George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin General Discussion Thread 9 (For Friday)

[sacrablue]

I have not read every thread on this case, but I'm curious if there has been a discussion about how George could have possibly reached his holstered gun with Trayvon sitting astraddle of him? To me this is a HUGE issue!!! We have tried this numerous times with several people and it just CAN'T BE DONE! It makes GZ's entire story of how he came to shoot Trayvon a LIE. (Before you start throwing things at me, try it yourself.) :truce:

You couldn't but don't forget the source. IMO
Just more made up stories to save his butt.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

Must add, the two day ordeal that the defense put Rachel Jeantel through was the absolute cruelest charade imaginable......Now, I can see where some family members In Other Cases could get stronger insinuations from the defense, but This Case, IMO , does not warrant such snide innuendoes. IMO

I disagree that the evidence isn't strong enough against GZ because initially the Lead Investigator, Chris Serino, was ready to charge GZ with manslaughter...and I don't think the DA turned that premise down because of " lack of evidence" by any means...I firmly believe the DA's office didn't want to deal with such a volatile case....and as it's turned out...this case IS volatile....so it's easy to see why they Possibly didn't want to prosecute...
Each state seems to have different standards in alleged murder cases.....and this court room farce wouldn't be allowed in many counties in most states.....Time limits givento the Prosecution and the defense alllowed to ramble on for literally days....IMO

Cruel? She testified for 6 hours, lied repeatedly and didn't seem to want to be bothered to testify for her supposed friend. Imo.

 

[katiecoolady]

I read that when it was announced he was coming in. Very interesting indeed!

He's a hired gun for defense lawyers now but in our case, fortunately for us, he turned that gun on the defendant.

 

[Beyond Belief]

Unfortunately MOM is wasting his time, her mind is made up imo.

Agreed. imo

 

[JudyBolton]

Unfortunately MOM is wasting his time, her mind is made up imo.

Yes! He may as well be arguing this to a brick wall IMO/MOO

 

[MeeBee]

Unfortunately MOM is wasting his time, her mind is made up imo.

This is standard procedure for a defense after the prosecution rests. It's probably pretty rare that the motion is granted.

 

[sorrell skye]

No way will Judge Nelson rule to dismiss charges.

But it's the Defense's job to make this argument. I've seen this in other trials. IMO, O'Mara is making a good argument for dismissal, citing case law. Unfortunately, I think it's falling on deaf ears.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

So at this point can the judge direct a verdict?

 

[William N]

I met a states attorney from Florida this week. He was of the opinion that LE did their job and there was not enough evidence to charge GZ. He said the states case is fairly weak, and unfortunately is more politically motivated than anything else. What a shame. JMV

Which is what I've been posting on this Forum.

 

[livelife]

Also as I recall GZ had two passports. One was valid and one had expired. He turned in the expired one, as he was required to turn in his passport, but told his wife to put the valid one in, as I recall, a safe-deposit box. I may not have all of this exactly right, but it did concern his keeping the valid passport, IMO.

There were also recorded phone calls that were released in which GZ and his wife were talking in code about moving money around in Paypal accounts and talking about the passports. Links below

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/06/george-zimmerman-was-busted-recorded-calls/53081/

 

[MeeBee]

No way will Judge Nelson rule for a dismissal of charges.

But it's the Defense's job to make this argument. I've seen this in other trials. IMO, O'Mara is making a good argument for dismissal. Unfortunately, it's falling on deaf ears.

This is one case where the motion is actually pretty relevant. But it's not going to happen. I just don't think judges do it.

 

[JeannaT]

So at this point can the judge direct a verdict?

It wouldn't be a "verdict", but a "summary judgement for acquittal" as far as I know.

She can state that the state has rested without proving their case.

IMHO

 

[MeeBee]

So at this point can the judge direct a verdict?

I think if she so chose, she could throw the charges out and the trial would be over.

