The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman: The Trial

as in this was wrong legal advise, she was trespassing, and George had good reason to be pissed off about it. I am usually right.

•Shellie Zimmerman said that during the argument, George “reached his hand into his shirt to what she assumed was a gun.” She said he told her father, “Step closer,” and he responded, “What are you going to do, shoot me?”

•A witness, identified in the report as Eugene Johnson, told police he saw George Zimmerman “very aggressively” reach for what he thought was a gun and tell his father-in-law, “Come towards me, you are threatening me.” However, he did not actually see a gun.

Police said no gun was found on George Zimmerman and his wife and other witnesses later said they had not actually seen a firearm.

Home security video released by police shows George Zimmerman's estranged wife, Shellie, recording George with an iPad. Authorities say footage retrieved from the damaged device could affect whether charges are filed in a reported domestic dispute between the pair. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

The woman who was with George Zimmerman told police there were licensed guns in the car — but police have said they had no probable cause to search the vehicle.

At the press conference, Sims said Shellie Zimmerman had seen an empty package for a cross-body holster inside the house and assumed her husband was carrying a concealed weapon and was gesturing toward it as he made threatening comments.

"Shellie had a valid reason why she believed George was armed," said Sims.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/11/20439053-shellie-zimmerman-lawyer-she-believed-george-was-armed?lite

I do not think that Zimmerman slug his father in law in the face however.

and the domestic laws was written not to cover child abused or conflicts between a man and his father in law but mainly partners violence.

Your boy George lost his temper again like he has done many times before and hauled off and punched his father in law

3) “Family or household member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.

Quote:

Your boy George lost his temper again like he has done many times before and hauled off and punched his father in law

Zero proof of that but dream on.

georges story is that dad bull rushed him and that soon to be ex hit him in the back with the iwhatever.....

georges story is that dad bull rushed him and that soon to be ex hit him in the back with the iwhatever

My bet is that the wife is far more at risk of being charge if they can get that Ipad working then Zimmerman is.

During the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman can be heard telling the dispatcher that George Zimmerman was in his car with his hand on his gun “threatening all of us.”

“I don’t know what he’s capable of,” she said later. “I’m really, really scared.”

She later updated her story, telling police she never definitively saw a gun, and police said they never found one. George Zimmerman’s lawyer told reporters Monday that he did have a gun but “never took the weapon out.”

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Shellie Zimmerman’s lawyer Kelly Sims explained why she had “a valid reason why she believed George was armed” that day, pointing out that he wore his shirt differently than she was accustomed to, and that she’d seen packaging for a new holster.

“Anybody in the world that knows their husband’s always armed, has his shirt worn differently, has a brand new holster, where this would be where he is placing his hand, and he’s inviting some trouble, would know he’s probably armed,” Sims said. “You don’t want to take a chance. But add into that equation your husband happens to be named George Zimmerman. And what do you do?”

According to Sims account, the altercation occurred when George arrived at the home from which Shellie was retrieving some of her belongings, after he had agreed to stay away during that time.

Sims spoke about how Shellie felt as if her relationship with her husband was deteriorating even before the Trayvon Martin case, but that the relief and improvement she had hoped for in the wake of the not-guilty verdict never came. He also said that George Zimmerman had spent only three or four days in at “the marital home” since the trial ended.

Sims said his client wanted to get her side of the story out for the “world court” to see, but confirmed she still has no interest in pressing charges over the incident.

“The only thing that Shellie wants out of this ending of this relationship is it for end with a whimper, and not a bang,” he said. “That’s what she wants. She does not want there to be this kind of drama.”

“Shellie’s desire is to stay as far away from him as she can for the rest of her days. She wants to stay away as long and as far as she can from George,” Sims said later. “And hopefully he feels the same way about her. That’s why people get divorced. They don’t want to hang out.”

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/09/11/zimmerman-wont-be-charged-anytime-soon-say-cops/

If what you, Bill and George say is true, why was George the one detained instead of Shellie and her dad? The charges were dropped because Shellie dropped them.

george was taking out his anger at being attacked on the weapon he was attacked with (film also shows that she hit him with it

why was George the one detained instead of Shellie and her dad?

He knew he wasn’t supposed to be there,” attorney Kelly Sims said, referring to George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin in July.

Shellie Zimmerman, who filed for divorce from her husband last week, called 911 Monday afternoon from the house they’d shared in Lake Mary, Florida, during the run-in.

“He’s in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun saying ‘step closer' and he’s going to shoot us,” she told the dispatcher. Shellie Zimmerman also told police her husband smashed her iPad during the dispute, that he’d punched her father in the nose and that he had a knife.

Police arrived at the scene and investigated Monday, but at the time both Shellie Zimmerman and her father refused to press charges against her husband.

Shellie Zimmerman did not speak at Wednesday’s conference, but Sims said she’d gone to the Lake Mary home -- which is owned by her father -- on Saturday to get her belongings. However, Sims said she couldn’t get everything at that time, so she sent a text message to George Zimmerman saying she would go by on Monday to get the rest.

According to Sims, George Zimmerman told his wife via text message that he wouldn’t be at the house Monday when she stopped by. Sims said they were coordinating in order to avoid each other -- and a potential argument.

“George said ‘Call me when you are done,’” Sims said at the press conference.

