Zimmerman Trial: Tired of media bias? See gun-friendly legal

1st Written Statement of Zimmerman to Police, Night of Shoot

George Zimmerman fired the shot that killed Trayvon Martin at 7:17PM, Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Just over four hours later, at 11:36PM, Zimmerman signed his first written statement recounting the events of the shooting to Investigator Singleton of the Sanford Police Department.

If you've ever been interested in seeing that written statement first-hand, instead of just hearing the evidence misinterpreted through a disinformation campaign fully supported by the mainstream media, now's your chance. Ever wonder how much, if at all, Zimmerman's later recounting of events might have changed from his original statement to police? Don't rely on any one else's opinion (not even mine)--come take a look at the evidence yourself.

I've obtained a copy of Zimmerman's original 4-page hand-written statement to the police, and uploaded both a typed transcript (a bit easier to read) and a PDF scan of the original documents to the Law of Self Defense blog.

You can access that blog post directly here: Zimmerman's 1st Written Statement to Police the Night of the Shooting.

Once at the blog you can also, of course, access the many other blog postings on both the Zimmerman case and other self-defense issues from around the country--it's all totally free, of course.

Be sure to register if you'd like to be alerted directly whenever we post up a new self-defense related blog, which usually happens two or three times a week. Although I post here in this forum as much as I can, a lot of longer pieces of legal analysis just isn't well suited to a forum post.

Enjoy.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman "chase" Martin against police or

Hey folks,

One of the many untruths in the Zimmerman case that has been vigorously disseminated and ingrained into the public consciousness is that Zimmerman "chased/followed" Martin against police orders, or that he exited his vehicle after being told to stay inside the vehicle, or other variations of this theme.

This narrative has continued, with the full-hearted support of the mainstream media and its hundreds of "investigative reporters" despite the fact that even a cursory review of the evidence clearly shows this narrative to be patently false.

We know this because we have a real-time audio recording of the events in the form of Zimmerman's non-emergency phone call to the Sanford Police Department to report a suspicious person in his neighborhood.

I've prepared an audio clip of the relevant part of that non-emergency call, as well as an annotated transcript of what I hear in that audio clip, and posted them to my Law of Self Defense blog here.

When I listen to that audio not only do I NOT hear Zimmerman disobeying the dispatcher's instructions, I hear him exiting the vehicle specifically to answer the dispatcher's explicit question.

Take a listen/look and let me know what YOU think. Personally, I think this myth is . . . BUSTED.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
New Game: Count the untruths in the affidavit for probable c

Hey folks,

George Zimmerman was arrested, charged, and soon will be tried for murder in the second degree based upon the affidavit for probable cause submitted by investigators from Angela Corey's office. *These two investigators, T.C. O'Steen and K.D. "Dale" Gilbreath, at the time collectively possessing 44 years of law enforcement including decades in homicides, put down on paper and under oath the words contained in this affidavit.

I've obtained an copy of the original affidavit of probable cause (created a transcript for easier reading) and placed them at my blog for public access here: Zimmerman Trial: Evidentiary Flashback: Affidavit for Probable Cause?Count the untruths.

Reading it now, with so much evidence finally revealed through discovery, and so much disinformation and propaganda now having been de-bunked, it is amazing that anyone could have believed the deceptions and untruths contained in this document.

I have my own count, but I'm sure I must have missed some. *How about we play a count the "half-truths/un-truths" game and see how many you folks can identify and list.

Bonus points for whoever can find in this affidavit, even assuming every word in it is true, the elements of murder in the second degree--782.04(2). Murder--gets bonus points, because I sure can't find them.

Not even if the affidavit is true. *(Which it's not.)

(For a discussion of what Florida law means when it requires that a person have acted with a "depraved mind" to be guilty of murder 2, see: Getting to Murder 2: Finding George Zimmerman?s ?Depraved Mind?, over at Legal Insurrection.)

