Posted on 07/08/2013 5:10:03 PM PDT by IChing
It’s George Zimmerman’s defense team’s turn to put forth their case, and quite frankly, they have a fairly easy path ahead. The wind is at their backs because no real, compelling evidence was brought before the jury by the prosecution in their initiative phase of this kangaroo charade (because none actually exists).
Nonetheless, despite the lack of evidence against the accused, rather than issue a judgment of acquittal last Friday, the judge punted the whole matter onward, and eventually toward the jury phase. So now we watch attorneys Mark O’Mara and Don West solidify the fortress of exculpatory factors for their client. Meanwhile, prosecutors can only make rather vain displays of flailing stabs at discrediting defense witness’ statements, while trying to throw out evidence & throw up procedural blocks to the defense.
This having been the first full day of defense testimony in this unsavory spectacle of prosecutorial misconduct, it started off featuring witness after witness taking the stand to swear that the voice of someone yelling desperately for help on the 911 call recording which has come to be known as the “Lauer tape” (after the last name of the witness who made the phone call) is that belonging to George Zimmerman.
The parade of highly competent defense witnesses making that same testimony actually began late last Friday, after the prosecution rested its case and the judge denied a defense motion for a Judgement of Acquittal based on lack of evidence against their client (earlier that day, Trayvon Martin’s mother and older brother had claimed it is Trayvon’s voice).
At the end of Friday’s drama, Zimmerman’s mother and uncle briefly took the stand in the first volley of the defense phase, and both stated very firmly and with steadily-controlled passion that it is George’s voice screaming on the tape. Their statements, delivered in thick “Spanglish” accents, seemed to come from a visceral level, and evoked visible reaction from Zimmerman himself, to the point where his eyes appeared to be tearing up while locked onto his uncle–a former U.S. Army command sergeant major and current sheriff’s deputy–speaking forcefully of his role in George’s early life, and of his adamant conviction about the subject of his testimony; that his nephew is the one yelling over and over for help on the tape.
This morning’s developments saw and heard no less than five close friends of Zimmerman, at least two of whom have direct past experience hearing Zimmerman’s voice yelling loudly at multiple political rallies, support his story. Furthermore, at least two also testified that the kinds of profanity used by Zimmerman on his calls to police non-emergency dispatch did not, in their view, indicate ill will, hatred, nor the depraved state of mind required for a charge of second-degree murder.
Remember, the police dispatcher himself said the same thing on the witness stand last week–that Zimmerman’s comments about “these a**holes always get away” and “f***ing punks” were, in his six years’ experience as a 911 dispatcher, fairly normal remarks, of the type which often come from ordinary citizens calling police to report suspicious activity.
Zimmerman’s friend from last week, federal air marshal Mark Osterman, was again on the stand, describing how no law enforcement agency (that he knows of) has a policy which allows any officer to carry out duties without having a live round in the chamber of their weapon, and that the lack of an external safety on a semi-automatic pistol is not necessarily a safety feature in all circumstances. (for what it’s worth, I can corroborate what Osterman says, from a professional standpoint.)
Adding fuel to the fire in the belly of the defense juggernaut, encore performances were given by both of the Sanford police detectives who’d already been called to testify for the state last week, Doris Singleton and Chris Serino.
Singleton and Serino both testified that upon playing the Lauer tape for Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, he had said in their presence that it is not his son’s voice screaming.
Later, when Tracy Martin himself was called to the witness stand by Mark O’Mara, he told a different story than Singleton and Serino did: Martin swore that he had at that time said instead that he couldn’t tell whether it was Trayvon’s voice or not. He also acknowledged that he changed his position later on, claiming that the voice is Trayvon’s.
Between the testimony of the two detectives and Martin came that of a rather interesting and compelling witness, the owner/operator of the gym of which Zimmerman was a member in the year leading up to the incident in question.
Adam Pollock presented a somewhat charismatic, energetic, and forceful personality, describing his involvement in bodybuilding, martial arts, and all kinds of fitness-related competition, training, and instruction from his early childhood to his current professional standing as a consultant and entrepreneur.
O’Mara put Pollock through the paces for awhile, picking his brain as to the different kinds of fighting skills and mixed-martial arts techniques which exist, and which are taught in classes at his gym.
O’Mara then had Pollock physically, positionally mock-demonstrate on him, on the courtroom floor in front of the jury, the same “ground-n-pound” technique that primary eyewitness John Good described last week, when he testified as to what he saw Trayvon Martin doing to Zimmerman while mounted on him “MMA style.”
