Tag: George Zimmerman (page 16)

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...]

The media joins forces to request the unsealing of all records in the George Zimmerman case. The motion is here. My view: Keep it sealed. The time to release it is after the case ends, whether by pre-trial dismissal or verdict. The public can then decide if they believe the judge or jury's actions were justified. There's no need for them to "play along" as the case progresses. The media's motion makes the best case for keeping it sealed. It says:

"Defendant's confession has already been disseminated in various news articles."

Zimmerman has not confessed to any crime. He hasn't publicly said anything yet. No statement signed by Zimmerman or police recording of any of his statements has been released. A police report and statements by his lawyers and family that he acknowledged shooting Martin is not a confession of wrong-doing or confession to a crime. By all reports, he is denying he committed a crime.

Since the media cannot be trusted to report fairly, the motion should be denied. Update below, with a change in my position: [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.”

[More..]

George Zimmerman had his first court appearance today. His arraignment was set for May 29. Unless he's granted bail before then, he'll remain jailed. At a news conference I just watched that took place after the brief court hearing, the prosecutor who will be in charge of the case refused to answer questions about the facts that led to the second degree murder charged. By the end of his conference, he displayed a short fuse and testy demeanor.

George Zimmerman's new lawyer, Mark O'Mara, addressed the media, and said he and Zimmerman decided a few hours before the hearing to delay their request for bail. He said they will be requesting bail sometime within the next few weeks. He also said Zimmerman is in protective custody at the jail, and that he supported the placement for safety reasons. [More..]

Update: Is this Florida's modified version of the perp walk? There was a throng of media outside the jail awaiting George Zimmerman's arrival. When the garage doors opened, two black cars pulled in, one of which had George Zimmerman inside. Orlando TV aired his arrival live, pointing their cameras through the window to get the shot of him exiting the vehicle and being taken inside.

At a press conference today, Florida state's attorney Angela Corey, the chief prosecutor assigned to the investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, announced George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder. You can read the charges here. [More...]

CBS and other media organizations say they have confirmed through law enforcement officials that state's attorney Angela Corey has decided to charge George Zimmerman with a crime in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. She is expected to make the announcement later this afternoon.

The announcement, which Corey's office describes as a release of new information (rather than a decision on charging) will be made at 6:00 pm at her office in Jacksonville, FL. Here is her press release. [More...]

Update: The state's attorney handling the George Zimmerman investigation said today she will make a statement within 72 hours. She said she is "preparing to release new information regarding the Trayvon Martin shooting death investigation.". It doesn't explicitly say the announcement will be her decision on whether to file charges.

In another bizarre turn in the Trayvon Martin shooting. George Zimmerman's lawyers have withdrawn from representing him, saying he hasn't returned calls since Sunday and called the prosecutor and Sean Hannity to talk to them. The prosecutor refused to talk to him without counsel.

The website he set up was done on his own. His lawyers, at his request, had been in the process of setting one up, when he decided to do his own. [More..]