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In April 2012, the office of Florida State Attorney Angela Corey drew up an affidavit of probable cause against George Zimmerman for the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin. The affidavit was loaded. Martin was walking back to the townhouse "where he was living" when Zimmerman "profiled" him. Zimmerman "assumed Martin was a criminal." He called the police. The affidavit cited Martin's phone "friend" to attest, "Martin was scared because he was being followed by an unknown male and didn't know why." Again, according to the affidavit (and this was critical): "Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued." Martin's mother then...

George Zimmerman's attorney said something Monday that is a truly sad statement about our society and the current state of America's media. Appearing on CNN's Piers Morgan Live, Mark O'Mara said that if Zimmerman is acquitted of all charges, "He'll never be safe" (video follows with transcript and commentary): [video] PIERS MORGAN: If George Zimmerman is acquitted, completely acquitted, not found guilty of second-degree murder, no lesser charge of manslaughter, and walks free, having killed somebody we know after the event was an unarmed young teenager, there is a concern that this will create a lot of ill feeling, particularly...

For more on the current riot plans (Breitbart.com): Breitbard.com: Broward County Sheriff's Office Prepares Zimmerman Verdict Riot Plan But if one is in Florida or planning on visiting Florida, what precautions should one take? It should be noted that Sanford is on the Northeast side of Orlando, Florida. Disney World is on the Southwest side of Orlando. Will that be far enough away so that innocent tourists will not become victims? Will trouble spill over into other Florida cities/locales? Troubling is that Obama is not trying to keep people from possibly rioting. Seems like our president should be trying to...

As the trial continues into its 11th day, forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio took the stand to describe how and where Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman. An expert on gunshot wounds, Di Maio, hired by the defense, testified Tuesday that George Zimmerman's account of how he fatally shot Trayvon Martin is consistent with the forensic evidence. Di Maio said that the trajectory of the bullet and gun powder on Martin's body supports Zimmerman's version that Martin was on top of him when Zimmerman fired his gun into Martin's chest. The gun's muzzle was against Martin's clothing and...

A forensic expert testified Tuesday that Trayvon Martin's gunshot wound indicated that he was likely on top of George Zimmerman when the neighborhood watch volunteer shot him. Forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, an expert on gunshot wounds who has written and co-authored several articles and a book on the subject, said the single shot that killed the Florida teen passed through Martin's clothing as it hung 2-4 inches from his skin, indicating that Martin was over Zimmerman and leaning forward. "If you’re lying on your back, the clothing is going to be against your chest," Di Maio testified. "So...

Well, first of all, my client will never be safe because there are a percentage of the population who are angry, they're upset and they may well take it out on him. So he'll never be safe.

Today began with the expectation that it would the the day on which the State rested it’s case. That proved true, and it was. It was also among the most bizarre and disturbing days of a lengthy trial full to the brim with bizarre and disturbing days. Sabryna Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s Mother The first State witness of the day was, as anticipated Sabryna Fulton. She had two missions for her appearance: (1) identify the screamer in the background of the Jenna Lauer 911 recording as her son, Trayvon Martin; and (2) avoid saying anything nice about the reputation or character...

Trials, unlike punditry, operate not in the world of evoked memory, allegory and free association, but in the world of facts. When it is a criminal trial the facts must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There is a reason that exacting standard is used — someone’s freedom, or life in the instance of a capital case, is at risk. A journalist can construct a scenario in the Trayvon Martin case in which he can nonchalantly assign criminal liability with phrases such as “shot an unarmed man,” but these banalities have no legal meaning. Let’s take the charge at issue,...

The prosecutor cursed and the defense attorney told a joke as both sides laid out opening arguments in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, the man who killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in what his lawyers say was self-defense and authorities say was a case of fatal profiling. The all-female jury of six took in both unconventional statements, alternately stunned, taking notes and at times appearing to nod in agreement. Jaws in the jury box dropped when prosecutor John Guy electrified the courtroom with a short, but profanity-laced and impassioned argument that sought to paint the defendant as an angry...

Today, June 28th, is DAY #15 (of 3rd week) State of Florida V. George Zimmerman case. [Yesterday] … it was simply not a very good day at all for the prosecution. The primary State witnesses today were Rachel Jeantel, Jenna Lauer, and Selma Mora. The first had her credibility substantively destroyed, the second was powerfully–almost humiliatingly–co-opted by the defense, and the third provided testimony entirely consistent with the defense’s theory of lawful self-defense. (continue reading)

Yesterday and today, jurors in George Zimmerman's murder trial heard testimony from a key prosecution witness: Rachel Jeantel, the 19-year-old_friend of Trayvon Martin who was on the phone with him right before the scuffle that ended in his death. Jeantel said that Martin repeatedly complained to her about a "creepy-*ss cracker" who was following him and that she urged him to run, which he did. After the call was dropped, she said, she called him back about 20 seconds later, and he sounded tired from running. She said he told her he saw the man again, and she heard...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The prosecution rested their second-degree murder case against George Zimmerman today and his legal team immediately asked the judge throw out all charges, arguing that the state had failed to present evidence he murdered Trayvon Martin. The judge swiftly rejected the argument, but not before both sides made emotional legal arguments that are usually reserved for summations at the end of a trial. In an impassioned plea, Zimmerman's defense attorney Mark O'Mara stated that the state did not produce direct or circumstantial evidence that Zimmerman acted with "ill-will or spite," the Florida requirements for second degree murder. "There is not...

