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Trial of George Zimmerman

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State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman is a court case involving the second degree murder charges against George Zimmerman, resulting from the Shooting of Trayvon Martin.

On April 11, 2012, George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. In support of the charges, the State filed an affidavit of probable cause, stating that Zimmerman profiled and confronted Martin and shot him to death while Martin was committing no crimes.[1] Florida State Attorney Angela Corey announced the charges against Zimmerman during a live press conference and reported that Zimmerman was in custody after turning himself in to law enforcement.[2][3] In Florida, a conviction for second degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. If a firearm was used then the mandatory minimum is 25 years in state prison.[2]

State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman
SA No. 1712F04573
CourtEighteenth Judicial Circuit In and For Seminole County, Florida

Prosecution attorneys

State Attorney Angela Corey

The prosecutor initially responsible for the case was Norm Wolfinger, a State Attorney whose jurisdiction included Seminole County where the shooting occurred on February 26, 2012.[4][5] On March 22, 2012, he requested to be removed from the case to help "tone down the rhetoric" for the public good.[6]

On March 22, 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced his appointment of Angela Corey as the Special Prosecutor in the Martin investigation.[7] She is the State Attorney for Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.[8] When Corey took the case, she chose Bernie de la Rionda as lead prosecutor. Rionda was an Assistant State Attorney in Corey's office and had been a prosecutor for 29 years.[9][10]

Defense attorneys

On April 11, 2012, Mark M. O'Mara announced that he was the attorney representing Zimmerman. O'Mara is president of the Seminole County Bar Association, is a legal commentator for WKMG news, and had previously tried cases that involved the Stand Your Ground law.[11] When he took the case, O'Mara said that Zimmerman had no money and that the state may help pay the costs. When reporters asked why he took the case, O'Mara said, "That's what I do."[12]

On May 31, 2012, Orlando attorney Don West left his job as a federal public defender to join the defense team led by O'Mara. West specialized in murder cases and had been a board certified criminal trial specialist for 25 years. He and O'Mara had been friends for a long time.[13]

Judges

Judge Debra S. Nelson of the 18th Circuit Court of Florida is the third judge to preside over the case. Nelson has been a judge for thirteen years, much of it handling criminal matters. Before becoming a judge she worked in civil litigation.[14] Nelson succeeded Judge Kenneth Lester on August 30, 2012, after a Florida appeals court ruled that remarks he made about Zimmerman could make a reasonable person believe he was biased against him.[15] Lester had taken over the case in April, 2012, after Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest.[16]


Trial

Pre-trial

A hearing was held, in which Judge Mark Herr ruled that the affidavit was legally sufficient to establish probable cause. Court documents, including witness statements and other information, were sealed.[17][18] Zimmerman's arraignment was scheduled for May 29.[19] Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself as the primary trial judge, due to a potential conflict of interest and Judge Kenneth Lester, Jr., was appointed by the chief judge to take over the Zimmerman case.[16][20][21]

Initially, Zimmerman was released on a $150,000 bond and was fitted with an electronic monitoring device that revealed his whereabouts in real-time.[22][23] At the hearing, Zimmerman took the witness stand and told the parents of Martin he was "sorry for the loss of your son".[24][25] Zimmerman's attorney, waived Zimmerman's right to appear at an arraignment and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.[22] The defense team announced that it would seek a "stand your ground" hearing because case evidence shows "clear support for a strong claim of self-defense."[26][27][28]

Judge Lester ordered that the defense have access to Trayvon Martin's personal records including records from middle and high school, his cell phone, and access to posts he made on Facebook and Twitter as well as tweets from a girl Martin was on the phone with the night he was killed.[29][30] On October 19, Judge Nelson granted the request for the defense to have access to Martin's school records and social media posts, In her ruling, the judge stated that Zimmerman's attorneys need to know whether Martin's school records and social media postings reveal any evidence that he had violent tendencies.[31][32] Martin's parents and their attorneys said the defense's request for school records and social media was a "fishing expedition" aimed at attacking their son and an attempt to assassinate his character.[33] Judge Nelson also ruled that Zimmerman's medical records should be provided to prosecutors. Nelson will review the medical records and decide whether anything should be withheld.[33]

The defense also requested from ABC News and reporter Matt Gutman all their recordings, notes and correspondence related to Witness Number 8, Trayvon Martin's girlfriend. She says she was on the phone with Martin just before he was shot. O'Mara's motion stated the call lasted more than 26 minutes and the recording they received from the authorities was only 12 minutes, 44 seconds long.[34][35]