Anyway, take a look for yourselves and see what you think.

Good hunting.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman "racially profile" Martin?

Hey folks,

First a quick reminder that I'll be providing live, all-day coverage of Day 6 of jury selection for the Zimmerman trial over at Legal Insurrection. We'll provide live video streaming, a rolling Twitter feed of selected contributors, real-time posts of breaking events, and of course our wildly popular end-of-day wrap up. *I don't have a link for you until we go live, but we'll start coverage as soon as the Court goes into session, usually right at 9AM.

Now, to the meat of this post: Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman really "racially profile" Trayvon Martin, and was that alleged racial motivation the "depraved mind" element that makes this killing qualify as murder in the second degree?

NBC News produced a version of the recording of Zimmerman's non-emergency call to the police in which he appeared to volunteer, unsolicited, the fact that Martin was black. (NBC is currently being sued by Zimmerman for this act of malice.)

Fortunately, you don't have to rely on anyone else's "opinion" on the matter. In my newest blog post I have placed a copy of both the relevant snippet of that call and a transcript of what was said (for convenience):

Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman really ?racially profile? Martin?

Take a listen/look and see what you think. Did Zimmerman racially profile Martin? *Based on the facts in evidence, I'd have to say that myth is . . . BUSTED!

Andrew

@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up

Hey folks,

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day six of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up.

There were two notable jurors of the day:

H13 seemed to feel that the fact that Zimmerman was armed, even though lawfully, at the time of the incident suggested some wrongdoing on his part. Clearly, his being armed made her uncomfortable. She also recalled having "lived through" other racially-tinged riots, such as the Rodney King riots (albeit it seems she was not physically present at those riots, but knew of them from media reports). The most shocking of her comments, however, was when she noted that her present recollection was that Zimmerman had followed Martin against police orders. Asked if she would be able to reconsider that opinion if she heard evidence in court to the contrary she answers "I don't think I could be open to that." H13 was dismissed by the Court.

(For a thorough debunking of the false "Zimmerman followed Martin against police orders" narrative, click here: Zimmerman Trial: Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman ?chase? Martin against police orders?)

H27 was well-informed about the case, and could recall hearing the various police recordings and other details. It has been a striking consistency that the prospective jurors who have appeared to learn in favor of Zimmerman have tended to be well-informed about the facts of the case, whereas prospective jurors who have seemed to lean against Zimmerman have professed an almost coma-like ignorance of the facts of the case. During questioning by de la Rionda H27 volunteered that he had contributed $20 to George Zimmerman's legal defense fund, but nevertheless said he could be a fair and impartial juror. H27 was ultimately dismissed by the Court.

For all the juicy details, click here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up.

Following the wrap-up of prospective juror voir dire the court recessed, only to return to complete the Frye hearing that had been left unfinished the week prior to the start of jury selection. For more on that, click here:

Zimmerman Trial: Frye Hearing Continues with Prof. James L. Wayman

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/06/zi ... -l-wayman/

Tomorrow we'll do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day seven of jury selection. Be sure to join us.

Best,

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
The Five Principles of the Law of Self Defense

Hey folks,

Well, we're gearing up for Day 7 of jury selection. It's amazing to think that we've spent all this time with the jurors and we're still only doing the preliminary voir dire, limited to asking questions about pre-trial publicity. If it takes an hour to get through a jury on that basis, and sometimes it has, how long is it going to take when the lawyers are doing an unlimited voir dire?

In any case, I thought it might be useful to take a moment, lift our heads from the weeds of jury selection and specific factual matters, and take a brief 30,000 foot view of the trial.

I've posted at some length about the State's challenges in proving the charge of murder in the second degree (can't be done, in my opinion), or manslaughter.

As to manslaughter, petty much anytime you deliberately use any force against someone and they die it's going to be manslaughter--UNLESS you have some lawful justification.

And that's where Zimmerman's legal defense of self-defense will come into play.

