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

[Nick Burkhardt]

I will be the first to admit I could be wrong here - I am trying to understand better but all information, "ALL" information is being biased by the entity that provided it. I have gathered my opinion based on the infomation I beleive to be true. I do not care about color - I care about wether a person has the right to walk through a neigbhor hood with out being deemed suspicous and accosted. All Information I hear from Zimmerman is suspect as it is in his best interest and there is no other person to refute it - namely Treyvon Martin - his side is never going to be heard. Zimmerman has tried to play enough games during this period of time that I simply dont trust what he has to say.

I know this - that Zimmerman was armed and at minimum confronted Martin and could have prevented this whole mess if he had simply stayed in his vehicle and reported what he saw without pursuing Martin.

The question is who started the physical contact and did that individual feel that his life was in danger. Did Zimmerman start it or did Martin? I cannot tell you exactly what happend that night - can any one of you and prove it? Self defense is a premise I believe in and the fact is this would not have happened if Zimmerman had simply reported what he saw? Zimmerman was not a LEO but in my opinion he acted like one. To me unless they caght Martin creating a crime he was nothing more than a teenager that was cutting a cross someones yard when a want to be police officer decided he did not like it and took matters into his own hands.
Just my opinion.

I am interested to see what comes out of the trial.

James Ruby

Hopefully there are forensics to tell the story. Based on his past behavior I can easily imagine Mr Zimmerman attempting to physically detain Mr Martin by grabbing his arm, prompting Treyvon to respond by punching him in the face. Next Mr Martin notices that Mr Zimmerman has a gun and the boy is in fear for his life. The thinks "This guy is going to kill me! I had better knock him unconscious so I can get way."

If the forensics show any damage from a fight on Mr Martin, then that should be enough for the prosecution to make their case. If they go beyond the calls to the police in an attempt to establish Mr Zimmerman's mindset painting him as a bad guy with a gun, then I think (but I am no lawyer) that should open the door for the defense to bring in all the background on Mr Martin showing him as the punk he really was.

 

[PiratePast40]

.... Based on his past behavior I can easily imagine Mr Zimmerman attempting to physically detain Mr Martin by grabbing his arm, prompting Treyvon to respond by punching him in the face. ....

????

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

????

His past behavior:

Mr Zimmerman called the police 46 times since 2004.
In April 2011, Zimmerman called the police to report a suspicious black male, "7-9″ years old, "skinny build."
According to neighbors, Zimmerman was "fixated on crime and focused on young, black males."
Zimmerman "had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics"
Just prior to killing Martin, Zimmerman may have used a racial slur.

There may be no way to prove who the aggressor was:

Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot was fired. "Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager's killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy."
A police officer "corrected" a key witness. "The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help."
Police ignored witness whose account was different from Zimmerman's."One of the witnesses who heard the crying said she called a detective repeatedly, but said he was not interested because her account differed from Zimmerman's."
In a cell phone call moments before his death, Martin told a teenage girl that he was "hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who ran after him, cornered him and confronted him." "‘He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man,' Martin's friend said. ‘I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run.' Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin. ‘Trayvon said, ‘What, are you following me for,' and the man said, ‘What are you doing here.'"

But in the end:

Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him, punched him in the nose and repeatedly slammed his head on the sidewalk. If the medical evidence on Mr Zimmerman supports his belief that his life was in danger, then the killing is justified. If both sides go with a full barge of emotional arguments on how much of a bad person the other guy was, then the facts may not come out.

 

[Law of Self Defense]

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: <broken link removed> )


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


Zimmerman Trial: Frye Hearing Continues with Prof. James 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

 

[U201494]

You start following me and if done at close enough distance I could attribute it to you getting ready to jump me - I would find myself getting ready to protect myself. You have initiated the conflict and the problem through your actions.

You could and if you attacked me you would be breaking the law. And if you attacked me and I had a gun and defended myself against your attack it would be self defense.

The fact of the matter is that Zimmerman was never asked to follow or pursue on foot. You follow me long enough or close enough there will be some sort of confrontation. Zimmermans only job was to observe - he was not a law officer.

Zimmerman didn't have a "job", and it doesn't matter if he was or was not asked to follow and it really does not matter that he is not a law officer. Anyone can follow anyone simply because they want to. You just can't grasp this fact that Zimmerman commited no crime.
He could have got right up Martin's face and called him every dirty name in the book and it's still no crime.
It becomes a crime when it becomes physical. And we know Martin was getting the best of Zimmerman by the injuries to each. Bashed in skull, broken nose vs scraped knuckles, at least up until the firearm did what it was carried to do. You can't even argue that Zimmerman physically assaulted Martin because there is NO evidence to support it.

 

[Emerald]

Am I missing something, or would none of this had happened if Zimmerman had the sense to chill? He seems like a vigilante who was looking for a confrontation. Tried to get one repeatedly. Got one after 46 tries to get the police involved in other incidents. Killed an unarmed kid who hadn't confronted him, but whom he confronted after being told by authorities not to.

