Guardianship of Simpson

I. Introduction

A guardianship was established for Sydney and Justin Simpson after their father, O. J. Simpson, was jailed on the charge of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson, their mother, and another victim, Ronald Goldman. We need not go into the details of the killings, but certain basic, well-reported—and undisputed—facts about them are unavoidably relevant to the proceeding before us now: Nicole’s throat had been slit, and she had been left in a pool of blood at her own doorstep while her children, Sydney and Justin, lay sleeping in the house. It was only a happenstance that the neighbors discovered the body first, sparing the children the horror of finding their dead mother. Whoever committed this crime must have acted in extreme rage and anger and been oblivious to the possibility that the victim’s children might discover her body.

After his acquittal in a criminal trial, Simpson requested termination of the guardianship. At the hearing on the termination, the guardians sought to introduce evidence regarding the circumstances of Nicole Simpson’s murder. The trial court refused to consider any of it, holding that the guardians had waived the issue by not listing any…