When the jury emerges from deliberations days or weeks from now to render its verdict in that Florida courtroom, when the family of Trayvon Martin leans forward in breathless anticipation and when George Zimmerman stands to hear his fate, you can bet your Disney vacation the whole affair will end badly. Not because Zimmerman, on trial in the shooting death of Martin, will be found guilty or not guilty, but because millions of Americans have already made up their minds about what should happen. Large swaths of people are going to be disappointed no matter how the verdict falls. Probably...

Defense attorney Don West questions Rachel Jeantel during George Zimmerman's trial in Sanford, Fla., June 27, 2013.Trayvon Martin’s trial might be intriguing, fascinating cultural theater to some. To me, it is more akin to a cultural trauma: a continual reminder of how unsafe all those young black men that I love actually are as they move through the world — and how tenuous and torturous it would be to seek justice on their behalf. Troubled, though, by the negative characterizations of Trayvon Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel, after her first day of testimony, I tuned in yesterday in a show of...

In following the George Zimmerman trial somewhat closely online last week, I noted a familiar pattern: A "heater" case that draws intense media interest. Sympathetic victim. Unsympathetic defendant. Evidence of innocence explained away with far-fetched theories or else ignored. Evidence of guilt magnified and bolstered with irrelevant detail and innuendo. These are among the key ingredients for all the wrongful convictions I've written about in the last 20 years. Investigators and prosecutors put on the blinders early, before all the facts come in. They fill the gaps and inconsistencies in the case with suppositions inspired by sympathy for the victim,...

Rachel Jeantel Rachel Jeantel, the prosecution's "star witness" against George Zimmerman, endured an embarrassing grilling both inside the Florida courtroom and in the national media. Star Witness Against George Zimmerman Flops Big Time The New American 28 June 2013 The prosecution's "star witness" against former neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, accused of murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, endured an embarrassing grilling both inside the Florida courtroom and in the national media. From potentially incriminating social-media posts publicized by reporters to major gaffes during her testimony, Rachel Jeantel, 19 (shown), has sparked even more criticism of what legal...

Once again, it was simply not a very good day at all for the prosecution. The primary State witnesses today were Rachel Jeantel, Jenna Lauer, and Selma Mora. The first had her credibility substantively destroyed, the second was powerfully–almost humiliatingly–co-opted by the defense, and the third provided testimony entirely consistent with the defense’s theory of lawful self-defense. There was also some (I expect temporary) hubbub that O’Mara may have inadvertently opened the door to allow the State to introduce evidence of specific prior bad acts by George Zimmerman, and I address that in detail, as well, below.

A teenage friend of Trayvon Martin was forced to admit today in the George Zimmerman murder trial that she did not write a letter that was sent to Martin's mother describing what she allegedly heard on a phone call with Martin moments before he was shot. In a painfully embarassing moment, Rachel Jeantel was asked to read the letter out loud in court. "Are you able to read that at all?" defense attorney Don West asked. Jeantel, head bowed, eyes averted whispered into the court microphone, "Some but not all. I don't read cursive." It sent a hush through the...

The jurors are now selected in State of Florida v. George Zimmerman and opening statements are scheduled for Monday. Today was a ‘wrap up’ day, to resolve as any lingering issues that Judge Nelson hadn’t yet decided, and do general housekeeping in preparation for the trial. Since first examining the evidence of this case I’ve been highly skeptical of both the State’s ability to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, murder in the second degree, as well as the State’s ability to disprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, self-defense. What I’ve seen over the course of the Frye hearing and jury selection...

• Man attempts to behead judge in court • To appear in court on Monday THERE was pandemonium on the premises of the City Higher Sharia Court, Kanwurin Sarki, Gusau in Zamfara State, as a 27-year-old man, Safiyanu Musa, stormed the court with a cutlass and attempted to behead the judge, Alhaji Hadi Sani Gusau. Eyewitnesses told the Saturday Tribune that Musa broke into the court session about 11.30 a.m. a few days ago charging at the judge and announcing his intention to kill him. The judge was said to have, in an earlier judgment a year ago, sentenced Musa...