Last night saw an extraordinary confrontation between the defense and the court in the George Zimmerman trial. The defense is seeking to use photos and material from the phone of Martin. The most serious issue is that the defense claims that the government had this material since January and only recently gave it to the defense — another allegation of withholding evidence by the prosecution. The judge and the lawyers are clearly exhausted and I think the schedule is a bit too punishing. I realize that the jury is sequestered and want to go home. However, these days are diminishing the professional ability and clearly the personal restraint of the judge and lawyers alike. While I do not think that the defense should get a few days to rest, I do think that schedule has been unnecessarily demanding and even a few hours of more rest would be in order. I realize the jurors and courts have limited time but I have never agreed with the punishing schedule of many trials. However, I am more concerned with the delay in turning over this evidence until June.
The defense has a valid objection that they are being denied evidence due to the failure of the prosecution to turn over the evidence in a timely manner — to allow for authentication. Judge Debra Nelson clearly does not want to acknowledge the allegation of prosecutorial abuse and then refuses to deal with the objection that the attorneys are exhausted. I think the defense has a valid objection on both the misconduct and the schedule. However, Nelson just walks out on the defense and says that she will deal, not with the allegation of misconduct, but an alleged defense sequestration violation.
Defense attorney, Don West, objects that “I’m not physically able to keep up this pace much longer” as the judge walks out.
The judge has barred the use of a simulation of the scene. However, there are also those text messages on Martin’s phone where he refers to fighting. The prosecution has been able to introduce past comments from Zimmerman, but the court has barred the use of comments from Martin. In this case, she insisted that there was no authentication that it was Martin but the defense noted that they were denied the opportunity to authenticate by the prosecution.
I think most of the rulings in the case have been fair, though I have reservations about some of the excluded evidence and serious reservations about the failure to address the claims of withholding evidence. Judges regularly avoid dealing with such claims in trials, which only encourages prosecutors to game the system by holding on to evidence as long as possible before a trial.
mespo727272,
Political Nazis!
Obama/Bush/Clintons =Chiraq/Chicago mafia meets the Wallst’s NY city Genvieve crime families.
Deep capture.com
It’s a short read for a fast reader.
Man Refuses To Comply With Internal Checkpoint; Border Patrol Smashes Their Way Into Vehicle
Has possessions confiscated, detained for NINE HOURS
Steve Watson
http://www.prisonplanet.com/man-refuses-to-comply-with-internal-checkpoint-border-patrol-smashes-their-way-into-vehicle.html
Sicne I work in Laredo, I go through the checkpoints on a regular basis and have NO problem or even much delay. Now the courts HAVE ruled that you DO have to submit to searches near the border, and this fool is going to find that out once he gets to court, either criminal or civil. I am glad that they did that, and he was asking for it as he admitted. So it is absurd to say that they did NOT have to do what they did since he fully anticipated their actions. My only regret is that he is not facing felony charges, but I guess the BP has bigger fish to fry. This is one fish that needs to be fried well for a couple of years.
Oky1:
“Ask the ex-Sheriff in this case!”
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You’ve answered your own dilemma. That’s why he’s the ex-sheriff.
Revealed: how Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages
London Guardian | Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption.
** mespo727272 1, July 11, 2013 at 9:34 pm
Vincent:
“…. the evidence of self-defense is so overwhelming in this case that any rational jury must acquit”
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Were that true the trial judge would have dismissed the case on the defense’s motion. She didn’t.
**
Unless we are living in the modern day Nazi Phk’in German, which we are & we see the proof of it!
Ask the ex-Sheriff in this case!
So, you DID understand, GENE H, but you had no substantive response, and merely resorted to a childish insult.
Typically Gene-like.
Concur mespo;
A directed verdict would have been instantaneous.
Vincent:
“…. the evidence of self-defense is so overwhelming in this case that any rational jury must acquit”
*********************
Were that true the trial judge would have dismissed the case on the defense’s motion. She didn’t.
