The evidence continues to roll in on the Zimmerman case. While the new evidence is not entirely bad for the prosecution, it does contain some evidence that will likely bolster the defense of George Zimmerman in the second degree murder trial over the killing of Trayvon Martin. Regardless of the ultimate impact, the evidence again shows (in my opinion) that prosecutor Angela Corey over-charged the case in Florida.
Some of the new evidence shows that Martin had traces of THC (the active ingredient of marijuana) in his blood stream and urine. Martin was suspended from school due to a marijuana offense (though it involved an empty marijuana baggie). Another benefit to the defense is that Martin father is shown denying that the voice calling out for help was his son — though he later changed that view when he says he was given a better recording. Other witnesses have indicated that it Zimmerman who was calling for help.
Generally, the existence of drugs in the system of a victim or defendant is admissible. The suspension would appear inadmissible under standard evidentiary rules.
There is also evidence that some neighbors described Zimmerman as a bully and a racist. That would help bolster the reported hate crimes prosecution being considered by the Obama Administration, though I still have reservations based on the evidence as it currently stands. Also the police viewed the shooting as “avoidable” — if Zimmerman had left the matter to the police.
I am not sure how much of the neighbor’s view of Zimmerman as a bully or racist could come into evidence. Such accounts, however, can have the benefit of further discouraging Zimmerman from taking the stand as a witness — always a benefit to the prosecution because (while they are told that a defendant has a right not to testify (jurors expect to hear from defendants).
On the whole, however, I would view the evidence as more positive to the defense. First, I have previously said that I was most interested in the distance of the shot and forensics. It now appears that Martin was shot from an intermediate range (no more than 18 inches and as little as an inch away). That would support the claim of Zimmerman that they were in a wrestling fight when the gun was fired. The greater the distance the stronger the case for the prosecution. The defense will likely present expert testimony to try to reduce the range further on the stand. Also, the report does have people at the scene saying that Zimmerman’s nose appeared broken — supporting the later medical report of the family doctor (though such injuries could occur from Martin defending himself).
Moreover, at least two witnesses appear to support Zimmerman in describing the man in the hoodie at straddling the other man and throwing punches. The report state that the man in the “‘hoodie’ [was] on top of a white or Hispanic male and throwing punches ‘MMA (mixed martial arts) style.’ He then heard a pop. He stated that after hearing the pop, he observed the person he had previously observed on top of the other person (the male wearing the hoodie) laid out on the grass.” One report also says that Zimmerman can be heard yelling for help 14 times on a 911 call recorded during the fight.
While the reports blame Zimmerman for getting out of his vehicle (he says that he was trying to get a house number for the police), that is not itself a crime. Of course, none of this means that Zimmerman was not the aggressor. Given the presumption of innocence and the need to prove the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, this evidence presents an added problem for the prosecution in my view. I have expressed skepticism over the way the case has developed and how it has been charged from the outset. As a criminal defense attorney, I would view this as a strong defense case even on the manslaughter charge, particularly given the poor police work at the scene.
What do you think?
Here is the police report.
Source: ABC and NY Daily News
“Trayvon Martin saw the creepy guy watching him.
Trayvon Martin told his girlfriend the guy was following him.
Trayvon Martin realized the guy was “here again.”
Trayvon Martin questioned George’s authority.
That’s how Trayvon Martin got shot.” Malisha
The truth comes out in the end.
Questioning a strangers authority when they refuse to identify themselves is not a crime. Shooting someone is a crime.
If I were going to attack George Zimmerman, I wouldn’t first ask him, “You got a problem?” That might give him time to pull a gun on me.
Malisha, this is the reason I started following this case. The claim that this teenager who was wandering about while talking on the phone was actually waiting to ambush and attack poor George Zimmerman.
It made no sense to anyone who has been around teenagers and cell phones. If I was planning to attack someone, I would hang up the dam phone, as would any thoughtful attacker.
We really don’t know if Martin stood his ground and I don’t see that as an issue where things currently stand, although at trial, if it comes to that the prosecution can make that claim and leave it to the defense to refute it.
I’m talking about the judge’s comments in the recent release-on-bond paperwork and that Z’s lawyer should not have high expectations of SYG being successful.
As you have said previously, it’s plea or trial. I don’t see self-defense working without Z on the stand and putting him on the stand is risky imo. However, I’m not a defense attorney. or any kind of attorney for at matter.
BettyKath, I think SYG did play a part in the Zimmerman/Martin scene that night. But first, Martin DID try to run; when that didn’t work, he tried to stand his ground. Unfortunately, since he was unarmed, he couldn’t stand his ground firmly enough.
I think the judge signaled his skepticism of SYG.
I’m a pretty good speller. At least I used to be. Now I have to work at it. Just found that right click saves me lots of brain power in getting rid of the red underline. : )
Shano, the SOLE piece of evidence that Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman is George Zimmerman’s claim that Trayvon Martin attacked him. With his credibility as ruined as it is, that’s kind of a long shot. IMO that is why Judge Lester put in writing that the ONLY ISSUE is George Zimmerman’s self-defense claim, AND he also put in writing that O’Mara had not put Zimmerman on the stand to testify at the second bond hearing. It’s shaping up.
