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ItÂ’s George ZimmermanÂ’s defense teamÂ’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 OÂ’Mara and Don West solidify the fortress of exculpatory factors for...

RAISE YOUR VOICE, NOT YOUR HANDS Date: July 8, 2013 PIO Number: 13-7-9 The Broward Sheriff’s Office, working closely with the Sanford Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies, has coordinated a response plan in anticipation of the verdict. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right. While raising your voice is encouraged, using your hands is not. BSO has created a public service announcement with the help of kids from the Jason Taylor Foundation, H.A.N.D.Y. (Helping Abused, Neglected, Disadvantaged Youth) and basketball star James Jones of the championship Miami Heat team urging young people not to let their emotions...

<p>The shooting of Trayvon Martin has generated a great deal of attention and polarization. Much of this can be chalked up to a controversial group of activists, no small number of whom are quite powerful.</p> <p>Some refer to said group as the “Black Grievance Industry” as most of its members are African-American.</p>

Prosecutors asked a Florida judge on Monday to block the jury in the George Zimmerman trial from seeing an animated re-enactment of the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying the video distorts the events of that fatal encounter. Defense lawyers want to show the video to the six-woman jury that will decide the fate of Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty, saying he shot Martin in self-defense. State prosecutors argued that the video fails to show the Kel Tec 9mm pistol that Zimmerman, 29, a white and Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer, used...

George Zimmerman's trial defense attorney Don West recently reported he received e-mails from people threatening his daughters with rape over a controversial post on Instagram. Rachel West, who was not in the family picture, was in the courtroom Monday. In a response to a July 2nd prosecution's request to investigate the social media post, West said the family photo prompted "threats of violence" that were "vicious." West also said he was distressed that in a request to investigate the post, the prosecution had made "reckless, dangerous and inaccurate allegations." Prosecutors linked the motive for the post to witness Rachel Jeantel,...

Defense lawyers will be permitted to show that Trayvon Martin had marijuana in his system when he and George Zimmerman had their fateful encounter in a gated community in Florida last year, the judge in Zimmerman's murder trial ruled Monday. Judge Debra Nelson denied a motion by prosecutors to keep toxicology results showing THC in Martin's system from the jury, paving the way for Zimmerman's lawyers to argue the drug may have influenced the teen's behavior. Defense attorney Don West noted that in Zimmerman’s statement to the non-emergency 911 dispatcher that it appeared the person he was observing in the...

Judge Debra Nelson ruled Monday that jurors in the George Zimmerman trial will be allowed to hear about marijuana found in Trayvon Martin’s system the night he was fatally shot. Prosecutors argued the amount was so minimal that “we just don’t know” what effect it had on Martin. They also accused the defense of trying to "backdoor some very negative character evidence” into the trial. But the defense said the amount found in Martin’s system would have had an impact on his judgment that night and is therefore relevant to the case. The judge ruled she would allow the testimony...

Appearing on CNN with Jake Tapper, a Florida-based criminal defense attorney was asked on Monday for her thoughts on the course of the day’s testimony in the trial of George Zimmerman for the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin. The attorney said that the start of the defense phase of the trial has been good for Zimmerman. She added that it is “impossible” not to see Zimmerman as a “good guy.” “It seems as though there have been some big blows to the prosecution,” Tapper said of the course of the day’s testimony. “This is a classic scorch and burn defense,”...

Jurors in the George Zimmerman murder trial will be able to hear defense testimony that Trayvon Martin had small amounts of marijuana in his system at the time he was shot to death in February 2012

On Monday, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released a video calling on the public not to riot in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, expected this week or next in Florida. The Sheriff’s Office released a statement explaining that it was “working closely with the Sanford Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies” to coordinate “a response plan in anticipation of the verdict.” The video, titled “Raise Your Voice, Not Your Hands,” focuses on attempting to channel reaction into non-violent response. It depicts two youngsters, one black teenage boy, one Hispanic teenage girl. “Raise your voice!” says the...

Today, July 9th, is DAY #21 (of 5th week) State of Florida V. George Zimmerman case. Yesterday was the first full day of defense witnesses. Perhaps the most significant of the first set were the two police officers who stated Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, said on 2/28/12 the cries for help on the 911 calls were NOT Trayvon. Later in the day Tracy Martin took the stand and essentially said the two detectives were lying. A great analysis of the events from yesterday is available HERE. What additionally strikes as important to us is the first signs of desperation from...

Immediately following the close of the State’s case on Friday, Mark O’Mara, the lawyer leading George Zimmerman’s defense team, stood before Judge Nelson and made his oral motion for a judgment of acquittal for his client (a parallel written motion was also submitted to the Court). c George Zimmerman defense counsel Mark O’Mara The motion was well-reasoned, and strongly founded on Florida’s case law. It was also doomed to fail before a Judge who has consistently denied reasonable defense motions out of hand, while rubber-stamping motions by the State that bear not the slightest relevancy to the facts of this...

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,...