Hey folks,
I just posted up the wrap-up for day 1 of the Zimmerman Trial. I just cover the opening statements in this wrap-up, including video of the actual statements, as well as my analysis. The State also moved through it's first four (well, 3.5) witnesses later in the afternoon, but I'll cover those in a separate post.
(Note--this post includes both my mid-day analysis, which you might already have read--but I added lots of video, pics, and tweets to the original--as well as the remainder of West's opening after the lunch recess.)
I know much of the mainstream media loved the State's dramatic half-hour opening, and disliked West's lengthy opening and his rather flat delivery (as well as his admittedly lame joke), but in terms of substance West was clearly the dominant player today. His opening may not make for great television news video clips, but he banged on the actual facts in evidence for two hours, whereas the State's minimal opening statement was almost entirely fact free (and many of the "facts" they did cite were either favorable to the defense--such as the sharp spike in recent crime in the neighborhood--or clearly irrelevant to guilt--such as the fact that Zimmerman's gun was properly loaded to capacity.
In any case, if you'd like to read it you can find it here: Zimmerman Trial Day One – Analysis of Opening Statements
http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/06/zimmerman-trial-day-one-analysis-of-opening-statements/We'll do it all again tomorrow, of course, starting at 8:30AM rather than the usual 9AM.
Best,
Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
