>>>Can Zimmerman sue the judge, too, when this is all over?<<<
I have been a big Zimmerman supporter from the beginning, but I think the judge is just about the only individual in the Florida justice system who has been fair towards George Zimmerman.
The original $150,000 bail was very reasonable, given the seriousness of the charge against GZ (as bogus as it is).
GZ and his wife screwed up badly, by not revealing the PayPal cash at the first bond hearing, and by making transactions that appeared suspicious. Despite this, the judge was convinced by the evidence that O’Mara presented that it wasn’t as bad as it originally looked and that GZ is still not a flight risk.
The fact that the judge looked past the public and media hysteria, and the fact that he was deceived in the first bond hearing and is once again granting bail to GZ impresses me.
I don’t think Judge Lester is going to allow GZ to be railroaded and he will do his best to see he gets a fair trial. In fact, I think there is a decent chance he will dismiss the case after a Stand Your Ground hearing.
I read all the way from the beginning comment down to yours before I could find a comment that was informational and impartial. Thanks for posting.
I get so sick of the “tar and feather”-style, emotion-based comments on every subject.
Agreed.
Z’s misstep is somewhat excusable because of how difficult it is to keep a cool head in the situation he was in, but he put the Judge in a spot where he’d look like a complete nancy if he overlooked those things and cut him loose gratis.
I haven’t had that much experience with the legal system, but what little I do have suggests that if there is one way to piss a Judge off its to put him/her in a position that “the court” looks like a patsy for helping you.
I want to see this end with the prosecutors disbarred and the charges thrown out as much as anyone, but if its going to happen it’ll be after the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted.
In fact, I think there is a decent chance he will dismiss the case after a Stand Your Ground hearing.
I’m not a lawyer, don’t play one and not really versed in the legal system. However, imo, GZ harmed any chance of getting a dismissal when he misled the judge in the bond hearing. That makes his word useless and he’s the only one the Judge could rely on as to what actually happened. Mislead me once, I’ll not trust your word in the future.
Now a jury may make a total different assessment in a trial. JMO.
If I had the spare cash lying around, I'd post bond for Zimmerman, as he doesn't seem like much of a flight risk. That is what the government tells us the purpose of bail is for right? To make sure the accused will show up in court? If it's real purpose is just to punish someone for being accused of a crime, they should just say so, and quit trying to claim otherwise. Even $150k bail is excessive unless the defendant can post the bond without having to borrow it from a bail bondsman. Otherwise, it's merely a tax of $15k that the defendant cannot recover.
The judge has decided to raise this tax to $100k apparently because $15k wasn't enough of a punishment for someone who it's pretty obvious will be vigorously defending himself in court.
The court was aware of the pay pal account at the first hearing. Zimmerman’s wife stated she did know exactly how much was in the account, but tat the court could contact Zimmerman’s brother and get the exact amount.
IF the court was interested, getting the exact amount would have been very easy.
I don’t blame Zimmerman’s wife for not giving an exact amount, considering how the court has treated George. Image if she were off by few dollars the prosecutor would still have yelleed perjury!