[Tunehead54]

The decision to take a motion to dismiss is a defense option. The motion can be taken anytime prior to the trial itself.

However as a practical matter, the presiding judge will hold at least one pre-trial status hearing to decide when and how long the trial will take.

Needless to say (so why am I saying it ;-), the judge would not appreciate not being apprised of your intention to move for dismissal the day before trial. In that case, he’d probably just incorporate the motion into the trial itself and likely be pissed at the defense team and defendant. Not a good approach.

Before taking such a motion, because it qualifies as a mini-trial, the defense will want to have any and all depositions, investigations, exhibits, reports, etc. all lined up before they bring the motion.

They’ll also have to decide who to call as witnesses and whether GZ will testify.

An interesting aspect of this motion would be that, as I understand it, pre-trial, you can only depose the arresting officers (on the report) but here only the state attorney is the arresting officer.

Whether the defense can depose say Martin’s girlfriend, I am unsure.

Pinging my expert Cboldt to hammer my SYG rant and this post - he’s far more current on FL law than I. ;-)

[Cboldt]

You didn't ask or assert this, and I agree that the defense will have to have an idea whether or not it will call Zimmerman to the stand before the Dennis hearing (a proceeding to decide whether or not Zimmerman is entitled to immunity from prosecution, on the grounds that his use of force was within the use described in Florida Statute 776.032), the defense can introduce Zimmerman's version of events in the Motion for Immunity itself. It has to swear certain facts are true, and this swearing is apart from and anew to the evidence that exists by way of police interviews.

In other words, I don't believe Zimmerman has to take the stand in order to present evidence in his defense. He may want to tkae the stand to rebut evidence that surfaces during the course of the hearing, and should certainly be prepared to take the stand.

O'Mara has the right to depose DeeDee, under Florida's open book discovery rules. The state has named DeeDee as a witness.

O'Mara will also want to depose eyewitnesses and the police investigators who interviewed Zimmerman. He may call them to the stand as part of his defense. In fact, that's part of what makes this prosecution "odd," that the police investigation is more in line with the defense than it is with the prosecution. In fact, I don't see the police investigators as helpful to the prosecution, at all.