[mountn man]

The risk (and a significant one, with this judge) is that the prosecution would ask for, and the judge will grant, a mistrial. This trial has gone very, very well for Zimmerman - the possibility of having to do it all over again is not something he would want to risk.

Ahhh...and then, what about attorney costs??? Zimmerman was already running on empty.

[Conscience of a Conservative]

Yes, the attorney costs would be significant. And, of course, there is always the risk that the testimony at a second trial wouldn’t be as favorable for Zimmerman (for one obvious example, you can bet that Martin’s “friend” would be better prepped to testify). Based on how this trial has gone, if I were Zimmerman’s lawyer, I would make damn sure I didn’t do anything to risk a mistrial.