Zimmerman Trial: Tired of media bias? See gun-friendly legal coverage

[Law of Self Defense]

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
@LawSelfDefense

[Hawkeye]

Dee Dee also had this to say:

Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again, and he didn't answer the phone."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-arrest-now-abc-reveals-crucial-phone/story?id=15959017#.UbuWL9hsuBA

It would be interesting to see her on the stand and state how she could tell it was Trayvon being pushed and not Trayvon doing the pushing. 

[Law of Self Defense]

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

[Law of Self Defense]

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 isn't well suited to a forum post.

Enjoy.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

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
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

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
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

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

@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

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
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Knotacare]

I believe Zimmerman acted completely wrong & as stated before if you go looking for trouble it will find you. He might have acted in self defense, but he provoked it.  What he did was not well thought out & he's gonna pay the price I'm afraid.  He could have run or a number of other things before he pulled his weapon & killed the kid. This is the worst nightmare we all face & I'm afraid Zimmerman never really gave it much thought before that day.

[Law of Self Defense]

He might have acted in self defense, but he provoked it. 

Do you care to provide any facts in evidence--even one--that Zimmerman provoked the confrontation with Martin?

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Knotacare]

Yes if someone comes after you run or get in your car & drive away. What are you a nut case ?? It's pretty obvious Zimmerman was acting out of line here. That's what cops are for not CCW holders. I sure didn't put on my application I'm a neighborhood watch captain & I'm looking for bad guys. This Zimmerman stepped over his authority & right or wrong he caused his problem.   A weapon is only to be used as a last resort not when it's convenient. I also think you add nothing to this forum other than your one sided view of a incident that has no real good outcome other than lawyers getting rich.  Even you are getting on the band wagon I see....

[Law of Self Defense]

So, no facts then.  Got it.   

I think it's probably best if I leave you and your emotive opinions to your own devices. 

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Obleo]

Knotacare:   This trial is centered on Florida's "stand your ground" law.  So running away is not required, although a prudent move if you can.

[Law of Self Defense]

Knotacare:   This trial is centered on Florida's "stand your ground" law.  So running away is not required, although a prudent move if you can.

This is not and never has been a "Stand Your Ground" case.  Stand Your Ground simply means that you don't have to take advantage of a safe avenue of retreat, IF YOU HAVE ONE.

It's clear from the evidence that from the very start of the fight Zimmerman never had ANY opportunity to retreat, much less a save avenue of retreat.

Martin emerged into the darkened area between the buildings from the bushes in which he was fighting, there was a there-sentence exchange between the two men, and Martin launched an immediate and unanticipated attack.  Martin knocked Zimmerman to the ground with the first, totally unexpected punch, then straddled him and began his sustained aggravated battery, stopping only when a 115g 9mm JHP round punched through his heart. 

That's what the facts in evidence say, without contestation.

If there's no possibility of retreat, you don't need Stand Your Ground to say that you didn't have to take advantage of what didn't exist.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Hawkeye]

The inability of many of our regulars to differentiate between facts and propaganda in this case is.....interesting.