Tag: Trayvon Martin (page 14)

George Zimmerman has posted bond and been released from jail. The Orlando Sentinel says the jail reports he used a bondsperson to make the $150,000. bond.

Here's a photo from Reuters and the Orlando Sentinel. The Seminole County Sheriff issued this statement [More...]:

For some reason, the media wants people to think that witness John, the one who told a Fox News reporter that he was outside the night of the shooting, observed two men wrestling, that the man on the bottom was wearing a red sweater (Zimmerman had a red jacket), cried out to him for help, and he went inside to call 911, didn't come forward with this information until the end of March. Not true. He gave his account to the media the day after the shooting. From his video interview above with Keith Landry of Fox News Orlando on Feb. 27:

"The guy on the bottom, who had a red sweater on, was yelling to me, 'Help! Help!' and I told him to stop, and I was calling 911," said the witness, who asked to be identified only by his first name, John.

John said he locked his patio door, ran upstairs and heard at least one gun shot. "And then, when I got upstairs and looked down, the guy who was on the top beating up the other guy, was the one laying in the grass, and I believe he was dead at that point."

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As Tom Maguire aptly notes, some of us have day jobs and can't spend two hours watching a hearing. So I didn't watch the George Zimmerman bail hearing live. But I just read CNN's transcript (parts 1, 2 and 3) (again thanks to Tom for the links.)

While it cuts out in places for commercial breaks, it appears to be almost a compete transcript. My thoughts, based on the transcript, are below. I also recommend Tom's analysis which I just finished reading after writing this post. I'll probably add some others views later, or in a new post, since this one is so lengthy. [More...]

CNN has an article on today's bail hearing in the case of George Zimmerman, accused of second degree murder with penalty enhancements in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. CNN reports:

Special prosecutor Angela Corey has the burden of showing why bond should not be set or that it should be high. The burden is referred to as "proof of guilt is evident or presumption of guilt is great." Corey would have to convince [Judge] Lester that a jury would convict Zimmerman.

I think that's an inadequate description. Corey's burden of proof at the bail hearing to establish the "proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great" is not the same burden as applies to a jury. At trial, a jury must find proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman committed the charged crime. Under established Florida case law on bail hearings involving capital and life charges, Corey's burden is higher. [More...]

The Orlando Sentinel polled its online readers. Only 35% believe Zimmerman can get a fair trial. Most blame the media coverage. The best response is the first one currently showing by Diane Panacek of Altamonte Springs.

The slanted media coverage continues unabated. The most ridiculous question I saw asked today was by an MSNBC interviewer named Tammaron Hall who told her legal guest that Zimmerman's attorney wanted him to appear in civilian clothes instead of an orange jumpsuit, and asked him, "Is that a bizarre request or something you would often hear?" If she's that ignorant of court proceedings, what is she doing interviewing anyone about them? (The commentator says it's a "sensible request" and then compares the request to one made for convicted murderer Scott Peterson.)

Also, apparently neither noticed that Zimmerman wore a gray jumpsuit at his last court appearance. The orange jumpsuit comes from his booking photo in 2005 in Orange County.

Did George Zimmerman catch a break or step on a landmine by getting a new judge today? His case will be presided over by Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester, Jr. The first judge who was next in line to succeed Judge Recksielder declined the case because he used to practice with Mark O'Mara and O'Mara is godfather to one of his children.

Next in line was Judge Kenneth Lester, Jr. He now has the case. At the very end of a long Orlando Sentinel article, it discloses that Judge Lester is married to a long-time homicide prosecutor in the state's attorney's office in Orange County. (Orange County is adjacent to Seminole County and includes Orlando. It's also the county that filed battery charges against Zimmerman in 2005.) See updates below)[More..]

George Zimmerman's neighbors are speaking up. Three of them tell Reuters they told police they saw Zimmerman had injuries and bandages the day after the Travon Martin shooting:

Jorge Rodriguez, Zimmerman's next-door neighbor, told Reuters that when he saw Zimmerman the day after the incident, "he had two big, butterfly bandages on the back of his head, and another big bandage...on the bridge of his nose." He was talking to a police detective in his driveway.

Rodriguez's wife Audria also said she saw the bandages and a third neighbor, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, agreed with the Rodriguez couple's account. "I saw two bandages on the back of his head, and his nose was all swollen up," said the witness, who had watched from a nearby second-floor window.