A few days ago I put up a "self-defense backgrounder" post over at Legal Insurrection, but I don't believe I've mentioned it here so many of you might not have seen it.

The post covers the four main Florida self-defense related statutes I expect to be relevant in this case, and the statutory criminal charges in play (murder and manslaughter).

I also present a conceptual framework, "The Five Principles of the Law of Self-Defense," to guide our ongoing assessment of how successfully (or not) the State is making its case to disprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Zimmerman's claim to have acted in lawful self-defense.

Enjoy!

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman ?Chase Down? a Fleeing Martin?

Hey folks,

One of the enduring myths of the falsified public narrative promulgated by the State prosecutors and other anti-Zimmerman zealots has been that George Zimmerman ?chased down? a frightened Trayvon Martin who was simply attempting to secure the safety of his destination (his father?s girlfriend?s home in at the Retreat at Twin Lakes neighborhood.

Is that what really happened? Or is George Zimmerman?s recounting more credible and consistent with the facts in evidence?



Take a look at my latest fact-based "myth busters" installment, and decide for yourselves: Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman ?Chase Down? a Fleeing Martin?

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Goal of 40 Prospective Jurors for Full Voir Dire Achieved

Hey folks,

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day 7 of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Seven Wrap-Up.

The biggest news of the day is that the Court's goal of selecting 40 prospective jurors to go on to the next round of full voir dire has been achieved, and Judge Nelson dismissed the jurors who did not make it through the first round of questioning. The lucky winners are:

B12, B29, B35, B37, B51, B61, B7, B72, B76, B86, E13, E22, E28, E40, E54, E6, E73, G14, G29, G47, G63, G66, G81, H18, H29, H35, H6, H69, H7, H81, H86, I19, I24, I33, I44, K80, K95, M75, P67, I5.

We?ll be posting a compilation of our notes for each of these 40 in post coming soon.

The announcement of the successful candidate jurors having been announced, we saw a relatively rare appearance by Prosecutor Angela Corey, when she stepped to the front of the court room and directed the courthouse personnel in arranging the chairs for the jurors tomorrow morning.

For all the juicy details, click here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Seven Wrap-Up.

Tomorrow we'll do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day eight of jury selection, the "Full Voir Dire Edition". Be sure to join us.

Best,

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Zimmerman Trial: Never seen a juror questionnaire before? He

Hey folks,

As we?ve been watching the preliminary voir dire of dozens of prospective jurors over the past week or so, we?ve heard innumerable mentions of a ?juror questionnaire.? This is simply a list of questions, agreed to by both parties and the Court, which the jurors are asked to complete in writing before being questioned in voir dire. Their answers help the Court and parties quickly identify prospective jurors who must be dismissed as a matter of course?for example, if they are related to or have a business interest with one of the parties.

Their answers can also shed a subtle but discerning light on any prejudices they might bring to the trial that could prevent them from serving as a fair and impartial juror. Some of these questions often seem completely irrelevant to the case at hand?such as, ?Please list your 3 favorite TV shows,? or ?Please list the 3 people you admire most/least??but to a skilled jury consultant the responses to these questions can provide a deep insight into the prospective jurors covert prejudices.

The defense has retained the services of a world-class jury consultant, and I have obtained a sample of a jury questionnaire he used in a previous murder case (a rather bizarre one, actually, State v. Durst). If you?ve never before had the opportunity to see a juror questionnaire, now's your chance, as the court advances the 40 "winning" jurors into the next round of full voir dire.

Zimmerman Trial: Never seen a juror questionnaire before? Here you go . . .

Enjoy.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Zimmerman Jury Selection: Day 8--Live streaming, all-day cov

Hey folks,

Just FYI, Day 8 of jury selection has just kicked into gear.Our live, all-day coverage can be found at Legal Insurrection here, if you're interested in following along.

