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Just FYI, Day 4 of jury selection has just kicked into gear. Our live, all-day coverage can be found at Legal Insurrection here, if you're interested in following along.

 

We'll also be doing our usual end-of-day summary of events. I'll drop a brief note when that's up, for folks who are interested.

 

Andrew

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Hey, your last post was 8 hours ago.....come on slacker!

 

JK

 

Sorry, court's still in session, and when that happens I'm hard at work. I can occasionally post small comments on a blog (but there haven't been any posts here by others to respond to), but lengthy updates have to wait until end-of day.

 

Hopefully by 7PM I'll have the detailed wrap-up of the day post live. Lots of interesting stuff again, today, including the Judge's announcement that--despite the fact that she denied the defense's earlier request that the jury be sequestered--she is going to in fact sequester the jury for the duration of the trial.

 

Ouch!

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

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Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Four Wrap-Up

 

Hey folks,

 

I just posted up the wrap-up for day four of jury selection in the Zimmerman case.

 

There were two notable events of the day.

 

The first was Judge Nelson's decision to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial. This decision clearly caught some of the prospective jurors off guard, creating considerable hardship for more than a few. On the other hand, several jurors had expressed concerns about their safety if their anonymity was not preserved, one that she would feel like she had a bulls-eye on her back.

 

On a practical note, it's unclear to me how they truly expect to remain anonymous. From the national public, sure. But nobody can realistically disappear from family and work for a two to four weeks without explaining what's up. It would seem the fact that they were a juror would inevitably get out--but maybe not until after the burning was over.

 

The second notable event was the questioning of E81. She looked de la Rionda straight in the eye and said she believed that Zimmerman should just go home, and that he had acted in defense of himself. When asked if he was going to have to perform "magic" to get her to change her mind she essentially told him he'd just have to do his job--work hard to convince her otherwise. (He acknowledged that the burden of proof was, indeed, on the State.)

 

She knew a great deal about the case. She recalled seeing the picture from Trayvon's phone of the mairjuana, and that he had gotten into trouble a few times. She had seen video of him refereeing a street fight, for sport, and believed that he was training to be a street fighter. She thought he might have been looking for a reason to fight that evening, that Trayvon became aware that he was under observation by Martin and that Trayvon had been the aggressor in the conflict.

 

A firm believer in gun rights and CCW, E81 said that the more guns there were out there in the hands of law abiding people, the safer it was. SHe believed that everyone who was not a felon or mentally unsound should be allowed to carry a gun.

 

There's more on this wonderful young woman, but you'll have to click over to the full wrap-up report, right here at Legal Insurrection, to read the rest.

 

Tomorrow we do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day two of jury selection. Be sure to join us.

 

Best,

 

Andrew

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Hey folks,

Just FYI, Day 5 of jury selection has just kicked into gear. Our live, all-day coverage can be found at Legal Insurrection here, if you're interested in following along.

 

We'll also be doing our usual end-of-day summary of events. I'll drop a brief note when that's up, for folks who are interested.

 

Andrew

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ZIMMERMAN TRIAL: EVIDENTIARY FLASHBACK

 

From the March 3, 2012 FBI report of interview with Sanford Police Department Investigator Chris Serino:

 

Serino is concerned that many of the leaks in this case are coming from within the Sanford Police Department. He listed Sgt AUTHOR BARNS, REBECCA VILLENOVE (phonetic),and TREKELL PERKINS as all pressuring him to file charges against ZIMMERMAN after the incident. Serino did not believe he had enough evidence at the time to file charges. Serino also stated that Barns is friendly with TRACY MARTIN [Trayvon Martin's father].

 

Andrew

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ZIMMERMAN TRIAL: EVIDENTIARY FLASHBACK: Sanford PD Questioning of Zimmerman

 

I thought some of you might be interested in taking a look at some actual evidence--as opposed to speculation--from the Zimmerman case, so I've pulled together some "Evidentiary Flashbacks" to look at actual evidence that's been collected over the course of the investigation and discovery preparations for trial.