As to how anybody can believe that Martin attacked Zimmerman? The people who “believe” that are simply saying they would rather listen to George Zimmerman than assess the real evidence of what took place that night — as the police did, before this case became a cause celebre.
There is absolutely no evidence that Tayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman.
I have no idea how they plan to prove this. it does seem to be critical to the claim of self defense, right? This is why they keep trying to deny George was following Trayvon, but all the evidence points to George following him!
It is a huge stretch of imagination for anyone who is not George Zimmerman to come to the conclusion that he was not following one of those “a55holes who always get away”
I am so curious to hear all the witnesses on the stand, to see if the majority of the bits and pieces of sight and sound put together will lead to more clarity on what actually happened that night…..
“Injury to Zimmerman shows that Trayvon Martin attacked him” is like saying “pregnancy of a woman shows that she was raped.”
Two things make me believe that the “self-defense” theory of the case will never fly now. One of them is kind of subtle, and it will take a good prosecutor to bring it out, but it’s there. Here’s where I found the tail of the rat I chased down the hole:
It’s 2/27/2012, evening, and George is sitting in the room in which he will take his voice-stress test, and the female investigator is sitting in there with him, and they are chatting. He asks her, “Have you ever had to shoot someone?” The question is not if she has ever SHOT someone but if she has ever HAD TO SHOOT SOMEONE. She answers that she has NOT. George then begins to elaborate on that theme. A sentence or two later, he comments that HE would never “question your authority.” IN other words, when he started the conversation about her having to shoot somebody, he was not thinking of whether her life was ever placed in danger while she was apprehending someone; he is thinking about whether her AUTHORITY WAS EVER QUESTIONED.
Trayvon Martin saw the creepy guy watching him.
Trayvon Martin told his girlfriend the guy was following him.
Trayvon Martin realized the guy was “here again.”
Trayvon Martin questioned George’s authority.
That’s how Trayvon Martin got shot.
This never happened to the female police officer who was in the room with George while he awaited the VS test.
=====================================================
The second thing that makes me think the self-defense theory of the case will never fly now is the order — Judge Lester’s second bond hearing order.
George posted the bond in a single day, although he was previously saying he would not be able to post a big bond. Everybody knows what’s going on. So Judge Lester used the opportunity of the second bond hearing to put down, on paper, officially, very very carefully and very well, the reasons that he considers the prosecution’s case to be “strong.” He says that the ONLY THING IN QUESTION is whether George Zimmerman acted in self-defense. And whose testimony is needed to establish self-defense? George Zimmerman’s. O’Mara is well aware that his client’s credibility is so crippled now that it’s practically a stand-up comedian joke that about a hundred other jokes could jump off. Oh wait, let me try:
George Zimmerman’s credibility is soooooooo looooooooow….
“HOW LOW IS IT?”
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that he told his wife he loved her and she burst into tears.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that he said he admired Frank Taaffe and Taaffe sued him for slander.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that Joe Oliver got a job.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that his mother now claims he was born in Hawaii.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that they have changed the name of the street to “Advance View Circle.”
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that the makers of adderall have had to declare bankruptcy.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that he has won the “Hurt Village Ace Boon Coon” award.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that Mark O’Mara is taking ventriloquism lessons.
George Zimmerman’s credibility is so low that Dershowitz is applying for a grant to teach law students how to make an elephant disappear.
———————————
When I was out there checking if Dershowitz had made a further statement AFTER Judge Lester’s order, I noticed a headline that said, “Medical Report Shows Martin Attacked Zimmerman.” See, this is the kind of logical leap a defendant with zero credibility would need to get off on a murder charge when his story doesn’t work. It’s like mamma caught Georgie with chocolate all over his face and the cookie jar all broken on the floor and all the cookies gone and this is his third offense and he says, “Mamma, I was trying to put the cover back on the cookie jar because it was on crooked and I thought somebody would steal cookies, so when I was straightening it, some of the cookies flew up in my face and in order to avoid being killed I had to open my mouth to scream help help and they flew in, and then I tried to spit them out but I got choked and the jar rolled over and pushed me off the counter and fell on the floor and broke” and she responded, “Oh George, how awful, thank God you’re still ALIVE!”
OH YEAH — news of Joe Oliver now?
Where does he work now?
Is he running around speaking for George Zimmerman nowadays?
Move any money out of any Paypal Accounts recently?
Yeah, good old Frank and good old George, both people that Trayvon Martin would NATURALLY have to look up to, and DEFINITELY would have to regard as authorities to whom he should answer, NOT “criminal types he should fear in the dark.”
Taaffe, unable to see his OWN children without supervision.
ONE of Taaffe’s children dies of an overdose of OTC drugs.
Another one of Taaffe’s children openly says on the web that he can’t stand his father.
Zimmerman’s ex-girlfriend scared of him, protective order against him.