The neighbors say they were interviewed by Sanford police, but don't recall being contacted by anyone with the state prosecutor's office. My take: [More...]

As anticipated, Mark O'Mara has filed a formal request to recuse Judge Jessica Recksiedler because of the potential for a conflict of interest due to her husband being a law partner of Mark Nejame, who has been hired by CNN to provide analysis on the case.

O'Mara told the judge on Friday (video of status hearing here) he had discussed NeJame with his client, and that NeJame had contact with the Zimmerman family and maybe even Zimmerman himself, and that while he wasn't sure of all the facts involved in the relationship between Zimmerman and NeJame, and Zimmerman's family and NeJame, he believed NeJame had "agreements" or "waivers" in place based upon their contact. His concern was that the Zimmerman's might continue to give NeJame information as "exclusives" or just as additional insight.

Curiously, NeJame today says he never met with or talked to Zimmerman and implies he never met with Zimmerman's family. [More...]

I'm still trying to figure out why the state's attorney in Florida would charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and approve the filing of such an empty affidavit for an arrest warrant, that with all its other faults, fails to even refer to, let alone establish, the elements of the charged crime.

Where is their evidence that Zimmerman's act of shooting Trayvon demonstrated a depraved mind and was an act "done from ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent," indicative of an indifference to human life, as required for a second degree murder conviction? What is their theory?

Here's my theory: Every Affidavit Tells a Story. When examining an affidavit, the choice of words, the sequence of events and the facts omitted are all key to something. The story may not be the truth, but it represents the state's version of what it believes to be the truth. Affidavits are intended to tell the story in such a way that the reader will conclude it is both accurate and makes sense. They can also be a road map showing how the state intends to prove its case.

After reading the affidavit for George Zimmerman's arrest at least 10 times, each time more perplexed than I was here by the lack of probable cause for a second degree murder charge and its other shortcomings, I decided to focus instead on the state's story. (If this isn't it, then I'm out of guesses and there is just no excuse for the heavy-handed charging.) [More...]

Circuit Court Judge Jessica Recksiedler, who has been assigned the case of George Zimmerman, held a quick status conference by telephone with the lawyers today to disclose her husband's law partner will be commenting on the case for CNN. The video of the hearing is here. (new link, old one removed by network.)

The judge hearing the George Zimmerman case today announced that her husband works for the law firm of Mark NeJame, who's been hired to act as a CNN analyst for this case.

Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler said she had an ethical obligation to disclose that and allow Zimmerman's attorney or the special prosecutor to ask her to step down.

(Added:) The news didn't get it quite right. He doesn't just "work for" the analyst's firm, he's a partner in the firm. The judge used the words "works with" not "works for."

Mark O'Mara says the issue "concerns him" and he may ask for another judge next week. A bond hearing has been set for April 20, one week from today. [More....]

How do Florida's Stand Your Ground and self-defense laws fit into the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case and what's the difference between them?

Read this account in the Miami Herald by Scott Hiassen and David Ovalle of the Quentin Wyche case, which is still ongoing. It involves two FIU football players. One, Kendall Berry, is dead. The other, Quentin Wyche, has been charged with second degree murder as a result of stabbing Berry to death. Wyche raised "Stand Your Ground" as a bar to prosecution, which required the judge to hold a factual hearing. The judge said he couldn't decide between the competing evidence presented by the state and defense, so he denied the motion. It will go to a jury trial where Wyche can still raise both stand your ground and self defense.

The Judge is Miami Circuit Court Judge Milton Hirsch, whom I know and respect. He was a long time criminal defense lawyer before becoming a judge. I asked Scott Hiassen for a copy of the opinion and he graciously emailed it to me. I have uploaded it here.

While the facts are different than those involved in the George Zimmerman - Trayvon Martin shooting, after reading a dozen or so Florida court opinions on Stand Your Ground and self-defense, I think Judge Hirsch explains them and the court procedures most clearly (minus his Shakespeare and historical references, sorry Judge Hirsch.) [More...]

Here's the affidavit of probable cause submitted for the arrest of George Zimmerman on second degree murder charges for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. It is written and sworn to by States' Attorney Special Investigators T.C. O'Steen and Dale Gilbreath, both former investigators with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Department. They don't believe there was a racial slur.

During the recorded call Zimmerman made reference to people he felt had committed and gotten away with break-ins in his neighborhood. Later while talking about Martin, Zimrnerman stated "these a*sholes, they always get away and also said “these f*cking punks.”

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