 

Below is a snippet from the transcript of the [CORRECTED DATE] February 27, 2012 (the day after the shooting) Sanford Police Department interview of George Zimmerman. In it Zimmerman describes to police investigators in his own words how and why he emerged from his vehicle, the circumstances of he he observed and then lost sight of Martin, and how Martin emerged from bushes in a darkened area of the complex and attacked Zimmerman--punching him in the hose, knocking him to the ground, and hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk.

 

The whole thing is way too long for a forum post, so I've put the longer version of this up on the Law of Self Defense blog, if you want to read it in greater length.

 

Here, however, is a particularly interesting segment:

 

George Zimmerman: I saw him coming at me and I went to grab my phone. I don’t remember if I had time to pull it out or not.

Investigator Singleton: Okay, you attempted to try to recall the –

George Zimmerman: To call the police.

Investigator Singleton: –to call the police, right.

George Zimmerman: 911 this time.

Investigator Singleton: Okay.

George Zimmerman: ‘Cause the first time I called non-emergency.

Investigator Singleton: But you’re not sure if you actually got it out of your pocket or not? Oh, okay and that’s when it was, that’s when he slugged you.

George Zimmerman: He just hit me, yeah.

Investigator Singleton: And what did he say before that? You said, he asked you like something about, I said, you got a problem?

George Zimmerman: He said, “You got a problem, homey?” and I said, “I don’t have a problem.” And he said, “Now you have a problem.”

Investigator Singleton: Okay.

George Zimmerman: And that’s when he hit me.

Investigator Singleton: And that’s he struck you in the nose first.

George Zimmerman: Yes, ma’am.

Investigator Singleton: And that’s what knocked you down?

George Zimmerman: Yes, ma’am.

Investigator Singleton: Okay. And, this is all, this is, you’re saying this is behind the buildings, though?

George Zimmerman: Yes, ma’am.

Investigator Singleton: How, is there, are you sure, is it a patio that he’s hitting ’cause you said he’s hitting your head on a sidewalk.

George Zimmerman: No, no, it’s the, it’s the sidewalk.

Investigator Singleton: There’s a sidewalk behind–

George Zimmerman: Yes ma’am.

Investigator Singleton: --the buildins?

George Zimmerman: It’s a dog walk.

Investigator Singleton: Okay. . . . the dog walk is, is cement.

George Zimmerman: Yes ma’am.

Investigator Singleton: Okay. Okay. Okay, so he’s hitting your head . . .

George Zimmerman: Yes, ma’am. As I went to sit up, then he grabbed me by the, the front of my head and started banging it into the–

Investigator Singleton: And that’s when you could look either to your left or right and you could see this guy? And you were saying help me?

George Zimmerman: I don’t remember. I screamed help me probably 50 times as loud as I could.

____________________________________

 

There's more here at the Law of Self Defense blog if you're interested.

 

It must be mentioned that Zimmerman's testimony could well simply be self-serving. It is, nevertheless, entirely legitimate evidence that the State must overcome, beyond a reasonable doubt, if they are to obtain a conviction.

 

Andrew

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Evidentiary Flashback: Zimmerman Recounts Fight for Life, the Day After

 

I was just reviewing the transcript of Zimmerman's questioning byInvestigator Singleton of the Sanford Police Department on February 27, 2012 (the day after the shooting,) and I was reminded of how absolutely chilling it is.

 

It's just words on paper, a police transcript, but you can feel the tension building line by line until the deadly climax, and then falling off. Zimmerman's responses start off as one or two words, usually just "Yes, ma'am," and then grow to a few words, longer sentences, then a couple of sentences . . .