Pollock described Zimmerman having come to him and to his gym as a flabby, soft, heavy, and utterly non-athletic specimen with the goal of “losing weight and getting in shape.”
Although Zimmerman did succeed in losing quite a lot of weight through his exercise and dieting efforts–Pollock said 70-80 lbs.–he simply did not have the adequate athletic background from childhood sports activities, nor the overall inclination/scheduling flexibility, to really develop any fighting skills at all. Pollock described at length and in detail the heavy commitment required for someone of Zimmerman’s profile to attain accomplishments of proficiency in the realm of even basic boxing, and that Zimmerman’s non-athletic softness and lack of total dedication/sparse class participation just couldn’t cut it in the least. When asked over and over again by both the defense and prosecuting attorneys, Pollock was steadfast and rock-solid in insisting, rather forcefully, that someone like Zimmerman was only a “0.5″ on a scale from 1-10 in terms of being able to even throw a punch effectively. He refused to let Zimmerman ever get in the ring, not rating him beyond mere shadow-boxing out of safety & liability concerns.
Pollock greatly helped the defense by firmly putting into the jury’s minds that Zimmerman was not in any way in a capacity to counter nor withstand the physically overwhelming, blitzkrieg onslaught of flying fists from Trayvon Martin, especially once Martin had him pinned underneath him flat on his back, even attempting to smother him.
What the jury may or may not know is that Martin was a strapping, athletically-conditioned high school football player who had an ardent lust for fighting, even texting to a friend that he wanted a rematch with one opponent he’d already beaten because the guy “didn’t bleed enough for me, only his nose.”
Otserman’s additional testimony helps show the jury that Zimmerman carried his concealed firearm in a conventional, responsible, and safe way, and that Zimmerman deployed it only as a last resort to save his own life.
As for the rest of the day’s courtroom action, once the day’s witnesses had been heard, things pretty much bogged down in involved arguments over prosecutors trying to get judge Nelson to throw out testimony and evidence unfavorable to their side.
Nelson has been helping the prosecution all along, as everyone has been able to see for themselves. I can understand why De la Rionda and his cohorts are grasping for all the help they can get, because they are pushing a train that has no tracks underneath it.
We can only pray that the jury can also recognize this for what it is.
Heeeeee.....touche’.
That's why I said it was admirable.
: )
If the defense wins an acquittal in such a fixed environment it will be quite an accomplishment.
I'm glad someone has a brain cell that's working. Apparently none of mine are.
Thank you Missy, and may you have success , IChing, in learning how to make a PING LIST. I think you will see it's value as time goes on.
I don’t follow the issue with blogpimping.
If someone has something relevant and worthwhile to say, why shouldn’t I be happy to go to their blog?
If its spam, let the mods remove it, and I doubt anyone would be enticed to go to the link. That’s fine. If its good, then great. I think we are well past the point of thinking that only card carrying journalists have something worthwile to add.
actually the skittles and the tea point to a new drug made with them called “drank”
i believe there is another ingredient but can’t remember what it is right now
Reminds me of Bill Cosby's routine on COCAINE.
He asks a cokehead what he likes about it. What it does.
The cokehead says it amplifies your personality, makes you more of what you are.
Bill Cosby says, but what if you are an asshole?
lmao
lol
I must say that O’Mara and West have been impressive and gutsy.
Cough-syrup based codeine, aka DXM
Thanks for the tip. I went to Legal Insurrection, and found Andrew Branca’s evaluation of the autopsy report, along with a link to the actual report.
Report - http://lawofselfdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/trayvon.martin.autopsy.pdf
Branca’s evaluation - http://lawofselfdefense.com/zimmerman-trial-evidentiary-flashback-autopsy-report-clinical-cause-of-death-of-trayvon-martin/
Yes, and according to some reports I have seen, when DXM is consumed to quickly, it can have the same effect.
DXM is called poor man’s PCP.
Terrific article, thanks for posting
humblegunner,
Do something more with your days... something kind, supportive. Read the Bible... teaches God’s love and plan for his creation, and your life. There is more than FR. I’ve prayed for you, in all seriousness.
Just curious, since he posted the whole thing - and it is decent original content - what is wrong with that?
My pleasure, WomBom.
Many can be used. One is cough syrup with codeine.
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