Posted on 07/02/2013 4:56:51 PM PDT by RC one
(Reuters) - Volunteer watchman George Zimmerman suffered "insignificant" injuries in the fight in which he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, a medical examiner testified on Tuesday, as prosecutors attempted to undermine Zimmerman's claim he feared for his life.
Testifying for the prosecution at Zimmerman's trial, Medical Examiner Valerie Rao said she reviewed Zimmerman's medical records and 36 pictures of his injuries taken at the police station after the fight.
"They were not life-threatening. They were very insignificant," Rao told the Seminole County criminal court jury.
Zimmerman, 29, has said Martin, 17, punched him in the face and repeatedly slammed his head into a concrete walkway. Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, could face life in prison if convicted.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
But she did not examine Zimmerman directly. Which makes this testimony garbage.
Well since he wasn’t a corpse I can see where an ME might consider his injuries insignificant. But how is she qualified to determine the seriousness of his injuries without actually examining him?
A quick Google search disabused me of that notion. Indeed, not since the Frye hearing was an expert in the case perhaps as subject to questioning on such issues than Dr. Rao. Indeed, at her previous State appointment as medical examiner in a different part of the state, there were years of complaints about her unsanitary procedures, including such [STOP IF EATING DINNER] pleasantries as Dr. Rao washing her feet in the autopsy sink, using her bare hands during procedures, and even accusations of exposing doctors to deadly diseases. Ultimately she was removed from that position. To read the original news article, see: Former employee speaks out about medical examiner (NOTE: Unless the above facts are somehow introduced into evidence, the jury will not be aware of them, and even if aware will be instructed to not take that knowledge into consideration in evaluating Dr. Rao’s testimony.)But Dr. Rao got a very lucky break, indeed, in the form of the favor of State Prosecutor Angela Corey, a powerful figure in State politics. Corey provided Dr. Rao with an interim appointment as Medical Examiner in Jacksonville, a position later changed to a permanent appointment by the Governor.
Then Corey’s prosecution team asked Dr. Rao to testify in Florida v. Zimmerman. She couldn’t very well re-do the long-ago completed autopsy, and indeed they focus wasn’t on Trayvon Martin at all. Instead, they asked her if she could express an opinion on the severity of the injuries suffered by George Zimmerman at the hands of Trayvon Martin on the night of February 26, 2012. She would be constrained, they cautioned her, by not actually having access to the patient himself, but would have to work from photographs and written medical reports from doctors that had examined Zimmerman.
As evidenced by her appearance as a State witness today, Dr. Rao was more than happy to help out.
I hope the jury gets to hear some of this...
I’m guessing that will come up if it hasn’t yet.
And a 911 operator has NO Authority to tell you to do anything.
More complaints on Medical Examiner Valerie Rao
Rao’s term ended 2012; still running Jacksonville ME office
Click Orlando
July 2 2013 04:12:12 PM EDT
Jacksonville, Fla. - Jacksonville Medical Examiner Valerie Rao has been the subject of recurring complaints from her co-workers dating back to 2009, WJXT-TV reports. According to letters sent to the the city, “Rao has been seen touching cadavers with her bare hands, washing her feet in the autopsy sink, and performing unnecessary autopsies on inmates to create a revenue stream.”
WJXT learned that Rao actually has a history of complaints dating back 10 years, while she was Medical Examiner for Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. Dr. Rao was the Medical Examiner there from 2000 to 2003.
WJXT uncovered the minutes from the Medical Examiner’s Commission meeting on May 15, 2003, that revealed concerns about Rao from funeral homes, organ donor organizations and law enforcement agencies.
In the minutes officers expressed disapproval of Dr. Rao’s “propensity to classify virtually all prison deaths as homicides, and lack of expertise by office personnel in the management of crime scene investigations.”
Funeral directors complained that Dr. Rao’s office lacked consistency when dealing with funeral homes. The documents from the 2003 Commission meeting also specified that virtually all the complaints about Rao concerned her “administrative skills”, not her “abilities as a forensic pathologist.”
In that same meeting, the commission voted unanimously not to recommend her re-appointment.
After she left Florida, Dr. Rao took a Medical Examiner position in Missouri. When WJXT dug deeper into her time in Missouri, we uncovered more complaints.
In 2006, a television station in Columbus Missouri indicated that some of the pathology residents from the University of Missouri were, “glad to see her go.” According to the story, Rao didn’t work enough with the residents.
Eventually Rao returned to Florida and was appointed Medical Examiner of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties in late 2011, a term, that according to Governor Rick Scott’s Office, expired in July 2012.
WJXT called the governor’s office Wednesday afternoon in hopes of learning more about Rao’s career and why she is still working as the Medical Examiner in our area if her contract expired in 2012. The press officer was not able to get that answer for us.
WJXT also reached out to the agencies who made complaints about Rao; only one person returned calls and did not want to comment.
Oh I agree.
As far as I’m concerned, this is another big screw up by the prosecution to focus on those pictures. What has to be made apparent is what most likely was going on in Zimmerman’s mind about his immediate safety to the jury, and those pics make it pretty obvious he took a good thrashing and nose break. Even one scratch should be plenty for any defense lawyer. I sure hope the jury already understands this unless the fix is already in.
the prosecutor just told every woman on that jury that cramps are “all in theirhead”.
why is she wearing the psuedo flag?
was it to convey some imagined patriotism?
Fear for your life;
Some people snowboard down Kilamanjaro but won't get up on a leaky roof.
None. You must be in fear of death or serious bodily injury. You aren’t required to sustain a blow, but you must be able to justify a fear of receiving one.
FYI, in Texas, a blow to the head or neck is considered aggravated assault, due to the potential for death or serious injury.
Don’t have to take any really. If someone says they are going to kill you, and they show intent, then you can defend yourself.
For someone that is so documented,
She can't speak a single sentence without prefixing it with;
So.
That was the most difficult testimony to listen to ... after dee dee.
A broken nose is insignificant? Ms. Rao is an awful person.
On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, Canada about 80 miles (130 km) from Montreal. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left.[19] Refusing medical attention twice, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache.[20][21] She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall.[22][23] The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March at the age of 45.[24][25] An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident.
All they need is a medical professional to testify about the number of people left dead and/or permanently brain damaged from “insignificant” blows to the skull and that argument is done for. I have personally seen plenty of such cases myself.
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