Posted on 06/26/2013 5:53:14 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
If you are interested in the George Zimmerman trial, in which testimony is now under way, the place to go is Legal Insurrection, where Andrew Branca, a Massachusetts lawyer who authored The Law of Self Defense, is posting a thorough, witness-by-witness commentary on the evidence, with videos of the actual courtroom scene.
Branca thinks today’s testimony was “an utter debacle for the prosecution.” In Branca’s view, the witnesses called by the state did far more to bolster Zimmerman’s defense than to advance the prosecution. The portrait they painted of Zimmerman was positive, and in a dramatic moment that Branca describes and which you can also see on video, the one witness who purported to have any information about the actual events surrounding the shooting of Trayvon Martin–an “ear witness,” as Branca calls her–was shown to have signed a petition calling for the prosecution of Zimmerman as “the killer of our son Trayvon Martin.” Ouch!
I confess that I find much of the commentary on the Zimmerman case, and even a good bit of the evidence, mystifying. There is no question that Zimmerman shot Martin; he claims self-defense. That defense raises a straightforward question of fact. All of the nonsense about whether Zimmerman was a “wannabe cop,” and whether he “profiled” Martin, and whether he was or was not a “racist,” is utterly beside the point. If, as Zimmerman says (and I assume will testify), Martin initiated the fight, knocked Zimmerman to the ground, jumped on him, punched him repeatedly and smashed his head against the sidewalk, Zimmerman had an absolute right to defend himself. Whether his character is otherwise sterling is immaterial.
The physical facts appear consistent with Zimmerman’s story. I don’t know how he possibly could have sustained these wounds except by having his head pounded into the pavement, as he says:
And we know from the witness statements that have been made public that at least one witness told police he saw Martin sitting on top of Zimmerman and beating him, as Zimmerman shouted for help. So it would seem that Zimmerman’s defense is quite strong.
Of course, there is much evidence yet to come, and the prosecution may yet prove its case. In the meantime, to follow the proceedings, Legal Insurrection is the place to go.
PAUL ADDS: I agree with John’s overall assessment and his view that the photograph corroborates Zimmerman’s claim that Martin pounded his head against the pavement. But how will the “Free Country” label on Zimmerman’s shirt play with the jury (we know how it would play with the IRS)? I mean, is it still okay to express that thought, even if inadvertently?
She is hideous.
Definition of a jury: a group of people gathered together to decide who has the best attorney.
OMG, what a mouth breathing knuckle dragger...
The lizard brain displayed in humanoids. Minimal awareness and application of upper mental faculties, and the distant glazed eyes look.
I wonder if this is what Malia and Sasha will look like someday..
Rachel Jeantel’s nickname is DeeDee.
I hear ya
What I did today was DVR the entire day on HLN, and when I was in HOUSE later I was able to watch totally without commercials,skipping over all commercials/HLN talkers, was very good
I did tune in for a few minutes late just to see hear the spin, just as I suspected.
George would have no hope if the jury was not sequestered, I really believe this
Hannity did a better job tonight than last night, but Mark Furhman is for the prosecution from getgo, dont know why he is even taken seriously, but did have 2 girls that were good
This will be the summer flash point.
Rachel, the “star” witness, is a perfect example of what you get from the public schools these days. Florida has a hard time getting enough teachers that can pass the basic skills test to get certified, especially the critical thinking part.
In the runup to the trial, EVERY piece of evidence released by the prosecution only suported Zimmerman’s story, NOT Trayvon’s! And, if the prosecution is relying on that evidence AND their flawed and faulty “witnesses”, Zimmerman should soon be free.
The only question at that point is, where does he go to get his reputation back?
The inner city voters won’t riot. They will just refurnish their living spaces at a substantial discount. The merchants will have to pay higher insurance rates which means they will have to raise the prices on the goods they sell to the inner city voters. Then, the inner city voters will complain to their elected representatives that they are being gouged. The politicians will give speeches and the inner city voters will wonder why their money doesn’t seem to go as far. It’s called “Crapping in your own nest”.
Folks need to stop running away from this threat and start embracing it. Florida is a good a place as any to fight back.
That’s because they want riots, as does the administration. What a great way to enact martial law.
You owe the lizards an apology.
My father was called into jury duty, and got out by showing an international flight for a business trip booked for that date. They rescheduled. He arrives, and it is a room full of men in business suits. All professionals who are doing a re-do.
They were never called in and questions, as a stream of attorneys and young black and Hispanic men look into the jury room. After an hour or so, a bailiff comes in. Everyone considering a jury trial has made a plea deal, we no longer have any jury trials scheduled. You are free to go, thank you for your service.
In some jurisdictions, a person will get credit for just showing up for the summons whether they get called or not.
It seems that out of the 6, one or two will understand and hang the jury, which is probably what the state wants because it will get them "off the hook" for this false and malicious political prosecution. They can then drop the "case," which is no case at all. (witness the "star witness," an obviously retarded 19 year-old, who has been led into making false and misleading statements.)
The state has telegraphed that they will patiently suffer the inevitable riots, which with Jesse and Al on the scene just might go viral. The rioters will be directed to destroy the communities where they live, because to do otherwise would entail very high casualties in this heavily armed state.
This could jump ugly fast.
It’s shocking that so many people are willing to believe a witness who admitted to lying under oath, because they want to believe that Zimmerman is guilty. Witness # 8’s attitude was about projected guilt onto the defense attorney (who is doing a terrible job....O’Meara is a better lawyer and should have done the cross-examining)—because she knows she is lying.
Benjamin Crump is a personal injury lawyer who saw all the evidence before him before he brought forth this witness. HER lies are not her own lies, but the lies of a personal injury lawyer setting up his case and used to making pain and suffering claims a la “She was in the hospital”. So basically, this witness is put into the position of having to take responsibility for the lies of a personal injury lawyer ABOUT her.
It is the inner city ghetto against civilized society.
I’m just sayin’.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.