 

. . . and then he describes in harrowing detail the fight for his life:

 

Zimmerman: I, it was dark. I didn’t even see him getting ready to punch me. As soon as he punched me, I fell backwards, um, into the grass and he grabbed me. He was wailing on my head and I, then, I started yelling help. When I started yelling help, he grabbed my head and he started hitting my head into the– I, I tried to sit up and I, and yell for help and then he grabbed my head and started hitting it into the sidewalk. Um, when he started doing that, I slid into the grass to try and get out from under him and so that he would stop hitting my head into the sidewalk and I’m still yelling for help. And, I could see people looking and some guy yells out, I’m calling 911 and I said, “Help me, help me. He’s killing me.” And he puts his hand on my nose and mouth and he says, “You’re gonna die tonight,” and I don’t remember much after that. I just remember, I couldn’t breath and then he still kept trying to hit my head against the pavement or I don’t know if there was a sign or what it was. So, I just, uh, when I slid, my jacket and my shirt came up and when he said, “You’re gonna die tonight,” I felt his hand go down on my side and I thought he was going for my firearm. So I grabbed it immediately and as he banged my head again, I just pulled out my firearm and shot him.

 

A few lines later he recalled:

 

Zimmerman: I didn't know what he was hitting [me with]. It felt like he was hitting me with bricks.

 

The content before and after this snippet is great stuff, too, but much too long to post here. If you want to see more, it's freely available at the Law of Self Defense blog.

 

Zimmerman’s own testimony can, of course, be seen as self-serving. Nevertheless, this is entirely legitimate evidence that the State must overcome if it is to prove Zimmerman guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of a crime in this case.

 

Andrew

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Prospective juror N18 sounds like a piece of work. Yeah the First Commandment states "Thou shalt not kill" but apparently he's never read the Old Testament (or Torah...same thing for all intents and purposes) since it makes a VERY clear distinction between murder (unjust taking of a life) and killing someone in war, self defense, etc. The New Testament also makes a clear distinction. So...he's never read the Bible yet he's a God fearing man. Pfft.

 

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The Rise, and Fall, of Witness #8

 

I realize most of my posts today have been rather dire in tone, so let's lighten things up a bit.

 

Always good for a laugh is the letter orchestrated by Crump & company and written (if not authored) by Witness #8 (since identified as "Dee Dee"). Note that although she was presented as Trayvon's girlfriend, she somehow neglected to learn how to spell his name properly.

 

March 19, 2012

 

I was on the phone when Trevon [sic] decided to go to the Cornerstore. It started to rain so he decided to walk through another complex because it was raining too hard. He started walking then noticed someone was following him. Then he decided to find a shortcut cause the man wouldn't follow him. Then he said the man didn't follow him again. Then he looked back and saw the man again. The man started getting closer. Then Trevon [sic] turned around and said, "Why are you following me!! Then I heard him fall, then the phone hung up. I called back, and that no response. In my mind I though it was just a fight. Then I found out this tragic story.

 

Thank you,

[Redacted]

 

Finally! The State had its own "ear"-witness who could contest Zimmerman's recounting of events. It was the State's strongest--almost their only--piece of evidence pointing towards Zimmerman's guilt.

 

Or did they?

 

In March 2013 the State would be compelled to admit in open court that Witness #8 hd perjured herself in her sworn statement to the prosecutors. Claims that she was a minor and that she was "Trevon's" girlfriend were also proven to be untrue.

 

The State might still put Dee-Dee on the stand. If they do the cross-examination should be a popcorn-worthy event.

 

Andrew

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Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Five Wrap-Up

 

Hey folks,

 

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day five of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here.

 

There were four notable events of the day, apart from the jury questioning.

 

Perhaps today’s most interesting news happened outside the court room. Juror E7, since identified by media sources as Jerry P. Counelis, who was dismissed from the jury pool on Wednesday for apparently misleading the court, was back at the court house today. We’ve done a separate write up just on Mr. Counelis, so if you’re interested in more just click the link in the header above. I did a separate post just on this interesting development, which can be seen on Legal Insurrection here.

 

Another unexpected bit of news today was the release by Robert Zimmerman, George’s father, of an e-book entitled as in the header above, covering the travails of his son through the current crises. I’ve downloaded a copy to my Kindle, and will comment as soon as I’ve had some time to “flip” through it. If you're interested, a copy can be obtained at Amazon here, for $3.99.