Zimmerman's bond revocation

In June, of 2012, Judge Lester granted a motion to revoke Zimmerman's bond. The prosecution alleged that Zimmerman and his wife had misled the court by failing to reveal a large amount of money they had received through donations[36] and that they had used a "rudimentary 'code' to discuss the money in recorded jailhouse phone calls—referring to $100,000, for example, as '$100.'"[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]

On July 5, 2012, Judge Lester set Zimmerman's bond at $1 million with several conditions - that he be electronically monitored, reside in Seminole County, have no bank accounts or passport and observe a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Lester said he granted bond "because Zimmerman posed no threat to the community."[44] Zimmerman was released on July 6.[45]

Discovery evidence

In May 2012, the defense received the first round of discovery evidence; 67 compact discs, a list of witnesses that included 50 possible law enforcement officers, 28 officers from the Sanford Police Department, 28 civilian witnesses, members of Martin's family, two of Zimmerman's friends and his father, Robert Zimmerman. Also listed as potential prosecution witnesses were technicians in biological and DNA evidence, trace evidence, gunshot residue, fingerprints and firearms, two FBI agents, and two audio technicians who analyzed the emergency calls made during the confrontation to determine who was heard screaming in the background.[46][47][48][49][Note 1] Additional evidence released were audio and video recordings, photos, witness statements, forensic findings, Martin's autopsy report, evidence taken from Zimmerman after the shooting; his weapon, bullets, clothes, a DNA sample, medical records and his cell phone data.[46][47]

In June, 2012, the prosecution released recordings of two 911 calls placed by Martin's father the morning after the shooting. In the calls, Mr. Martin expressed worry that his son had not returned home, and inquired about filing a missing person report.[51] Additional discovery released was a report containing the results of Zimmerman's voice stress test,[52] and Zimmerman's account of the events and written statements.[53] The defense also released audio and video recordings of Zimmerman's police interviews and re-enactment following the shooting.[54]

In July, 2012, evidence released was; FBI interviews with people involved in the case, including Sanford police officers, family, friends and associates of Zimmerman. Also released were photos of Martin's bloodied sweatshirt and hoodie with a single bullet hole and several phone calls made by Zimmerman to Sanford police to report suspicious activity in the six months leading up to his encounter with Martin.[55]

In August, 2012, the State's 6th Supplemental Discovery, included 76 pages containing the audio statement from witness 31, three photos taken by witness 13 at the scene showing the back of Zimmerman's head, a flashlight on the ground, the FDLE report with analyst's notes, emails from the Sanford Police Department, copies of Tracy Martin's 911 call reporting his son missing and Zimmerman's Seminole County Sheriff's Office Academy application.[56]

In September, 2012, the DNA report on the gun used in the shooting was released with only Zimmerman's DNA being found on the gun, no trace of Martin's.[57][58][Note 2]

On December 3, 2012, defense attorney Mark O'Mara stated that he was "frustrated" that in the original discovery, a grainy black and white photo of Zimmerman had been substituted for the original color photo of Zimmerman's bloody nose. Criminal attorney David Wohl said the submission of the copy "borders on prosecutorial misconduct".[59]

Removal of Judge Lester

In July, 2012, Zimmerman's lawyer filed a motion to disqualify Judge Kenneth R. Lester. O'Mara said Judge Lester had made disparaging and gratuitous remarks about his client in a July, 2012 bond order. The defense said the judge's statement that he believed Zimmerman had misled the court at his first hearing "indicates bias against the party", and would impact Zimmerman's ability to get a fair trial.[60][61] The state criticized the motion for citing "facts that are inaccurate, misleading and/or incomplete".[62]

On August 1, Judge Lester ruled that he would not recuse himself, stating that the defendant's motion was denied for being legally insufficient.[63] Zimmerman's attorney filed an appeal in August, 2012, with a Florida appeals court to reconsider a ruling by Judge Lester refusing to step down from the case.[64] On August 29, 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeals granted the petition for a new judge for Zimmerman. This was the second judge to be removed from Zimmerman's case. Judge Jessica Recksiedler removed herself from the case in April because of a conflict of interest.[15] On August 30, 2012, Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson, who has been on the bench for 13 years, was assigned the Zimmerman case.

Jury

Jury selection is scheduled for June 10, 2013, with 500 potential jurors being summoned.[65][66] The defense have asked for an Anonymous jury, where the identity of the jury would be revealed to the prosecution and defense, but not released to the public or media. [67] In the motion, the defense said that "[jurors] may be subject to rebuke and possible retribution, should the verdict not comport with certain factions' desires in this matter"[68]

May 5th, pre-trial motions and decisions

Judge Nelson ruled on May 5, 2013 on several motions from the prosecution and defense. She denied the defense motion to delay the trial for six weeks, and ruled that Martin's school records, history of marijuana use, fights, and photos and text from the teens phone should not be mentioned during the trial. The judge did say she may change her mind during the trial if the subjects become relevant. [69][70][71]

The judge also ruled that the case will use an anonymous jury, but that the jury will not be sequestered. The judge declined to implement a gag order against the lawyers for the case, that was requested by the prosecution.

