Such respect for the judicial system is...

Such respect for the judicial system is truly heartwarming: Crown Books outlets in Southern California are sequestering copies of Faye Resnick’s lurid work, “Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted,” behind placards that say:

“Attention Potential O.J. Simpson jurors. We will be happy to hold your book until after the trial.”

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Actually, it’s probably a toss-up: Perhaps you’ve noticed some mysterious billboards popping up around the Southland--the ones that say, simply, “We Suck Less.” We’re sure that a punch line and an advertiser’s name will be added later. In the meantime, we got to wondering who would make such a humble, low-class statement. We’ve narrowed it down to two candidates: the Democratic and Republican parties.

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Post-election special?Judging from the signs outside a Democratic Party office in Long Beach, there’s one thing you can say about gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Brown. She’s not for sale.

One problem Amtrak has avoided: While there’s talk of crime being on the increase, it certainly isn’t true in all categories. For instance, when was the last time you heard of a train robbery around here?

We thought about that while watching a documentary, “Gunfighters of the Old West.” It recounted how, on Feb. 6, 1891, a gang led by the Dalton brothers held up Southern Pacific Train No. 17 on its way to L.A.

Posing as passengers, three of the robbers jumped up from their seats, donned red bandannas and climbed into the locomotive cab.

A shootout ensued and the Daltons left empty-handed. (In “Bloodletters and Bad Men,” author Jay Robert Nash points out that such was their code of honor that the Daltons, like the Youngers, refused to rob passengers).

One of the Dalton brothers, Grat, was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison but escaped. He was later killed with brother Bob when the gang tried the difficult, robbing-two-banks-simultaneously stunt in Coffeeville, Kan.

By the way, the documentary attempts to put Ma Dalton’s family in perspective. Sure, there were problems. But, in point of fact, only four of her 15 children became outlaws.

The devil’s work: Lorna Lubarsky of Woodland Hills received a neighborhood flyer that seemed to confuse soles and souls.

miscelLAny The first movie that Warren Beatty and Annette Bening made together was “Bugsy,” which told the story of L.A. mobster Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel. Coincidentally, the couple, who’ve since married, named their son Ben. But he was named for Bening’s father, not for Siegel.