Tag: Trayvon Martin (page 13)

Mark O'Mara, attorney for George Zimmerman, said Monday he has received discovery from the state prosecutor today:

The discovery package included 67 compact discs and numerous hardcopy documents, including the State’s Discovery Exhibit and Demand for Reciprocal Discovery. The discovery also includes witness statements, 911 calls, non-emergency calls, photos, video, medical records, and more

The Orlando Sentinel has more details of what was turned over, as Corey filed an 8 page document with the Court right before it closed describing what was turned over. [More...]

Mark O'Mara will begin getting discovery tomorrow in the George Zimmerman case. The media and public are unlikely to get it right away. O'Mara has said he will file for a motion to seal some of it, particularly the information with witness names, and the State's Attorney agrees with him and has said her office won't make it publicly available on Monday.

It will include crime scene photos, Trayvon's autopsy, Zimmerman's five statements to authorities, witness statements, and crime lab work — if it's been completed — on clothing and Zimmerman's handgun.

I'm not sure what is sealable about the autopsy report or lab tests, but I don't blame O'Mara for wanting time to review it before it's publicly released.

Our older Zimmerman threads are full, so here's a place to discuss the anticipated discovery and legal issues. (Note: You may not use this site to link to petitions and argue for restrictions on stand your ground laws. I oppose such restrictions and do not support more gun control laws. Keep your comments to the law's application to the Zimmerman case or other past or pending cases.) [More..]

CNN Legal Analyst Mark NeJame steps up his role as investigative journalist in the George Zimmerman case. Last night on Piers Morgan's show, he revealed the above photo of Zimmerman's multi-racial family, including his black great-grandfather and Peruvian grandmother and mother.

He received the photo from the Zimmerman family.(Background here.)

Mark's comments: He may have been skeptical at first but this photo changed his mind. He does not think Zimmerman was motivated by race in what whatever encounter he had with Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26.

This thread is devoted to all things Zimmerman-related.

In the continuing saga of NBC's prejudicial editing of George Zimmerman's call to police to report a suspicious person, Trayon Martin, TV Newser reports NBC reporter Lilia Luciano has been fired. But keep reading, I have additional information and transcripts with sourcing to NBC shows.

First, backing up to April 9, I reported that the mangled edit used in a Today Show segment on March 27 was also used in a March 22 Today Show segment during a report with Lilia Luciano, who was reporting live from Sanford. Here's the March 22 transcript.

According to TV Newser, a different version of the mangled edit appeared in a Luciano segment on the Today Show on March 20. So we're up to three airings of clips with Zimmerman comments taken out of sequence on the Today Show. [More...]

On March 31, the Miami Herald touted its own reporting in the Trayvon Martin case as an example of fact-based and neutral journalism, highlighting the work of reporter Frances Robles as an example.

As new details emerge, we work hard not only to get the information right but to put it in the proper context of our overall coverage.

I think it failed today. First, Frances Robles published an article about a "crude" 2005 My Space page belonging to George Zimmerman which included unflattering comments about "Mexicans." Then she followed up with a second article that includes a response to her first article by Martin family lawyer Benjamin Crump. Crump is quoted as saying Zimmerman's My Space page is further evidence of Zimmerman's racism, his pattern of profiling, and even of his ill will and malice (which not so coincidentally is the necessary mental state for second degree murder.) [More...]

Judge Kenneth Lester has issued a written order on the motion brought last week by the state for a gag order. Judge Lester says the lawyers for the parties (the state and Mr. Zimmerman) have acted with the utmost professionalism and no gag order on them is warranted.

He then reminds lawyers "connected to" the case and "their agents" that they are also subject to Florida ethical rules for lawyers on extrajudicial comments and are subject to discipline if they violate the rules. [More...]

One of the reasons I warn commenters here not to attack the character of Trayvon Martin is that I don't think it will come up at trial, and I'm following and attempting to analyze the legal proceedings. Mark O'Mara has made it clear he would not be raising Trayvon's character at trial. If it's not an issue in the legal case, I see no reason to speculate about it.

Today O'Mara makes it clearer. He lists what people won't find on the new website and social media pages he established for the case:

We Will Not Comment On The Character of Trayvon Martin, His Family, or His Supporters

[More...]

Here is the state's motion for a gag order in the George Zimmerman case. The Court's minutes from April 29 state the motion was not "entertained." [More...]

A lawyer for the media is claiming States Attorney Angela Corey missed the 15 day deadline for providing discovery to George Zimmerman. The media wants access to the documents under Florida open records laws, which the media maintains must be made available to it 15 days after the defendant files his request.

When denying requests from the public for the Zimmerman discovery records Friday, Corey's office told Local 6 Florida law allowed her to keep the records secret using a criminal investigative exemption because "no records have been provided to the defendant." But Ponce, who specializes in public record law, believes that Corey can no longer use that reason to withhold records from the public, now that the 15 day discovery deadline has passed.

The problem with the media's argument, according to O'Mara, is that he told Corey to delay giving him the documents and hasn't yet received them. O'Mara issued this statement on the website he established for the case, in which he defends Corey. [More...]

More drama in the George Zimmerman case.

A hearing on Zimmerman's lawyer surprise disclosure on CNN last night that his client's website had raised a little more than $200,000, was addressed at court today. The Judge declined to order a bond increase but wanted more information about when the payments were received. He will make his final decision after receiving the information.

The state asked for a re-examination of the amount of bond and a gag order on O'Mara. The Judge declined the gag order. O'Mara pointed out he hadn't spoken publicly on the facts of the case and "handlers" of the Martin family were still talking to media. I agree with O'Mara, if anyone in this case needs to be restricted in their extra-judicial comments, it's the lawyers for the Martin family. [More...]

Update: NBC 6 Miami acknowledges its mistake for its March 19 report and story with the misleading edit of George Zimmerman's call to police. Apparently, the Today show's erroneous and prejudicial edits were separately done and unrelated. NBC 6 Miami does not address why it waited until April 9 to correct the articles, or why another of its reporters whose byline appeared on one of the stories using the false quote repeatedly maintained on Twitter on April 10 that the producer responsible was not on their team, but from New York (see tweets below.)

The Miami Herald confirms it was Jeff Burnside who was fired, and has his reaction. The Herald credits but does not name the conservative bloggers who outed NBC 6 Miami's March 19 mangling of Zimmerman's quote. They are, as I said in my April 9 post on the topic, Les Jones and Tom McGuire. [More...]

Update: The City of Sanford has rejected the resignation of Police Chief Bill Lee.

Seminole Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester has unsealed documents in the George Zimmerman court file, allowing only for the redaction of witness names. The order is here. This does not unseal police files, just the court file. A hearing on the media's motion for access to police files is set for Friday.

Attorney Mark O'Mara was on CBS this morning. He said that the purpose of George Zimmerman's apology at the bail hearing was not to increase the likelihood of his getting bond, but to address the Martins who had rejected Zimmerman's earlier attempt to apologize. He said had he known that it would upset the Martins, he wouldn't have had his client take the stand as it wasn't necessary to get bond. He basically apologized to the Martins. [More...]