Boytwnmom
Verified Attorney
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and records are presumed to be subject to disclosure unless they fall under an exemption. A party has to file a Motion asking for them to be sealed. GZ's attorney filed a Motion and the judge ordered that the court filings and other records be sealed. (I would love to read that Motion) Media outlets have challenged this ruling and filed their own motion papers to oppose the sealing arguing that the circumstances do not meet the usual requirements for sealing records. They made their Motion papers available. They basically argue:
http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/16/trayvon-martin-case-sealed-records_n_1428972.html
As for Perjury, no what you describe would not be considered perjury. Perjury is a crime and all the elements of the crime have to be present. Laws vary somewhat but generally Perjury requires knowingly making a false material statement under oath in a legal proceeding. So, the defendant has to have knowledge/intent, the statement has to be under oath in a legal proceeding (trial, deposition, grand jury etc) and it has to be material, i.e. relevant to the matter. That means if you lie about how much money you make, or how many pets you have, whether you eat meat etc. in a trial about whether you drove under the influence that would not be considered material to the case. If you lied about how much you drink or drink and drive, now that would be material.
Hope this helps!
Zimmerman's case doesn't meet the standards that are typically used to create an exemption to those laws, according to the motion filed by the news organizations.
Those standards allow the sealing of records if their public release would create an imminent threat to the administration of justice, if there are no alternatives for protecting a defendant's right to a fair trial and if closing the records protects the rights of the person being tried.
"The closure order and the manner in which it was entered are contrary to law," the media organizations said in the motion.
http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/16/trayvon-martin-case-sealed-records_n_1428972.html
As for Perjury, no what you describe would not be considered perjury. Perjury is a crime and all the elements of the crime have to be present. Laws vary somewhat but generally Perjury requires knowingly making a false material statement under oath in a legal proceeding. So, the defendant has to have knowledge/intent, the statement has to be under oath in a legal proceeding (trial, deposition, grand jury etc) and it has to be material, i.e. relevant to the matter. That means if you lie about how much money you make, or how many pets you have, whether you eat meat etc. in a trial about whether you drove under the influence that would not be considered material to the case. If you lied about how much you drink or drink and drive, now that would be material.
Hope this helps!
Questions for the legal types.
1. What are the arguments for and against unsealing the records, and who benefits/loses out either way?
2. Can GZ be charged with perjury since he told TM's parents in his apology that he didn't know how old TM was, that he thought TM was just a little younger than himself, but on the PD call he clearly states that TM is in his late teens?
Thanks.