Posted on 06/04/2012 2:40:56 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Zimmerman's defense team will file a motion today for a second bond hearing. While Mr. Zimmerman acknowledges that he allowed his financial situation to be misstated in court, the defense will emphasize that in all other regards, Mr. Zimmerman has been forthright and cooperative. He gave several voluntary statements to the police, re-enacted the events for them, gave voice exemplars for comparison and stayed in ongoing contact with the Department of Law Enforcement during his initial stage of being in hiding. He has twice surrendered himself to law enforcement when asked to do so, and this should demonstrate that Mr. Zimmerman is not a flight risk. He has also complied with all conditions of his release, including curfew, keeping in touch with his supervising officers, and maintaining his GPS monitoring, without violation.
The audio recordings of Mr. Zimmerman's phone conversations while in jail make it clear that Mr. Zimmerman knew a significant sum had been raised by his original fundraising website. We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust, and confusion. The gravity of this mistake has been distinctly illustrated, and Mr. Zimmerman understands that this mistake has undermined his credibility, which he will have to work to repair.
At the point of the bond hearing, Mr. Zimmerman had been driven from his home and neighborhood, could not go to work, his wife could not go back to a finish her nursing degree, his mother and father had been driven from their home, and he had been thrust into the national spotlight as a racist murderer by factions acting with their own agendas. None of those allegations have been supported by the discovery released to date, yet the hatred continues.
It must be noted that, when attempting to interpret George's actions regarding the funds, that he did disclose the existence of the funds five days after the bond hearing, during his first conversation with the defense about the fund. When the defense team learned of the funds, we disclosed this to the court and to the State Attorney's Office, and the money was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund which is now independently managed.
Of the original $204,000 raised by Mr. Zimmerman's fund, approximately $150,000 was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund. $30,000 was used to make the complicated transition from private life in Sanford, FL to a life in hiding as a defendant in a high-profile court case. The balance of approximately $20,000 was kept liquid to provide living expenses for the first several months as the legal process unfolds.
Since the independently managed Legal Defense Fund was established on May 3, supporters have contributed more than $37,000. Of this amount, $2,000 has been designated for household expenses. Less than $300 has been designated for fund management and fees associated with maintaining the conditions of the bond. None of the funds have yet to be allocated to legal expenses. Neither Mr. Zimmerman or the defense team has direct access to the independently managed Legal Defense Fund.
It must be noted that, when attempting to interpret George's actions regarding the funds, that he did disclose the existence of the funds five days after the bond hearing, during his first conversation with the defense about the fund. When the defense team learned of the funds, we disclosed this to the court and to the State Attorney's Office, and the money was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund which is now independently managed.
Ah, so apparently the scumbag prosecutors WERE TOLD ABOUT THE AMOUNT apparently as SOON as George Zimmerman found out and told his attorney.
This whole persecution of a man exercising his second amendment rights is a friggin' JOKE.
If Zim had guessed WRONG about the amount of money in the fund at the bond hearing, he would've been attacked by the clowns persecuting him, too.
The Obama/Sharpton Lynch mob is trying to ruin this guy's life.
The lynch mob AND THE JUDGE caused this little problem. It’s not like the website was “private”.
Since the donations were to a legal defense fund, wouldn’t it have been wrong to use them to post bail?
One would think after the example of Mr.Zimmerman’s
return and cooperation that the bond could be reduced.
It will get interesting once the judge gets into the accusation that Zim turned in the Passport that he claimed to have lost, while continuing to posess his active passport - (or so it’s been reported).
Orville Redenbacher is a tasty choice!
AFAIK, judge already ruled on the passport issue. He found the defense did nothing wrong, and ruled AGAINST the persecution on that issue.
Damn, never even thought of that, Jim. But you're probably correct!
I don’t think he commented on it, I think he just ignored it, and when the $$$ issue was added, he looked at it. I think that is the central issue now, and this article does not address it at all.
You could make a very powerful argument that the funds were sent in trust they would be used to defer legal expenses and thus Zimmerman was nothing more than a trustee with the obligation to disburse any funds only for the purpose they were given. That agrument should and perhaps was made at the revocation hearing. That's obviously the track the attorney is taking now by setting up a formal trust fund with an independent third party acting as trustee.
~”The Obama/Sharpton Lynch mob is trying to ruin this guy’s life.”~
http://www.change.org/petitions/msnbc-fire-al-sharpton
Innocent or guilty, this guy is going to pay a high penalty.
Can’t have innocent citizens protecting themselves when being killed.
One must call the cops later, or simply die like a dog and forget about it
Zimmerman Lawyer’s Press Interview About Client’s Jail Return.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0Z8Pd4NAs&feature=colike
Not directed at you Cyber...but I’m curious as to how one get’s a second passport? Dang if it wasn’t hard enough (as in time consuming and expensive) to get one.
That and the private security they certainly must have had to hire is going to eat up $200k in no time without even considering legal fees.
Declare the first one lost or stolen. That gets the first one "canceled" in the database, so it becomes useless for border crossing. The person declaring a lost or stolen passport also agrees to submit the lost one, if found (or recovered one, if stolen) to the government. The submission may be accompanied by a request to cancel the lost one (punch a mess of holes in it), otherwise the government destroys the "found/recovered" one.
You have a passport. One day you need it for something and whoa! It’s “lost.” You apply for (and receive) a replacement, and there you are: Two passports. Now, the new one declares the old one void. But there is no way the old one can note that.
GZ was required, as a normal part of a bail, to surrender his passport. It is alleged he had found the “old” one and surrendered it, while he held the “new” one. That is a big-time no-no. It indicates a willingness to flee.
Do we have any way to know if the allegation is true?
Apparently both were turned over to the defense attorney, who forgot to turn one in. This was discussed on this board a couple of days ago.
I think Zimmerman’s probably getting railroading with the charges against him, but I think what you highlighted is simply that Zimmerman told his attorney about the fund five days after the bail hearing—and the attorney immediately told the court about it.
Zimmerman, if I understand correctly, is the one who set up the site that took in the donations, so he knew about it all along and that is why he’s in trouble about it now.
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.