 

The Judge also raised the issue of scheduling the as yet not completed Frye hearing from last week, to determine whether the State's speech "expert" witnesses would be permitted to testify at trial. Nothing was determined within hearing of the cameras, but the court room was left with the impression that the Frye hearing would be wrapped up next week.

 

Finally, she released a group of 23 prospective jurors who had “survived” to the next round of voir dire. They were told to return to court next Tuesday, and admonished to not discuss or research the case in the meantime, nor access any news about the case. Of the 23, 19 were women, 4 were men, and three of the group were black. Talk around the court house is that both sides want to bring 40 prospective jurors into the next round of voir dire, in anticipation of heavy attrition.

 

The remainder of the day the court moved through preliminary voir dire of another seven prospective jurors. For all the juicy details, check out the full end-of-day wrap up post at Legal Insurrection.

 

Monday we do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day two of jury selection. Be sure to join us.

 

Best,

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

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1st Written Statement of Zimmerman to Police, Night Shooting

 

George Zimmerman fired the shot that killed Trayvon Martin at 7:17PM, Sunday, February 26, 2012.

 

Just over four hours later, at 11:36PM, Zimmerman signed his first written statement recounting the events of the shooting to Investigator Singleton of the Sanford Police Department.

 

If you've ever been interested in seeing that written statement first-hand, instead of just hearing the evidence misinterpreted through a disinformation campaign fully supported by the mainstream media, now's your chance. Ever wonder how much, if at all, Zimmerman's later recounting of events might have changed from his original statement to police? Don't rely on any one else's opinion (not even mine)--come take a look at the evidence yourself.

 

I've obtained a copy of Zimmerman's original 4-page hand-written statement to the police, and uploaded both a typed transcript (a bit easier to read) and a PDF scan of the original documents to the Law of Self Defense blog.

 

You can access that blog post directly here: Zimmerman's 1st Written Statement to Police the Night of the Shooting.

 

Once at the blog you can also, of course, access the many other blog postings on both the Zimmerman case and other self-defense issues from around the country--it's all totally free, of course.

 

Be sure to register if you'd like to be alerted directly whenever we post up a new self-defense related blog, which usually happens two or three times a week. Although I post here in this forum as much as I can, a lot of longer pieces of legal analysis just aren't well suited to a forum post.

 

Enjoy.

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

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Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman "chase" Martin against police orders?

 

Hey folks,

 

One of the many untruths in the Zimmerman case that has been vigorously disseminated and ingrained into the public consciousness is that Zimmerman "chased/followed" Martin against police orders, or that he exited his vehicle after being told to stay inside the vehicle, or other variations of this theme.

 

This narrative has continued, with the full-hearted support of the mainstream media and its hundreds of "investigative reporters" despite the fact that even a cursory review of the evidence clearly shows this narrative to be patently false.

 

We know this because we have a real-time audio recording of the events in the form of Zimmerman's non-emergency phone call to the Sanford Police Department to report a suspicious person in his neighborhood.

 

I've prepared an audio clip of the relevant part of that non-emergency call, as well as an annotated transcript of what I hear in that audio clip, and posted them to my Law of Self Defense blog here.

 

When I listen to that audio not only do I NOT hear Zimmerman disobeying the dispatcher's instructions, I hear him exiting the vehicle specifically to answer the dispatcher's explicit question.

 

Take a listen/look and let me know what YOU think. Personally, I think this myth is . . . BUSTED.

 

Andrew

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New Game: Count the untruths in the affidavit for probable cause (see actual copy)

 

Hey folks,

 

George Zimmerman was arrested, charged, and soon will be tried for murder in the second degree based upon the affidavit for probable cause submitted by investigators from Angela Corey's office. *These two investigators, T.C. O'Steen and K.D. "Dale" Gilbreath, at the time collectively possessing 44 years of law enforcement including decades in homicides, put down on paper and under oath the words contained in this affidavit.