At end-of-day yesterday Judge Nelson announced that the Court had achieved its goal of selecting the "top 40" prospective jurors who are to "advance to the next round". The "lucky winners" are:

B7, B12, B29, B35, B37, B51, B61, B72, B76, B86, E6, E13, E22, E28, E40, E54, E73, G14, G29, G47, G63, G66, G81, H6, H7, H18, H29, H35, H69, H81, H86, I5, I19, I24, I33, I44, K80, K95, M75, P67

We've pulled together a compilation of all our notes on the lucky winners over at Legal Insurrection here: Zimmerman]Jury Selection Profiles- ?Top 40? Advanced to Next Round.

We'll also be doing our usual end-of-day summary of events.* I'll drop a brief note when that's up, for folks who are interested.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
FDLE Forensic Lab Report on Zimmerman's Gun & Fatal Bullet

Hey folks,

Many of you may have heard bits and pieces about the gun and ammo that George Zimmerman used to save his life from Trayvon Martin's deadly force attack, but we all know that facts and details can become blurry in the re-posting on the internet.

To set the record straight, I've acquired a copy of the official Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Forensic Laboratory Report on Zimmerman's gun and ammo, and I thought I'd share the details of that with you, as well as provide a PDF of the official report itself (available at the bottom of this post).

If you're interested in seeing my blog post on this, and a copy of the original FDLE Forensic Laboratory Report, click here:

FDLE Forensic Report: Zimmerman's Gun & Fatal Bullet

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
knowing little about being on such an important jury, i have a question.

can you omit the answers to some questions on the questionaire?

they are just way too personal in my opinion.

SS number?
been in combat?
ever killed anyone?

just 3 of the worst.

im not on trial. information is too private. what if people lie?
 
Day 8 Wrap-Up: State Hints at Theory of the Case

Hey folks,

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day 7 of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Eight Wrap-Up.

Today the State conducted voir dire of the pool of 40 prospective jurors. (The defense has it's turn tomorrow. Also tomorrow marks the return of State expert witness Tom Owens, at 2PM.)

Most striking about today's voir dire is how large a proportion of the day involve de la Rionda speaking, rather than any of the prospective jurors. His speech was often long, somewhat rambling, and ultimately appeared to be an effort at conditioning the prospective jurors to a particular judgmental and emotional position?for example, participating in Neighborhood Watch is somehow similar to taking the law into your own hands.

Given the (to this New Englander?s eyes) somewhat astonishing responses?35% having been victims of crime, 10% having been victims of violent crime, 25% having Neighborhood Watch programs in their community, 30% owning or having owned personal firearms (the one having owned also having possessed a CCW), and another 30% having family or close friends who own guns?I?m not sure whether de la Rionda?s apparent selling proposition?which seems to be that Zimmerman took the law into his own hands?is being targeted at an amenable market.

The survivability of such a theory of the case seems particularly uncertain given the actual facts in evidence, which overwhelmingly favor the defense. For example, will it really be a credible argument that Zimmerman was seeking to ?take the law into his own hands? when it was he who phoned the police, in his role as leader of his Neighborhood Watch Program to report a suspicious person in his neighborhood plagued with robberies?

For all the juicy details, click here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Eight Wrap-Up.

Tomorrow we'll do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day nin of jury selection, the "Full Voir Dire Edition". The defense will have it's chance for voir dire of the 40 prospective jury candidates, and at 2PM we'll welcome Mr. Tom Owens back to the court (probably virtually).

Be sure to join us.

Best,

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
Tigerstripe said:
ok you cant lie so what about omit?
Click to expand...

As a practical matter, as long as you show up and present yourself to court, if they start to perceive you as a wacko they'll just send you home.

They COULD hold you in contempt and toss you in the clink for a while, but you'd have to really come across as offensive to trigger that reaction.

Again, that's all as long as you show up. If you don't both to show up, it's open season. A judge can't run a court if they simply allow called jurors not to show up. And judge's like their jobs a great deal, indeed.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense
 
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