Tag: Trayvon Martin (page 4)

There was a very contentious exchange between Defense Counsel Don West and Judge Nelson as she placed Zimmerman under oath to ask him whether he wanted to testify. West said the case isn't over and he is not ready to answer. She overruled his objections and kept grilling Zimmerman about whether he needed more time to decide.

Defense expert Dennis Root is back on the witness stand. Mark O'Mara will call two more witnesses whose testimony will be brief, and then rest.

This morning, the judge granted the state's motion to exclude text messages to and from Trayvon Martin about his engaging in fights. She ruled the computer animation could be shown to the jury as a demonstrative aid, but not admitted into evidence.

The hearing in the George Zimmerman trial ran until 10 pm last night. It ended with the judge kicking the can down the road again, this time on the admission text messages recovered from Trayvon Martin's phone.

The hearing, like the one on computer animation that preceded it, is the best example yet of how the Judge's stubborn insistence that this case proceed to trial before the parties had even finished discovery, was a decision that will come home to bite her if it is necessary for Zimmerman to appeal.

It's not just the parties who are not prepared on the law, it's also the judge. Towards the end of the hearing, she started reading from a book she called Ehrenhart, which is a "horn book" on Florida evidence. It's a book that references Florida evidentiary decisions, kind of like Cliff Notes. She read off some case names cited in the book along with their one paragraph description of the case ruling. The book is intended as a guide to case law dealing with specific rules of evidence. It isn't a substitute for reading the opinions themselves. Had she read them, she would have known: [More...]

At 8:00 pm ET, the hearing on the admissibility of the defense animation wound down. The judge reserved ruling until tomorrow, but from her comments, the animation is in trouble.

The parties and judge agree there is one Florida case, State v. Pierce, 671 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) on computer animations in a criminal case. The animation was admissible in that case.

The judge has problems with it going back into the jury room as opposed to being used as a demonstrative aid to assist an expert's testimony. Having listened to the full argument for a few hours, it seems the state is equating accuracy with whether the animation includes its version of the testimony. It's not intended as a recreation of the scene, but as defendant's theory of how the confrontation (not the shooting) occurred, as supported by witness testimony, including that of its experts. The exibit relied on evidence from Dr. DiMaio, John Good, Jena Lauer, and even Selma Mora. [More...]

Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune writes today about the judge's decision in the George Zimmerman trial allowing the defense to introduce Trayvon Martin's toxicology report into evidence. He agrees (for the most part) with my post from the other day in which I wrote that while "I think it is highly unlikely the defense will be able to show the results in the autopsy indicate impairment to a degree that might explain Martin’s physical attack on Zimmerman, " that the report was likely admissible for another reason. [More...]

Forensic firearms and ballistics expert Vincent Di Maio, who is also a pathologist and medical examiner, testified on direct examination this morning that the trajectory of the bullet and nature of his injuries support George Zimmerman's version of events.

Dr. Vincent Di Maio said that the trajectory of the bullet and gun powder on Martin’s body support Zimmerman’s version that Martin was on top of him when Zimmerman fired his gun into Martin’s chest. The gun’s muzzle was against Martin’s clothing and it was anywhere from two to four inches from Martin’s skin, he said.

“This is consistent with Mr. Zimmerman’s account that Mr. Martin was over him, leaning forward at the time he was shot,” said Di Maio, the former chief medical examiner in San Antonio.

Dr. Di Maio also testified that Trayvon Martin may have been conscious for 10 to 15 seconds after he was shot, during which time he could have moved his arms from the side to underneath his body. [More....]

It was a big day for the defense at the George Zimmerman trial. Before getting to the testimony, I want to address the hearings held after the jury recessed for the day.

I wrote a long post this morning about the issue of whether the toxicology report should be introduced. After hearing from both sides, the Court ruled the report was admissible, and it would be reversible error not to admit it. She cited the Arias case which I referred to earlier, and a later case citing Arias. In argument today, the defense also referred to the lighter found on Trayvon's body and his swaying in the 711 video. [More...]

During the pre-trial proceedings in the George Zimmerman case, both sides filed motions in limine to exclude evidence at trial. Some are still pending, some were granted, and some were granted or denied provisionally, meaning the court would make a final ruling during trial.

Here is the court's ruling on June 5 on the bulk of the state's motions to exclude evidence about Trayvon Martin, which had been argued on May 28. As to what the judge ruled before trial cannot come into evidence: [More...]

The defense calls Gladys Zimmerman, George Zimmerman's mother, as its first witness. She identifies George as the person screaming in the background of Jenna Lauer's 911 call. She is not asked anything else

The next witness is Orange County Deputy Sheriff Jorge Meza, who is also George's uncle. Orange County is next to Seminole County where the trial is taking place. Meza is adamant is is George's voice. [More...]

The state has finished its case. The defense argued its Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. The state responded. The judge denied the motion, saying only that the state had provided sufficient evidence for the charge to go to the jury. See, for example, the 2012 Florida Supreme Court opinion in Patrick v. State.

The defense argues that because the state's evidence as to ill will, hatred, or spite is entirely circumstantial, the state's evidence must disprove any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.

If, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, a rational trier of fact could find the existence of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, sufficient evidence exists to sustain a conviction.

However, if the State's evidence is wholly circumstantial, not only must there be sufficient evidence establishing each element of the offense, but the evidence must also exclude the defendant's reasonable hypothesis of innocence.

During the Zimmerman trial today, Medical Examiner Shipping Bao, who conducted the autopsy of Trayvon Martin, took the stand. He surprised both the prosecutor and defense when he changed his opinion on two matters.

Bao testified Trayvon Martin could have live up to 10 minutes after being shot. Up until three weeks ago, his opinion was that Martin could have lived 1 to 3 minutes.

Bao also changed his opinion about whether the level of marijuana in Martin's system could have affected his physical or mental condition. Previously he said it would not. Now he says the level of marijuana could have impaired Martin, but he can't say for sure. He changed his opinion on this within the last 60 days.[More...]

The state may rest today.

The judge seems to be in rush to conclude the trial. It's beyond strange that the parties haven't even concluded discovery and the state is resting. Depositions are still being taken at night. Today the judge told the defense it has tomorrow, the 4th of July, to prepare.

If this is all the state has, I don't see a case. I'm looking forward to hearing the judge's explanation for denying the defense motion for judgment of acquittal when the state rests.

The state tried its hardest this morning to walk back the damage from yesterday's testimony of two of its own witnesses, Officers Chris Serino and Doris Singleton. I don't think it succeeded.

Yesterday, officer Serino testified that he believed George Zimmerman was telling the truth. Both he and Singleton testified the inconsistencies in Zimmerman's statements to them the week of the shooting and during his re-enactment of the event did not amount to significant differences. Serino and Singleton both testified to a point I have made here repeatedly: No one recounts an event the exact same way every time. If they did, it would be suspect. Variations are not the equivalent of significant differences.

Serino testified yesterday that when he told Zimmerman that Martin may have videotaped the encounter (a police ruse to get him to think he wouldn't get away with lying), Zimmerman's response was, "Thank G-d, I was hoping someone had videotaped it." It was after this that Serino said he thought GZ was telling the truth. [More...]