The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman: The Trial

Both sides emphasized it was extremely dark in that area, so it was difficult for any bystander
or witness to see what was going on if they were more than about three or four feet away--and no one was that close.

Zimmerman knew how dark it was--that's why he said he needed flashlights.
He knew that fight, and how it started, could not have been clearly seen by anyone.

But I think that Zimmerman told the police that he was reaching for his cell phone, as Martin came toward him, to conceal the fact he had actually reached for his gun, just in case he had been seen moving his arm toward his gun. I think he had that gun out throughout the fight

--he had it holstered in the back, and there would have been no way for him to reach it and pull it out once Martin was on top of him.

But, had Zimmerman told police the gun was out,
and that the entire fight was a struggle for the gun,
he would have faced 10 years for brandishing a weapon under Florida law.

Since he knew the police were coming he should have let them handle it
rather than worrying about the "punks always getting away."

My question was whether u heard O' Mara offer that argument to the jury or not.

U believe that Travon was brave enuf
to aggressively march up to someone holding a gun,
to smack him in the face when he was already pointing his gun at Travon

The regulations under which the neighborhood watch was organized said volunteers were not to casrry guns, and volunteers were to WATCH (which is why it was called a neighborhood WATCH) they were to notify police and let them handle it.

MontereyJack wrote:

The regulations under which the neighborhood watch was organized said volunteers were not to casrry guns, and volunteers were to WATCH (which is why it was called a neighborhood WATCH) they were to notify police and let them handle it. They were NOT to involve themselves. Zimmerman broke the two cardinal rules of the organization he was supposed to uphold. He chased Trayvon. That's vigilantism.

When you say that he chased Trayvon, what do you mean?

Quote:

the claims that he lied about funds are overblown....

They aren't just "claims" and there is nothing "overblown" about this. There is substantial evidence that both Zimmerman and his wife moved their assets between accounts in order to conceal them from his lawyer and the court so he would appear indigent....

MontereyJack wrote:

David says:

Quote:

He looked like he was casing the naborhood, in the rain, 17 or not.

Trayvon had done no crime,

Yes, not yet,
but Zimmy had the right to look at him and to call the police anyway.

MontereyJack wrote:

he was not responsible for ANYTHING that Zimmerman profiled him for. You're right in one thing, though, David.
Trayvon should have been armed, and he should have shot Zimmerman first because he wass clearly justified in his fear of him.

That is irrational.
Zimmy followed, peacefully; that is perfectly lawful and moral.
There is no new law against following; (that 'd be hard to enforce in NY).

MontereyJack wrote:

It's unfortunate that the agressive, mistaken Zimmerman had the only gun,
becuaswe he ws clearly wrong all the way down the line.

Let 's turn that around, shall we, Jack
for the full benefit of your wisdom?????
Henceforth, when we whites see blacks behind us
and we think that maybe thay r approaching to mug us,
then we shud pre-emptively open up on them with heavy duty firepower??

Is that what u advise me to do from now on ?????





David

At her husband's April 20 bond hearing, Shellie Zimmerman was asked whether the couple had financial means to assist in the defense.

"Uhm, not -- not that I'm aware of," she replied, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Monday.

She also testified under oath she was not aware of how much had been raised from a website soliciting cash for George Zimmerman's defense in the February shooting death of Trayvon Martin, 17, in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman said he acted in self-defense.


In April, Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder after the case was referred to a state attorney for a review. He was released from custody later that month after posting bail.

On June 1, Seminole County Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. ordered Zimmerman back to jail, accusing the suspect of not being truthful about how much money he had access to when his bond was set.

Prosecutors alleged that George Zimmerman, 28, actually had about $135,000.

According to the affidavit, prepared by an investigator with the State Attorney's office, the Zimmermans discussed finances via phone before the April 20 bond hearing.

Those talks included the transfer of money from George Zimmerman's account to accounts of his sister and wife, according to the affidavit.

Records show $47,000 was transferred from George Zimmerman's account to his sister's account from April 16 and 17, authorities allege. Shellie Zimmerman transferred more than $74,000 from her husband's account to her account from April 16 to April 19, the affidavit states.

George Zimmerman asked his wife in jail calls to "pay off all the bills," including an American Express bill and a Sam's Club card, prosecutors allege.

On April 24, after his release on bond, Shellie Zimmerman transferred more than $85,500 from her account back to George Zimmerman's account, according to the affidavit.

Shellie Zimmerman will be arraigned July 31.

Prosecutors have alleged the Zimmermans spoke in code when discussing the money in a credit union account, according to court documents filed by State Attorney Angela B. Corey.

Zimmerman "fully controlled and participated in the transfer of money from the PayPal account to defendant and his wife's credit union accounts," Corey said in court records. "This occurred prior to the time defendant was arguing to the court that he was indigent and his wife had no money."

The judge "relied on false representations and statements" by Zimmerman and his wife when the court set his bond at $150,000, Corey said. Zimmerman was required to post only 10% of that.

Defense lawyers have argued that "the vast majority of the funds in question are in an independently managed trust" that Zimmerman and his attorneys cannot access directly.

"The audio recordings of Mr. Zimmerman's phone conversation while in jail make it clear that Mr. Zimmerman knew a significant sum had been raised by his original fundraising website," attorneys said last week. "We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust and confusion. The gravity of this mistake has been distinctly illustrated, and Mr. Zimmerman understands that this mistake has undermined his credibility, which he will have to work to repair."

The attorneys said Zimmerman did disclose the existence of the funds five days after the bond hearing, during his first conversation with the defense about the fund. "When the defense team learned of the funds, we disclosed this to the court and to the State Attorney's Office, and the money was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund, which is now independently managed," the defense said.

Of the $204,000 raised by the website, about $150,000 is now in the defense fund and $30,000 was used "to make the complicated transition from private life in Sanford, Florida, to a life in hiding as a defendant in a high-profile court case."

The remainder, about $20,000, "was kept liquid to provide living expenses for the first several months as the legal process unfolds," attorneys said.

wo more hurdles for Zimmerman. I read a piece that the DOJ was "concerned with the lack of a vigorous and well explained prosecution" that they are studying the evidence to see whether Zimmerman should or hould not be tried under Federal civil rights statutes.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department says it is looking into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that George Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case.

The department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.

In a statement Sunday, the Justice Department said the criminal section of the civil rights division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office for the Middle District of Florida are continuing to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal probe, in addition to the evidence and testimony from the state trial.

The statement said that, in the government's words, "experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation."

Judge delays Shellie Zimmerman’s trial until after George's
By Jeff Allen, Reporter
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

SANFORD -- The attorney for George Zimmerman’s wife was back in court Wednesday.

However, Shellie Zimmerman’s case will not head to trial until after George’s second-degree murder trial.

Shellie waived her right to appear in court. She did show up in court back in February when her attorney, Kelly Sims, tried to get her perjury charge dropped. But the judge refused to dismiss the case.

A state attorney charged Shellie with perjury after accusing her of lying about how much money the couple had, during a bond hearing for George in 2012.

Sims continues to argue the special prosecutor appointed to the Zimmerman case doesn’t have jurisdiction to charge Shellie with perjury, but the judge continues to push her case to trial.

Shellie’s attorney said he is conducting several depositions at the courthouse with witnesses in his client’s case, including bankers who are expected to testify when the case goes to trial.
http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/4/17/judge_delays_shellie.html

Actually they dropped it after the state filed charges.