 

I've obtained an copy of the original affidavit of probable cause (created a transcript for easier reading) and placed them at my blog for public access here: Zimmerman Trial: Evidentiary Flashback: Affidavit for Probable Cause–Count the untruths.

 

Reading it now, with so much evidence finally revealed through discovery, and so much disinformation and propaganda now having been de-bunked, it is amazing that anyone could have believed the deceptions and untruths contained in this document.

 

I have my own count, but I'm sure I must have missed some. *How about we play a count the "half-truths/un-truths" game and see how many you folks can identify and list.

 

Bonus points for whoever can find in this affidavit, even assuming every word in it is true, the elements of murder in the second degree--782.04(2). Murder--gets bonus points, because I sure can't find them.

 

Not even if the affidavit is true. *(Which it's not.)

 

(For a discussion of what Florida law means when it requires that a person have acted with a "depraved mind" to be guilty of murder 2, see: Getting to Murder 2: Finding George Zimmerman’s “Depraved Mind”, over at Legal Insurrection.)

 

Anyway, take a look for yourselves and see what you think.

 

Good hunting.

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

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Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman "racially profile" Martin?

 

Hey folks,

 

First a quick reminder that I'll be providing live, all-day coverage of Day 6 of jury selection for the Zimmerman trial over at Legal Insurrection. We'll provide live video streaming, a rolling Twitter feed of selected contributors, real-time posts of breaking events, and of course our wildly popular end-of-day wrap up. *I don't have a link for you until we go live, but we'll start coverage as soon as the Court goes into session, usually right at 9AM.

 

Now, to the meat of this post: Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman really "racially profile" Trayvon Martin, and was that alleged racial motivation the "depraved mind" element that makes this killing qualify as murder in the second degree?

 

NBC News produced a version of the recording of Zimmerman's non-emergency call to the police in which he appeared to volunteer, unsolicited, the fact that Martin was black. (NBC is currently being sued by Zimmerman for this act of malice.)

 

Fortunately, you don't have to rely on anyone else's "opinion" on the matter. In my newest blog post I have placed a copy of both the relevant snippet of that call and a transcript of what was said (for convenience):

 

Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman really “racially profile” Martin?

 

Take a listen/look and see what you think. Did Zimmerman racially profile Martin? *Based on the facts in evidence, I'd have to say that myth is . . . BUSTED!

 

Andrew

 

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Zimmerman Jury Selection: Day 6--Live streaming, all-day coverage

 

Hey folks,

 

Just FYI, Day 6 of jury selection has just kicked into gear. Our live, all-day coverage can be found at Legal Insurrection here, if you're interested in following along.

 

We'll also be doing our usual end-of-day summary of events. I'll drop a brief note when that's up, for folks who are interested.

 

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense

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No, it's not the right audio for me. Can anyone else listen and tell whether it is the correct snippet or not?

 

I hear the snippet that begins with Zimmerman saying, "...through the entrance, and then you make a left uhh ahh you go straight in...."

 

and ends with the dispatcher saying, "Ok we don't need you to do that." In response to Zimmerman saying that he is following Martin.

 

IDK, maybe my computer is pulling up the wrong audio on the page?

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No, it's not the right audio for me. Can anyone else listen and tell whether it is the correct snippet or not?

 

I hear the snippet that begins with Zimmerman saying, "...through the entrance, and then you make a left uhh ahh you go straight in...."

 

and ends with the dispatcher saying, "Ok we don't need you to do that." In response to Zimmerman saying that he is following Martin.

 

IDK, maybe my computer is pulling up the wrong audio on the page?

 

Can you clarify for me which of my blog posts we're talking about? Many of them have bits of audio embedded. Thanks!

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Sorry, it was the one regarding Zimmerman racially profiling Matrin.

 

http://lawofselfdefense.com/zimmerman-trial-myth-busters-did-zimmerman-really-racially-profile-martin/#prettyPhoto target=_blank

 

I am NOT trying to be a pain in your rear. I really appreciate the updates, and I want your blog to be good becuase it is a great resource for those that can't be in the courtroom.

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