Zimmerman himself admits to getting a bunch of free OTC drugs as a kid — who knows what else he has done in high school to get disciplined.
Trayvon Martin was right to be scared, OBVIOUSLY, and he was right to try to defend himself, OBVIOUSLY, and it is a damn shame that anybody would give either Taaffe OR Zimmerman the idea that they felt safer when these two thugs were around the neighborhood than when they were elsewhere.
Taaffe’s house go into foreclosure yet?
nasty divorce for sure. maybe separate visiting hours b/c there is still a restraining order in effect.
From link provided by Malisha:
Frank Taaffe
1997 Charged with battery on unknown party
March 1999 Charged with Domestic Violence, Supervised Visitation Ordered and Restraining Order.
April 1999 Wife finalizes divorce, but she still can’t get rid of him. He beats her up again March 2000.
April 2002 He then starts terrorizing the daughter and son they get a temp restraining order and file DV charges.
1999 Failure to Pay Child Support
In 2008 the wife is still scared and files another domestic violence charge
Apparently he wont even pay tolls.
TAAFFE, FRANCIS BRUCE
DOB: 09/03/1956 DAVID SCOTT GLICKEN, Esquire
Retained
Plaintiff
STATE OF FLORIDA
Charge Information
Charges: TAAFFE, FRANCIS BRUCE
Statute
Level
Date
1. TRESPASS 810.08(2)(A) First Degree – Misd 03/11/2000
2. CR-PETIT THEFT 812.014(3)(A) Second Degree – Misd 03/11/2000
AND FURTHERMORE at dispatch instruction and if this alone was what supposedly “provoked” Martin to viciously attack him after Martin doubled back towards Zimmerman…then Zimmerman will almost certainly be exonerated
While you may think what Zimmerman did was “creepy or provocative” most impartial jurors will not think it warrants or deserves initiating a brutal physical attack…. MannyO
Lets see, if I was going to attack someone, it I was going to ambush them in the dark, I would get off the PHONE FIRST. then I would take the 32 oz iced tea out of my pocket and I would clock that stalker with all my might with the can in my hand. It makes a nice weapon.
If Trayvon was plotting to attack George, why didn’t he get off the phone? And why was the phone suddenly disconnected?
Lets see what Georges high school record might be shall we? Lets see what else we can add to stiffing a lawyer who helped you, refusing to pay a $10,000 fine from the court. Assaulting an officer and in other incidents his girlfriend and then blaming her for the assault. Taking prescription Meth-amphetamine and horse tranquilizers daily. Getting fired from a job for being a bully and a racist bully at that. Plotting with his wife to lie to a judge about their finances, keeping a secret passport. Lying about why he bought a gun in the first place.
Lets see the whole of Zimmermans good character here.
Look at the comment made by junkdrawer:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002464806#post9
from the obituary: “Visitation at Baldwin Fairchild, East Altamonte Chapel, for friends and family of Will, Susan and Meredith will be Tuesday, September 23 from 5-8pm . Visitation for Francis Taaffe family is Monday, Septmeber 22, 6-8pm.”
Must have been a nasty divorce. Separate visiting hours.
Here’s a little background on Francis B. Taaffe, authority figure, role model.
http://slumz.boxden.com/f5/mar-24-george-zimmermans-friend-frank-taafes-violent-racist-past-revealed-mug-shot-pic-1724926/
Apparently Will Taaffe died in September 2008. Zimmerman was giving Frank Taaffe repeat condolences in March 2012. As in, “I’m reminding you that I feel sorry for you having lost your son.”
Interesting, I used the words “Vincent Taaffe Frank son overdosed” without quotation marks on a google search and turned up this article:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/orlandosentinel/obituary.aspx?n=william-christopher-taaffe-will&pid=117819577
Apparently someone named Francis B. Taaffe and a woman named Susan Brown Taaffe were listed as surviving parents. The deceased also was survived by a half-brother named Vincent and a sister named Meredith.
Lots of nice things said about the deceased (Will Taaffe), all about his love for skate-boarding and so forth. Not a word about the cause of death.
I have been predicting, for quite some time, that there will be no SYG defense for Georgie. And why? He is the only witness to support a “SYG” finding — and unless there’s NO HEARING or a SECRET HEARING, how can he get off based on only his credibility? Finally it was expressed better than I could have expressed it before:
“Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester referred to Zimmerman with words like “conceal” and “flee” more than a dozen times in an eight-page order that would let him out of jail while he awaits his second-degree murder trial in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
The judge’s doubts could hurt an attempt by Zimmerman to dismiss the case by claiming he shot Martin in self-defense, a possible motion based on Florida’s “stand your ground” law, experts said.
“Mr. Zimmerman is not held in any high esteem by this court,” said Karin Moore, a law professor at the Florida A&M University College of Law. “I think that could matter if there is a ‘stand your ground’ hearing … It’s a matter of credibility. There is no one else to testify to support the self-defense claim.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0706/George-Zimmerman-fund-raising-appeal-for-1-million-bond