Politics in this case involved the fact that the man who killed someone he didn’t KNOW, without any real credible excuse, was not arrested, and the investigation was totally flawed by the police campaign to protect the shooter from the consequences of his unlawful act. Politics made it impossible to support that kind of police work and that kind of prosecutorial “discretion.” Wolfinger, the prosecutor, got wiped out because of it; the Chief if Police, Lee, got fired because of it. The Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement then had to re-evaluate the actual evidence and found:
A recording of the shooter’s intent to prevent his victim (whom he called “the suspect”) from “getting away”;
A bullet wound straight into the chest at NO ANGLE fired from intermediate range but at point-blank range through the clothing;
A shell casing 40 feet south of where the shooter claims he was attacked without provocation by the victim; and
A timeline established by telephone calls and “pings” and CCTV from a clubhouse and police 911 calls that was in conflict with the fictionalized tale told by the shooter.
These things led the FDLE to draw Murder-2 charges.
Those charges led the defense attorneys to start a witch hunt against the victim, calling it “exculpatory” that the victim was not actually a perfect person who had never done the slightest thing wrong in all his life, although no nexus was present between any indiscretions on his part and the fact that he wanted to walk home from a 7-11 at 7:00 p.m. without being shot through the heart with a hollowpoint bullet.
If that is totally political, then let’s just go with it. Because if you can come and kill ME and not get charged unless my family can prove I was perfect before you executed sentence of death on me, then politics is better than law any day of the week.
Oh, and P.S.: If I see somebody who looks like they don’t like ME and think I’m “up to no good,” I’m scared, and I better kill them. QUICK.
Oh, I understood you, bill.
That you didn’t like the response is irrelevant.
The jury is sequestered. They want to go home. In deference to them, counsel must be willing to put in long hours. Don West is a crybaby, a crybaby who tells bad jokes and who does not understand why the trial judge must inquire of the defendant whether he wishes to waive his right to testify.
While, as Randyjet ably points out, women don’t appreciate self-defense as much as men, the evidence of self-defense is so overwhelming in this case that any rational jury must acquit. Two additional points: (1) the guy who is yelling help is the guy who is getting his head smashed into the sidewalk – the other guy doesn’t need help and (2) every cop at one time was a wannabe cop. Is there anything wrong with that?
I see that Vincent J does not understand what I wrote. The self defense theory is absurd on its face. The evidence shows NO severe beating of Zimmerman, and since I am 6’5″, I have had more than my share of hitting my head and also in fights. In ALL cases, I got one big GOOSE EGG. There is NONE on Zimmerman that indicates he got those scratches from anything more drastic than falling backwards onto the sidewalk. He aslo had NO STITCHES. THAT is not a beating and I know because I have been beaten before and beaten others. Women do not have as good a knowledge of fights as most men do.
I asked some former Marine friends of mine who have a LOT more experience fighting than I do if they had ever heard of any guy in a fight calling out for help, ALL of them, including myself, have NEVER heard that happening. We were all too busy fighting and throwing punches to bother doing that.
As for the 911 tape record of a voice screaming, it has NO words that I could make out, just two screams, and IMMEDIATELY after the last the gunshot. It makes NO sense for Zimmerman to call out when he now has 9mm of help in his hand. It DOES make sense for Martin to scream in terror as he sees that he is about to DIE! THAT screams shows it was Martin.
There is a BIG difference in how what happened to a black former Rep. Craig Washington was treated and how Zimmerman was treated. Washington was at his office in Houston on New Years Day around 8pm when he noticed a car parked on HIS PROPERTY in his parking lot. He went out to find out why two white kids were there. He told them to leave, and when he saw that they did not, he called the cops. The police did NOT show up. So after 30 minutes he goes back out to see why they are still there. The two kids see him coming,. start their car, and try and HIT Craig. He takes his gun out and fires at them. Fortunately nobody was killed or injured. The car drove off. Next day, Washington is notified that criminal charges have been flied against him for shooting at the kids. He is arrested and charged with a felony. He claims self defense, but the HPD still arrests him.