 

[William N]

State has shown nothing, proven nothing. Careers should end over this and people should be disbarred imo. Really scary imo.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[NotMyselfNEMore]

Must add, the two day ordeal that the defense put Rachel Jeantel through was the absolute cruelest charade imaginable......Now, I can see where some family members In Other Cases could get stronger insinuations from the defense, but This Case, IMO , does not warrant such snide innuendoes. IMO

I disagree that the evidence isn't strong enough against GZ because initially the Lead Investigator, Chris Serino, was ready to charge GZ with manslaughter...and I don't think the DA turned that premise down because of " lack of evidence" by any means...I firmly believe the DA's office didn't want to deal with such a volatile case....and as it's turned out...this case IS volatile....so it's easy to see why they Possibly didn't want to prosecute...
Each state seems to have different standards in alleged murder cases.....and this court room farce wouldn't be allowed in many counties in most states.....Time limits givento the Prosecution and the defense alllowed to ramble on for literally days....IMO

BBM - I understood this the same way regarding Chris Serino, and felt his testimony and interview with GZ confirmed that understanding, especially when he questioned him about his non-emergency call, not knowing the street names, and following TM.
My understanding, so of course, only my opinion.

 

[missmazzy]

This is standard procedure for a defense after the prosecution rests. It's probably pretty rare that the motion is granted.

I have actually seen it once. Many years ago, a Disneyland employee, dressed as a character, took their head off backstage. There was a family backstage, whose car had been broken into and they were waiting for, I guess security. The kid saw the headless character and the parents said he was traumatized.

They put on their case, which was ridiculous, and the defense asked it be thrown out. Case was thrown out.

 

[Maryann123]

I respectfully disagree that he was disrespectful, IMO. I did not take his question to mean that she was outright lying... I took it to mean that as a mother, it would be understandable that to consider the alternative (that the screams were George's) would be too difficult to bear because she would be admitting that her son may have done something wrong that night. That is about the nicest way possible you can ask that question. That are many defense lawyers that would have been FAR more nasty about it.

This case is so troubling for so many reasons. First and foremost, a 17 year old should never lose their life. And a family should never have to grieve for their child. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I would love nothing more than to see this family get peace and justice. I really do mean that.

But as I sit watching this trial, there is such a lack of concrete evidence proving 2nd degree murder that it's unsettling to me. IMO, it is very evident that these charges were only brought forward because of the public outcry. If there had been a grand jury, I seriously question if we'd be watching this trial right now.

The grand majority of the prosecution witnesses have flipped to defense witnesses. The prosecution continues to reach with theories and guesses and shoddy work. There is a problem here. As much as I want justice for all victims, I also do not want people convicted out of emotion and media pressure.

I do not consider myself a supporter of George. The little that I know about George, I don't particularly like him. I also do not consider myself a supporter of the defense. I am just somebody watching this as if I were a juror and the prosecution has not proven their case to me. The fact that they are struggling with the medical examiner so much at the finish line of their case is not just a fluke. It's another strong indication of the many holes in their case.

IMO

I'm not a fan of George Zimmerman either. It was obvious from the start that the person screaming was the person getting his azz kicked. Prior to the gunshot, only GZ had injuries from the attack. Would we ever see a person on top of another, throwing down blows, while yelling for help? In order to believe TM was on the bottom, you have to discredit witnesses that say it was GZ, ignore the blows to the back of GZ's head, his busted nose, and GZ's account of events. Believing TM was on the bottom goes against all the evidence. Nobody on top begs for help! All they have to do is get off!

 

[MeeBee]

I have actually seen it once. Many years ago, a Disneyland employee, dressed as a character, took their head off backstage. There was a family backstage, whose car had been broken into and they were waiting for, I guess security. The kid saw the headless character and the parents said he was traumatized.

They put on their case, which was ridiculous, and the defense asked it be thrown out. Case was thrown out.

lol wow. ok, so it probably does happen in certain cases where the charges are particularly erroneous.

What losers...

 

[Sonya610]

As I understand it, the judge isn't allowing the ME to state that in his opinion, the amount of marijuana found in Trayvon's body would cause behavior changes.

I can't imagine why that's not being allowed, but apparently that's the issue.

IMHO

Many people that saw the video tape of Trayvon in the convenience store a few minutes before the incident commented that (in their opinion) he appears to be high. He moves slow, naturally he does not pull out money until the cashier rings up the $2 or so amount, then takes a rather long time to count out change, etc... When he leaves he starts going the wrong way and then turns around and heads to the door.

Obviously if he was getting high he was doing it at his father's fiancee's house since he was alone there with the other kid. The parents were gone and didn't come back for hours, then when they did come back did they even ask where Trayvon was? I have to wonder if they tried to call him when he didn't come home all night? Does anyone know? Or did they just not care if the teenage son who was sent to stay with the father for disciplinary reasons was gone all night without notice?

IMO.

 

[sacrablue]

I couldn't agree more.

Do you think GZ knew or heard what the term "stand your ground" means before the shooting? IMO