Posted on 05/08/2012 7:39:01 AM PDT by Aunt Polgara
So what happened ?
Just now seeing this thread. Has the hearing started yet? If not I read an article this morning that said Zimmerman will NOT be appearing at this hearing. There is a written plea of NOT Guilty which his lawyer will present.
Either it hasn’t started yet, or the TV station decided not to live stream it. I’m still monitoring it, but nothing yet.
I just want to hear one of two things, either "guilty" or "not guilty."
No doubt the feds will intervene, but it gets this case off the plate of the state officials - which I think they are quite anxious to do."
Yes. I believe they will "find a way".
Zim zim is a marked man, whether he is guilty or innocent. The race baiters, scam artists and professional hustlers have too much invested to let this one get away.
Oh, and don't forget the civil suit which is really what it is all leading up to. My guess is poor Trayvon had a potential of over one billion dollars.
In other news, O’Mara filed a motion to continue and a waiver of speedy trial today, here:
http://www.flcourts18.org/presspublic.html
Does that mean that there will be no arraignment today?
I understood that. My point was that if there is a paperwork failure, the rules give ample opportunity to correct it. The state would have to be told of the error, bascially be told how to fix it, and still fail to fix it, and then do that repeatedly until time ran out.
We knew there would be no arraignment. Defendant waived it weeks ago, by pleading not guilty in writing.
The Motion to continue and waiving speedy trial essentially gets rid of the 175 day statutory deadline for having a trial.
All the action suggests that O'Mara and Corey are working in cahoots to push ultimate resolution as far into the future as the courts will allow.
Gee, right before the election. Who da thunk it?
Nice to see an absence of “Zimmerman is GUILTY!” posts here lately.
>>We knew there would be no arraignment. Defendant waived it weeks ago, by pleading not guilty in writing.<<
That’s odd. As of this morning, the TV station is reporting that it was supposed to be today at 1:30 ET.
Here’s the link: http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Arraignment-for-George-Zimmerman-today/uKFH3fm47EyUYcZyu9ZVqQ.cspx
Which can mean a couple of things. One - and the primary reason I see for delaying trial - is not good to Zimmerman. I would be to aid O'Mara in negotiating a lesser plea to Corey. On the plus side the more information he obtains to show that the prosecution's story is not supported by facts helps with any lesser plea.
I didn't miss an evidence dump, though, did I? That would either cause O'Mara to move forward quickly if the prosecution had no evidence, or cause him to give up the right to a speedy trial if there were points of evidence he needed to address. The problem there is that the prosecution would normally contest a delay on those grounds. Of course I'm not a litigator. I work in firms with a 100+ litigators and you simply hear them talk the talk.
Not guilty verdict, riots, martial law, suspension of election?
What purpose(s) would be achieved by pushing it far into the future? EXcept it would keep the lawyers on the payroll.
So, O'Mara waived the times provided in Rule 3.191 ...
(a) Speedy Trial without Demand. Except as otherwise provided by this rule, and subject to the limitations imposed under subdivisions (e) and (f), every person charged with a crime shall be brought to trial within 90 days of arrest if the crime charged is a misdemeanor, or within 175 days of arrest if the crime charged is a felony. ...... and in a related motion, he also apprised the court that the additional time is needed to prepare a defense, and that Corey does not object to extending the deadline beyond the date that the law directs.(b) Speedy Trial upon Demand. Except as otherwise provided by this rule, and subject to the limitations imposed under subdivisions (e) and (g), every person charged with a crime by indictment or information shall have the right to demand a trial within 60 days, by filing with the court a separate pleading entitled "Demand for Speedy Trial," and serving a copy on the prosecuting authority.
Reference to 3.191(g) is out of place, because that section of the Rules pertains ONLY if defendant invokes "Speedy Trial upon Demand," which runs a 60 day clock from filing of demand instead of the default 175 day from arrest clock. O'Mara did NOT file a "Demand for Speedy Trial," so he wouldn't be bound by the 60 day deadline in any event.
Yes, there was an event, but it was not Zimmerman's arraignment. Arraignment is reading of the charge, and taking defendant's plea. Zimmerman waived his right to hear the charge, and plead not guilty, in writing, on April 12th. Today, O'Mara has been formally given the "information," meaning the charging document, in a formal proceeding. Before arraignment, defendant can play a legal fiction of not receiving the formal charge, because the charge is addressed to the court, not the defendant. At arraignment, the defendant gets the charge, and pleads. So I guess we had half of an arraignment today - but the "information" has been a public document since April 12th, and it is beyond risible that O'Mara has not seen it and studied it before today.
_MOTION_TO_CONTINUE_COMES NOW the Defendant, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, by and through his undersigned counsel, pursuant to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.190(g), and hereby moves to continue this case, and in support of the motion states the following reasons as good cause for the request to continue:
Defendant needs additional time to prepare.
Defendant understands that speedy trial is waived upon the granting of the motion.
The non-moving party stipulates _____, objects _____, does not object __X__, to this Motion.
Counsel certifies that this motion is made in good faith.
Dated this 7th Day of May, 2012 in Orlando, Orange County, Florida.
Mark M. Omara, Esquire
etc.---
_WAIVER_OF_SPEEDY_TRIAL_
COMES NOW the Defendant, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, by and through his undersigned attorney, pursuant to Rule 3.191, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, and hereby waives speedy trial in the above-styled cause.
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, Defendant
My apologies to all for believing the media and starting this thread about a non-existent arraignment. Learned something today. :-)
O'Mara's priority should be to get immunity for Zimmerman, on the basis that his use of force was justified.
I think both Corey and O'Mara want to drag this out, and it would be malpractice, bigtime, if O'Mara does not aggressively advocate for immunity.
-- I didn't miss an evidence dump, though, did I? --
No, you did not. I think O'Mara and Corey are working in cahoots to delay publication of evidence for as long as possible, as well. According to FL rules, O'Mara should have had all the state's evidence by April 27th. He didn't want it. As far as I can tell, he doesn't want it now, either.
Get the mob to riot over some other event, rather than the outcome of the Zimmerman case.
Protect Corey from widespread public awareness of how weak her evidence is, and perhaps protect her from the timely filing of charges of unethical conduct.
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