So we have a black well respected lawyer who is on his OWN property at night, facing kids who assaulted him with a deadly weapon, and HE is arrested! Yet Zimmerman took WEEKS to even be arrested after KILLING an unarmed kid who had EVERY RIGHT to be on the property. Yet the cops said self defense in Zimmerman’s case, and HPD said the opposite for Craig Washington. THAT is racism at its worst!
Gene H either didn’t read my comment or perhaps just didn’t understand it.
Here’s the pertinent part:
Most people who want GZ to be found not guilty would prefer a larger jury
than six, simply because there’s less of a chance for a unanimous guilty verdict.
What Gene said.
Before the trial, I wanted an arrest and an investigation. After the trial, I’d like a fair verdict from the jury based on both the evidence and the arguments presented. And regardless of what “most people” might prefer, unless it’s capital murder, you get a jury of six in Florida as mespo noted earlier, bill.
Most people who want GZ to be found not guilty would prefer a larger jury
than six, simply because there’s less of a chance for a unanimous guilty verdict.
I think it was entirely predictable that most white men thought GZ should be found not guilty – both prior to, and after the trial.
Obama/Holder, what absolute pieces of modern day Nazi Fascist, just like the Bushs & Clintons!
Oath to protect & defend, what oath & to whom did he swear twice in private?
**
Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in America
Published time: July 09, 2012 20:11
Edited time: July 11, 2013 08:10
US President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security.
President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 5, a 2,205-word statement offered as the “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.” And although the president chose not to commemorate the signing with much fanfare, the powers he provides to himself and the federal government under the latest order are among the most far-reaching yet of any of his executive decisions.
“The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions,” the president begins the order. “Survivable, resilient, enduring and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies and other nations.”
President Obama adds that it is necessary for the government to be able to reach anyone in the country during situations it considers critical, writing, “Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies and improve national resilience.” Later the president explains that such could be done by establishing a “joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration and reconstitution of NS/EP [national security and emergency preparedness] communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis or emergency.”
More…
**
http://rt.com/usa/obama-president-order-communications-770/
Caterbo, I just saw what you spoke of on the news. It wasn’t prudent, and small things like that can come back to haunt you w/ a jury.
The politicization of this case is abominable, and there is ample demonstration of this not only from the prosecution, but from the judge. Plus, regardless of the “objectivity” of professed by the jurors, this case was politically tainted from the start and the politicization of it will undoubtedly play a powerful role in the jury’s decision, if they reach one.
The jury is between a rock and a hard place. Due to the tremendous politicization of this case, they know that if they find Zimmerman not guilty that there is a strong likelihood that there will be race riots in several major cities–possibly throughout the nation. From tweets and public messages from a variety of places, there are indications that there are already large numbers of people foaming at the mouth to attack innocent people and to loot stores under the pretext of a not guilty verdict.
Equally troublesome, the media, which played a heavy role in the politicization of the case, is also foaming at the mouth for national race riots, as that would represent a “wonderful” opportunity for them to provide broadcasting and news “entertainment” to public at low cost–but at very high profit to them.
And even Obama would welcome such national race riots, because they would provide a “wonderful” excuse to take more liberties away from the public and to politicize the case even further; plus it would take public attention away from his many ongoing failures.
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson also are foamng at the mouth, because they, of course, will get lots of media attention, and lots of money as well.
On the other hand, the actual evidence establishes plenty of reasonable doubt for Zimmerman, even though it looks like much important evidence is being successfully withheld by the prosecution and the judge.
Yes, the jury is between a rock and a hard place.
I know I must have missed this at the beginning of the trial, but could some of our attorneys explain to me why there are only six people on the jury, all women, and five are mothers? Didn’t the prosecution have any pretemptory challenges to use? Are they expecting a hung jury or a mistrial?
Does anyone think the shaking of the head and what appeared to be some mumbling by Zimmerman during the prosecutions closing statement today carry any significance with the jury?