S. Samuel
The family of late teenager Trayvon Martin will see George Zimmmerman fight for his life next month as a judge refused to delay the shooter's murder trial this week.
According to reports, the trial will proceed as scheduled and lawyers have been informed there are certain aspects of Martin’s personal life which cannot be brought up.
A judge Tuesday refused to delay the June 10 trial of George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the February 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, at a hearing on motions ahead of the trial, also ruled that lawyers can’t mention Trayvon’s school records, past fights, marijuana use, ownership of gold teeth, or any photos or text messages found on the teen’s phone. Nelson said she reserves the right to change the ruling during the trial if lawyers open the door to such issues. However, she said that she can’t imagine that any of these issues would be relevant. (USA Today)
The judge also addressed how much of a role Zimmerman’s wife can play at the trial.
The first issue Nelson decided this morning was whether Zimmerman’s wife, Shellie Zimmerman, could be forced to participate in a deposition in her husband’s case. The judge ruled that she can be, but can also utilize her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when applicable. Shellie Zimmerman is charged with perjury, accused of lying about the couple’s finances during a bond hearing for her husband. Nelson also ruled that the jurors in the case will be referred to by number, not name, in order to protect their identities during trial, and the media is not allowed to photograph them. (Orlando Sentinel)
Last week, personal information from Martin’s cell phone hit the ‘net.
In the months and days before his shooting death, Trayvon Martin was getting into fights, getting high on marijuana, getting suspended from school and talking with friends about getting a gun, according to cellphone text messages that defense lawyers for shooter George Zimmerman released Thursday. Trayvon’s chronically misspelled, slang-filled messages — as well as pictures of a semi-automatic pistol, marijuana plants and Trayvon flipping his middle fingers — are all part of Zimmerman’s defense plan to put the Miami Gardens 17-year-old posthumously on trial. (Miami Herald)
Just last month, a Florida police officer reportedly lost his job after using eerily similar Trayvon targets for shooting practice.
Port Canaveral Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh told WFTV on Saturday that Sgt. Ron King was leading a target practice with two other Port Canaveral police officers and a civilian port employee when he pulled out the targets April 4. Walsh says King asked the group if they wanted to use the targets and they said no, telling King to put them back into his patrol car. Port Canaveral is about 50 miles southeast of Sanford, where the 17-year-old Martin was killed in 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense. His trial is set for June. Port Canaveral is about 50 miles southeast of Sanford, where the 17-year-old Martin was killed in 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. (Huffington Post)
