belonged to him. Prosecutors say at least two men with Simpson had guns as they robbed a pair of sports memorabilia dealers. Watch what happened in Vegas »

It was 13 years ago that the former professional football player was found not guilty of murdering Brown Simpson and Goldman.

Simpson and his attorneys did not speak to reporters as they left the building. He has pleaded not guilty and has said he was just trying to "get his stuff back."

"O.J. Simpson did not know that there were guns in that room," said defense attorney Yale Galanter.

Attorneys expect many jurors to have heard about the case but are looking for people who will make decisions based on the evidence presented at trial, said legal analyst Jim Moret.

"It's not whether or not you've heard a lot about the case," he said. "It's whether you can set that aside and listen to the evidence that's presented in court and determine the case based solely on that."

The case centers on events that unfolded in a room in the Palace Station Hotel, off the Las Vegas strip.

Two sports memorabilia dealers -- Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley -- were in the room, expecting to meet a wealthy collector who wanted to buy Simpson memorabilia. Instead, Simpson and several other men barged in and held him at gunpoint, Fromong said.

"They had guns drawn -- one of the guys had a gun pointed right on me," he said.

But Beardsley told CNN around that time that he thought Simpson was not guilty.

Four of Simpson's five original co-defendants have struck deals with the prosecution to testify against Simpson. One testified in a pretrial hearing that "O.J. Simpson wanted me to have a weapon."

Another testified that Simpson "wanted me to help him acquire some guns."

Some legal experts say the prosecution faces problems. One victim says he believes Simpson is innocent and three of four original co-defendants who plan to testify against Simpson have criminal records.

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