Los Angeles , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The venerable Smithsonian Institution , often dubbed `` America 's Attic , '' said no Tuesday to adding a piece of 1990s history to its collections . A day earlier , a California judge approved an agreement to donate the brownish-green suit O.J. Simpson wore the day in 1995 that he was acquitted of murder -- if museum officials wanted it . But they did n't . `` The curators feel that it does n't fit with the collections here at the National Museum of American History , '' Valeska Hilbig , spokeswoman for the museum , told CNN Radio Tuesday . The museum houses iconic memorabilia , such as a pair of Judy Garland 's ruby slippers from `` The Wizard of Oz , '' the hat Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated and a piece of a lunch counter from a Woolworth 's in Greensboro , North Carolina , that was the site of a civil rights sit-in . The museum on the National Mall in Washington is also home of the original `` Star Spangled Banner , '' which inspired poet Francis Scott Key to pen the lyrics to what would become the national anthem . The agreement to donate the suit ended a years-long battled between Fred Goldman , the father of the man the ex-National Football League star was accused of killing , and Simpson 's former sports agent , Mike Gilbert , who has possession of the suit . But no one checked with the Smithsonian before making the announcement . Hilbig said there was no official offer to donate the suit and that officials learned of the potential deal on the Internet . With the Smithsonian 's rejection , the parties will look for another museum to take the suit , per the Los Angeles County Superior Court order on Monday . `` I suggested to go back to USC -LRB- the University of Southern California , where Simpson starred in college football -RRB- , even though they 've distanced themselves , or maybe the Pro Football Hall of Fame museum , '' said Simpson 's attorney , Ronald Slates , who said he was disappointed in the Smithsonian 's decision . `` We had worked six hours on Monday to reach the settlement , and to find the finest museum in America turning down what is truly a piece of highly controversial litigation in the United States -- it was very disappointing , '' he said . `` Of all the museums in the United States , this would be the one most open because it is our national museum , '' he said . `` It deals with the ups and downs of America . You do n't see the Smithsonian walking away from days of the Depression -- which were certainly horrible days in our history -- because it was so horrible . So , I thought this would be the museum to house this , even as controversial as it is . '' Simpson stood trial on charges of stabbing to death his ex-wife , Nicole Brown Simpson , and Fred Goldman 's son , Ronald , outside her luxury townhouse in Brentwood on June 12 , 1994 . The trial lasted more than nine months and ended on October 3 , 1995 , with a jury finding Simpson not guilty . Later , the families of Brown and Goldman took Simpson to civil court to seek damages for wrongful death . That jury found Simpson liable for the deaths and awarded $ 8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family and to Ron Goldman 's biological mother . Since then , Fred Goldman has been trying to collect the money . Simpson has consistently said he did not kill the two and should not have to pay . In 2008 , Gilbert appeared on the `` Dr. Phil '' television show , claiming he had the suit and pants Simpson wore on the day of the acquittal . He also said the `` acquittal suit '' -- as it came to be known -- was worth $ 50,000 . Monday 's decision , said Goldman , `` takes any option out of the killer 's hands or Gilbert 's hands to sell it and make money on it . '' Meanwhile , Simpson , 62 , is serving a nine-year sentence in Nevada after his conviction on robbery and kidnapping charges in an unrelated case . The case involved a botched attempt in September 2007 by Simpson to retrieve items that he said had been stolen from him by memorabilia dealers . CNN 's Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report .