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Audio technicians Tom Owen and Edward Primeau concluded that the screams were not Zimmerman's.[46] James Ryan and Alan Reich, independent experts retained by The Washington Post, varied in their interpretations of the audio on the phone recordings.[50]
  2. ^ See Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Laboratory Report, March 26, 2012.


References

  1. ^ Colby, Edward; Hamacher, Brian; Emmanuel, Lisa (April 12, 2012). "George Zimmerman Charged With Second-Degree Murder". NBC Miami (online). Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder". CNN. April 11, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  3. ^ "Seminole County Criminal Information – Issue Capias" (PDF). Angela B. Corey, State Attorney. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Gray, Madison (March 29, 2012). "Police initially wanted to make arrest in Trayvon Martin case". Time.com. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Wolfinger 'outraged' over allegations in letter from Trayvon Martin's parents". Floridatoday.com. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Lee, Trymaine (March 22, 2012). "Trayvon Martin Case: State Attorney Quits Investigation As State Studies 'Stand Your Ground' Law". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  7. ^ "Governor Rick Scott Announces New State Attorney and Task Force in Response to Trayvon Martin Incident". flgov.com. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  8. ^ Olorunnipa, Toluse (March 28, 2012). "Tough Minded Prosecutor In Spotlight On Trayvon Martin Case". The Miami Herald. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[dead link]
  9. ^ Stutzman, Rene (25 March 2012). "Trayvon Martin special prosecutor wastes no time in launching case review". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Interactive, Inc. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  10. ^ "2010 Director's Community Leadership Awards". FBI.gov. U.S. government, U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  11. ^ Dimond, Diane (12 Apr 2012). "Mark O'Mara: George Zimmerman's New Lawyer". The Daily Beast. The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  12. ^ "Affidavit says Zimmerman 'profiled' Martin, p. 4". CNN. April 12, 2012. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help); |first= missing |last= (help)
  13. ^ Stutzman, Rene (31 May 2012). "George Zimmerman's legal team adds murder specialist Don West". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Interactive, Inc. Retrieved 2012-10-19. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Weiner, Jeff, Stutzman, Rene (August 29, 2012). "Appeal court: Lester is out". Orlando Sentinel.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b "Appeals court grants George Zimmerman new judge". WFTV Channel 9 Orlando. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Judge Disqualifies Herself From George Zimmerman Case". CNN. April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  17. ^ Stutzman, Rene; Hernandez, Arelis R. (April 12, 2012). "George Zimmerman charged". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  18. ^ Alcindor, Yamiche (April 12, 2012). "Zimmerman held pending arraignment in Trayvon shooting". USA Today. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  19. ^ "Trayvon's mom clarifies 'accident' statement, calling Zimmerman a murderer". Orlando Sentinel. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  20. ^ "Fair Trial For Zimmerman Unlikely On Home Turf say Legal Experts". Fox News. April 16, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  21. ^ "Zimmerman Wants New Judge in Trayvon Martin Shooting Case; Cites Possible Conflict of Interest". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2012.[dead link]
  22. ^ a b "Florida city doesn't accept resignation of police chief in Trayvon Martin case". CNN. April 24, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  23. ^ "George Zimmerman's bail set at $150,000". CBS News. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  24. ^ "Zimmerman apologizes as judge sets $150,000 bond". CNN. July 29, 1998. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  25. ^ "Zimmerman apologizes for shooting; gets $150K bail". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  26. ^ Stutzman and Hernández, Rene and Arelis R. (9 August 2012). "George Zimmerman defense team will seek 'Stand-your-ground law' hearing". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  27. ^ Schneider, Mike (October 29, 2012). "Fla. judge denies gag order in Trayvon Martin case". Associated Press.
  28. ^ Crimesider Staff (October 30, 2012). "Trayvon Martin Case: Judge denies state motion for gag order on George Zimmerman's attorney". CBS News.
