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Zimmerman defense lawyers won't argue 'stand-your-ground' in Florida shooting case

ORLANDO, Florida – The attorney for the man who shot and killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said Monday he'll seek to get the case dismissed using a traditional self-defense argument and not the state's "stand your ground" statute.

Mark O'Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a second-degree murder charge in the fatal February shooting, said the traditional self-defense approach is appropriate because the facts suggest his client couldn't retreat from a beating Martin was giving him.

Zimmerman's attorneys had said last week that they would use Florida's controverial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force -- rather than retreat -- if they believe their lives are in danger.

"The facts don't seem to support a `stand your ground' defense," O'Mara said.
-------

With much of the administrative aspects of the case already completed, O'Mara said that they are ready to begin setting up depositions for the state's witness list. Specific dates for those to begin are still being determined, however.

O'Mara said they have seen about 80 to 90 percent of the state's evidence in the case and that they would start the deposition process with the first responders to the shooting.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/1...-shooting-case/?intcmp=trending#ixzz23URq1s6z
 
ORLANDO, Fla. -

George Zimmerman says in an appeal that the judge presiding over his murder trial has made disparaging remarks about him.

The former neighborhood watch leader says in an appeal filed Tuesday that he fears Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester is biased against him and he wants a new judge to preside over his case.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/central-fl...16108358/-/ve2ao1z/-/index.html#ixzz23ZVdz1ST
 
The Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach today ruled that second-degree murder suspect George Zimmerman deserves a new judge.

A three-judge panel voted 2-1 that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. in Sanford went too far when, among other things, he wrote that Zimmerman is a manipulator.

"… this is admittedly a close call," wrote Judge C. Alan Lawson, but Lester's actions, taken in total, meet the legal standard requiring him to step aside.

A second judge, Jay Cohen, agreed. The third panel member, Kerry Evander, disagreed.

Evander wrote, "Although the trial court's order clearly manifested an exceedingly strong belief by the trial judge that Zimmerman had 'flouted' and 'tried to manipulate' the system, I do not believe the order 'crossed the line' so as to require the granting of his motion.'

(snip)

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mark-o-mara
 
By Graham Winch
updated 7:14 PM EDT, Wed August 29, 2012
Zimmerman thanks supporters in new web video


What does Zimmerman’s body language reveal?





A Florida appeals court granted a request by George Zimmerman’s attorneys to have a new judge hear the case.
The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach, Florida, ruled Wednesday that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester should recuse himself from the case.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the appellate court decision says, "Although many of the allegations in Zimmerman's motion [for a new judge], standing alone, do not meet the legal sufficiency test, and while this is admittedly a close call, upon careful review we find that the allegations, taken together, meet the threshold test of legal sufficiency,"
The three-judge panel is requiring Lester to "enter an order of disqualification which requests the chief circuit judge to appoint a successor judge."
A new judge has not been assigned to the case yet. more at link: http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/08/29/new-judge-will-be-assigned-zimmerman-trial?hpt=hln10_4
 
George Zimmerman's new judge: Debra S. Nelson

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mark-o-mara

Debra S. Nelson, the new judge assigned to George Zimmerman's case on Thursday, is a 13-year judicial veteran who has a reputation for working hard, being ambitious and imposing long prison terms...........

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara has said he would likely schedule that hearing next year.

"It will take a tremendous amount of judicial courage at this point to throw the case out following an immunity hearing," said Winter Park criminal defense attorney David Faulkner. "My guess is that any judge, Judge Nelson or otherwise, is going to let a jury decide this issue for the benefit of the public."

Bill Sheaffer, legal analyst for WFTV-Channel 9, described Nelson as "very hard-working and smart" but also pro-prosecution.

"She's conservative," he said. "I'm not so sure the defense has done themselves much good by Lester stepping aside and Nelson stepping in."


More at link....
 
George Zimmerman defense wants Trayvon Martin school records

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...1_trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-mark-o-mara

After months of defending George Zimmerman and reacting to state-gathered records, his lawyers late this week shifted gear and formally began their hunt for evidence about Trayvon Martin, the teenager he killed.

Their first target is Trayvon's school records, which include damaging information about the Miami Gardens teen.

On Thursday, Zimmerman's lawyers issued several subpoenas, asking for disciplinary records, attendance records and test scores dating back to middle school. Defense lawyer Mark O'Mara indicated in a blog post Friday that he also will likely soon ask for what Trayvon wrote and posted on social media sites.............

"I believe it's O'Mara doing what any good defense attorney does, and that's called fishing," said Bill Sheaffer, WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst. "You throw a thousand stones in the sea and hope that one hits a fish."

Martin family attorney Ben Crump described the defense team's actions as a "witch hunt to try to assault [Trayvon's] character."

"None of those things that are being subpoenaed is relevant to why Zimmerman profiled and pursued Trayvon and shot him in the heart," Crump told the Orlando Sentinel.

O'Mara may not get his hands on the school records, said Orlando attorney Richard Hornsby, because defense records subpoenas require court approval. He predicted both the state and Martin family would object.............

More at link....
 
George Zimmerman’s defense lawyers will subpoena Facebook, Twitter and Miami-Dade schools in a widespread pursuit of clues to suggest that Trayvon Martin could have thrown the first punch on the night he was killed, a sign that attorneys are going into attack mode in preparation for their case.

A series of notices were sent last week to Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the principals of the schools Trayvon attended, advising that subpoenas for copies of the slain teen’s academic and attendance records would be issued in 10 days’ time.

Similar warnings are expected to be sent this week to the popular social networking sites where Trayvon maintained accounts, defense attorney   Mark O’Mara said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/09/2994307/zimmerman-defense-looking-for.html#storylink=cpy
 
People came lugging photographs of slain relatives and telling gut-wrenching stories of unpunished deaths or wrongful convictions.

They’ve written some 8,000 emails and letters, many penned by hand, telling the Florida Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection a thing or two about the state’s self-defense law. One letter came from a first grader. More than 500 have called in by phone, with a majority — almost 80 percent — voicing support for the law dubbed “shoot first.”

Nearly seven months after the death of Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin, thousands of people around the state, country and even abroad have offered feedback to Florida’s Stand Your Ground task force, the panel appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to examine the controversial self defense law. About 100 have done so in person.

The group held its first Miami-Dade meeting in Cutler Bay Thursday, where the few task force members who spoke up largely displayed an unwavering commitment to the law’s principles.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/13/3001376/local-activists-and-families-urge.html#storylink=cpy
 
State moves to suspend Shellie Zimmerman's concealed weapons permit

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...lie-zimmerman-george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin

The state has published notice that it is on the verge of suspending Shellie Zimmerman's concealed weapons permit.............

It is taking that action after Special Prosecutor Angela Corey charged her with perjury, a felony, something that allows the state to temporarily yank her gun permit.

If convicted, she could lose it permanently.

Shellie Zimmerman, 25, is accused of lying to a judge when she testified at her husband's first bond hearing April 20 that the family was broke. In reality, she and her husband had $130,000 that they had been shifting from account to account for several days, usually in $9,990 increments.


More at link......
 
Another round of evidence was released Wednesday in the second-degree murder case against George Zimmerman, including forensic tests that show Zimmerman's DNA was the only one that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster. The tests were inconclusive as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49088862
 
Tests only identify Zimmerman's DNA on handgun

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<DA1CTN800@news.ap.org>&ps=931

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

More at link.....
 
Tests only identify Zimmerman's DNA on handgun

By MIKE SCHNEIDER | Associated Press September 19, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

more.....
 
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