But when she arrived at the home in Lake Mary, Sims said, George Zimmerman was there. Sims said that Shellie Zimmerman then called him, and he advised her to start videotaping the incident and to tell George Zimmerman loudly that she was recording him.

At Wednesday’s conference, Sims went on to read through a list of e-mails and text messages between Shellie and George Zimmerman, which allegedly show them coordinating Shellie Zimmerman’s visits to their home.

Sims also addressed Shellie Zimmerman’s assertion on the 911 call that there was a gun present. He said that she had a valid reason to believe George Zimmerman was armed.

“You know your husband. You know he always carries a gun,” Sims said.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/09/11/jvm-shellie-zimmerman-press-conference

You have a really inaccurate sense of what happens in cases of alleged domestic violence. There are far fewer arrests than the evidence at the time would seem to warrant.

http://www.shestokas.com/general-law/criminal-law/the-role-of-law-enforcement-in-domestic-battery-and-domestic-violence/


A domestic battery is a battery involving family or household members. Family or household members[1] are related by blood or marriage, former marriage, share or have shared a home, are dating or have dated, have a child in common and people with disabilities and their personal assistants.
A battery is an intentional, harmful or offensive unpermitted touching of another person. A battery takes place when one person touches another on purpose and without permission. A domestic battery is the unconsented touching of one family member by another.
A husband may be arrested for domestic battery for barely touching his wife. Barely touching your spouse, in a manner that she does not permit, is a battery. In many states a husband charged with misdemeanor domestic battery may be sentenced to jail for up to a year. If the battery has serious injuries or there are repeated offenses there may be felony charges, with possibly years in prison.
Police Action in Domestic Violence Situations
Family arguments can escalate to dangerous levels and lead to a 911 call. Often, the caller hopes the police will intervene to calm down the situation. Police officers are not counselors, or social workers, and should not be employed as such.
Police arriving at the scene of an alleged domestic battery cannot know how volatile the situation is at that moment, or was prior to their arrival. The officers have standard procedures to follow: separating the parties, conducting interviews, observing the scene, checking for injuries, providing information specific to domestic violence and more. However, nearly always someone will be arrested.
Police are not Mediators or Counselors
Police officers cannot know what may happen if they leave the parties together. A situation may have cooled down during the time it takes for a 911 response. The officers have only one real power, the power to arrest. The only way police can be certain the parties will be safe when the police are no longer present is to arrest one of them.
It is unwise to expect the police to arrive and act as mediators or counselors. Someone will be arrested. No officer wants to leave the parties together only to be called back later to find something worse has taken place.
The argument between family members now moves to a new location, the courtroom. One of them is now a criminal defendant.
Court Action in Domestic Violence Cases
Most state prosecutors have attorneys that specialize in cases involving domestic relationships. Though the relationship of the parties alters the dynamics of the case, the technical legal process for a domestic battery is no different than any other criminal case. The party charged with domtestic violence must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The person who called the police, because she was a victim, often believes that if she wishes the case to be dismissed, then it will be. That is not the situation. Once it gets to a courtroom, the case belongs to the prosecutor. The party arrested is in need of a criminal defense attorney. His fate is in the hands of the judge.
Prosecutors and Judges are not Social Workers
The title of the case in the courtroom is “People of the State versus Defendant”. Whether the case goes forward is the prosecutor’s decision. The prosecutor is in the same position as the police officer. He is neither counselor nor mediator. His job is to seek justice for criminal activity. No prosecutor wants to dismiss a case at the request of the victim, only to have another, perhaps worse, event take place in the future. Thinking the prosecutor’s role is to intervene to make things better in a home situation that has become violent is a mistake.
Once in court an alleged victim may regret having her significant other being a criminal defendant. Victims often hope their partner will get counseling to avoid future problems. They are seeking help. In many instances the judge can and does order such counseling. The orders come at a price.
Generally, the only way a judge has power to order counseling for issues like domestic violence, substance abuse or anger management is if someone has been found guilty of a crime. The result provides the counseling, but at the price of a criminal conviction. Judges are not counselors or social workers either.
Get Counseling Before Getting Arrested
If there appears to be a potential for violence in a relationship between people who care about each other, they should try and resolve the matter before it becomes a criminal case. Neither the police, nor state’s attorneys nor judges are geared to be social workers or counselors. Though none wish ill to a family, they have specific jobs to do.
Law enforcement professionals must work with the tools that they are given. The tools are those of coercive state power. It is important to understand the roles and limitations of those in the legal system.
It is better for the parties to work things out if they can, and get counseling before someone winds up in jail, which will forever alter everyone’s life. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence can provide contact information for local resources. Since there are many more female victims than male victims of domestic violence, resources for women predominate. The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women has resources for both sexes.
There is value in an appreciation of the roles of those in the criminal justice system, but in an emergency, there should be no hesitation to dial 911.

[1] The definitions of “family member” or “household member” are found in a state’s domestic violence statute, and do vary between the states. For examples, see 720 ILCS 5/12-0.1 in Illinois or in Florida at F.S. 741.28.
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- See more at: http://www.shestokas.com/general-law/criminal-law/the-role-of-law-enforcement-in-domestic-battery-and-domestic-violence/#sthash.nCCEAIBK.dpuf

Let the courts and the prosecutors figure it out and cover our asses at the same time is the normal procedure of the police in the state of Florida.

Hell I had a female friend who was arrested with her then husband both being charge with domestic violence at the same time and both being taken off to Dade County jail.