  29. ^ "Zimmerman's lawyer wants Trayvon Martin's tweets". Central Florida News 13. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  30. ^ "State's Response to Defendant's Notice of Production" (PDF). Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Courts. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  31. ^ "George Zimmerman's attorneys can examine Trayvon Martin's school, social media records". Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  32. ^ Evans and Kavanagh, Amanda and Margaret. "Zimmerman judge allows access to Trayvon Martin's records". Central Florida News 13. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  33. ^ a b Alcindor, Yamiche. "Trayvon Martin's postings, school records spark court debate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  34. ^ Stutzman, Rene (18 Jan 2013). "Zimmerman attorneys: We want ABC News notes, audio". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  35. ^ "George Zimmerman: Lawyer asks for evidence from ABC". CFN13. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  36. ^ a b CNN Wire Staff (Fri June 1, 2012). "Judge revokes Zimmerman's bond". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2012. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ George Zimmerman wife arrested: George Zimmerman's wife arrested, charged with perjury - Orlando Sentinel
  38. ^ Judge revokes bail for George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin case - U.S. News
  39. ^ "Bond revoked, Zimmerman returns to Fla. jail". Maine Sunday Telegram. Associated Press. June 3, 2012.
  40. ^ Jennifer Kay, "Zimmerman in jail after bond revoked", Yahoo! News, Associated Press, June 4, 2012.
  41. ^ "Zimmerman Does not Properly Respect the Law says Judge". West Orlando News Online. June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  42. ^ Stutzman, Rene; Weiner, Jeff (June 18, 2012). "George Zimmerman jail calls: Soon, you can listen to what he told his wife". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  43. ^ Hightower, Kyle (2012-06-29). "Judge Weighing Whether to Set A Bond for George Zimmerman". TheLedger.com. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  44. ^ Mike Schneider, "George Zimmerman Bail: Judge Sets Trayvon Martin Shooter's Bond At $1 Million", Associated Press, 5 Jul 2012.
  45. ^ "Zimmerman released from jail". CNN. July 6, 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  46. ^ a b c "Zimmerman prosecutor's release evidence list". CNN. December 15, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  47. ^ a b "Defense has discovery in neighborhood watch case". Fox News. Associated Press. May 14, 2012.
  48. ^ Arian Campo-Flores, Cameron McWhirter (May 18, 2012). "Evidence Released in Florida Killing". The Wall Street Journal.
  49. ^ "Ballistics, prints point to White House shooting suspect, prosecutors say". CNN. December 15, 2011.
  50. ^ McCrummen, Stephanie; Horwitz, Sari (May 22, 2012). "Trayvon Martin case 911 call: Two experts reach two very different conclusions". The Washington Post.
  51. ^ ".Police release calls from Trayvon Martin's father". WESH TV Orlando. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  52. ^ "George Zimmerman Passed Police Lie Detector Test Day After Trayvon Martin Killing". The Smoking Gun. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  53. ^ "New George Zimmerman evidence released Tuesday". WKMG TV Channel 6. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  54. ^ Hayes, Ashley (June 21, 2012). "George Zimmerman: Trayvon Martin threatened my life". CNN. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  55. ^ "More evidence released in case against George Zimmerman". WESH Channel 2 Orlando. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  56. ^ "Pictures, audio released in case against George Zimmerman". WKMG Channel 6 Orlando. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  57. ^ Crimesider Staff (19 Sep 2012). "Trayvon Martin's DNA not found on George Zimmerman's gun, forensic tests say". Crimesider. CBS News. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  58. ^ Muskal, Michael (September 18, 2012). "George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin: Results of DNA tests released". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  59. ^ "Lawyer for George Zimmerman 'frustrated' at prosecutors' withholding of graphic photo".
  60. ^ "George Zimmerman seeks new judge in murder case". WKMG Channel 6 Orlando. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  61. ^ "Zimmerman Attorney Makes Motion To Disqualify Judge". Think Progress. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  62. ^ Seiger, Theresa. "State attorney says Zimmerman using court filings to sway media". WBTV. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  63. ^ "Judge to stay on in George Zimmerman case". WKMG TV Channel 6 Orlando. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  64. ^ Liston, Barbara. "Trayvon Martin killer makes another appeal for a new judge". Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  65. ^ Stutzman, Rene. "Judge denies George Zimmermans request to delay stand your ground hearing". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  66. ^ Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/george-zimmerman-trial-date-set-june-10-2013_n_1973469.html%7Caccessdate=December 7, 2012
  67. ^ http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/5/10/george_zimmerman_def.html
  68. ^ http://www.gzdocs.com/documents/0513/mot_for_anonymous_jury.pdf
  69. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/05/28/trayvon-martin-testimony-trial/2365367/
  70. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/28/prosecutors-zimmerman-attorneys-due-in-court/
  71. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/28/us-usa-florida-shooting-idUSBRE94R03G20130528
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