Think about who could have de-escalated the situation. Why the confrontation at all? You come at me all agro, and I'll respond too. My response to your aggression is justification to kill me, even if I'm unarmed? Please.

 

[Law of Self Defense]

Am I missing something, or would none of this had happened if Zimmerman had the sense to chill? He seems like a vigilante he was looking for a confrontation. Got one after 46 tries to get the police involved in other incidents. Killed an unarmed kid who hadn't confronted him, but whom he confronted after being told by authorities not to.

Think about who could have de-escalated the situation. Why the confrontation at all?

What utter blather.

Thanks for self-identifying.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook: Law of Self Defense

 

[Emerald]

Blather because you are a lawyer who, because he doesn't have enough work and is trying to carve out a niche as a "self-defense lawyer" tells white people that every use of deadly force against black people is justified? For a fee, of course. But even against unarmed kids? Shooter white, kid black. End of story? Nice try to save your failing law career, but hardly objective.

Where did you go to law school, and what was your class rank?

 

[PiratePast40]

Careful, don't feed the trolls.

 

[Emerald]

No, really, Mr. Expert Self-Defense Lawyer: Show your credentials. Just a loser out of work lawyer trying desperately to make SOMETHING of his life by spewing out crap that will generate income from rednecks who want to shoot black kids.

I know your kind. Slimeball.

Where did you go to law school? What year? Class rank? Cases you've handled? If you are going to advertise yourself here, be complete or go home. Or are you already at home, in Boston, with no job and no clients, sitting around in your unemployed underwear, hoping to drum up business by visiting any website you can?

 

[michaels]

He's not an out of work lawyer

He has a blog.

 

[Intention]

Here is some food for thought. Why would an attorney at law in Ma who is "So busy with the trial" spend hours on a small fourm in the north west? How many respondents got a pm from said attorney? The answer is allways the same greenbacks promoting his website and trying to sell his wares well I think we have a rule that you are supposed to pay a supporting vendor membership for this type of activity not just a suporting membership?
but thanks at least for the bronze membership.

 

[jordanka16]

Zimmerman didn't have a "job", and it doesn't matter if he was or was not asked to follow and it really does not matter that he is not a law officer. Anyone can follow anyone simply because they want to. You just can't grasp this fact that Zimmerman commited no crime.
He could have got right up Martin's face and called him every dirty name in the book and it's still no crime.
It becomes a crime when it becomes physical. And we know Martin was getting the best of Zimmerman by the injuries to each. Bashed in skull, broken nose vs scraped knuckles, at least up until the firearm did what it was carried to do. You can't even argue that Zimmerman physically assaulted Martin because there is NO evidence to support it.

Your firearm should be used only in self defense, if you start a fight, or even get involved in one that results in you shooting someone it is not self defense. You should make every effort to remove yourself from a situation in which you might need to shoot someone, and your firearm should be a last resort for when there are no other options. Zimmerman had plenty of options, he choose to pursue someone, attempt to stop them, then shoot them when it got physical. Whether he started the physical fight or not is irrelevant.

 

[Kable]

Your firearm should be used only in self defense, if you start a fight, or even get involved in one that results in you shooting someone it is not self defense. You should make every effort to remove yourself from a situation in which you might need to shoot someone, and your firearm should be a last resort for when there are no other options. Zimmerman had plenty of options, he choose to pursue someone, attempt to stop them, then shoot them when it got physical. Whether he started the physical fight or not is irrelevant.

Where's the evidence that he attempted to stop TM? To my knowledge there is no evidence that suggests a different version of GZ's story which was that he was walking back to his truck when TM confronted him. This is what the state needs to come up with.

 

[Grunwald]

Blather because you are a lawyer who, because he doesn't have enough work and is trying to carve out a niche as a "self-defense lawyer" tells white people that every use of deadly force against black people is justified? For a fee, of course. But even against unarmed kids? Shooter white, kid black. End of story? Nice try to save your failing law career, but hardly objective.

Where did you go to law school, and what was your class rank?

Take another look at Zimmerman, he is Hispanic not Caucasian.
Had he had a proper Hispanic name such as Gonzalez or Martinez the media would be spinning a completely different story.

 

[RVTECH]

Zimmerman had plenty of options

It is going to get interesting when the proceedings reach this point and GZ has to answer questions with regard to his 'options'.

 

[drew]

Careful, don't feed the trolls.

Maybe this will help.

 

[deen_ad]

Obviously some of the "sheeple" here have their Oblammer/Holder glasses on and can't see the evidence in pictures of "Z" taken right after the confrontation.

Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member

"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don't have it, you'll probably never need one again!"

 

[jordanka16]

Obviously some of the "sheeple" here have their Oblammer/Holder glasses on and can't see the evidence in pictures of "Z" taken right after the confrontation.

It doesn't matter that he got beat up, what matters is how/why he was in a position to get into a physical altercation. If he really didn't pursue Martin and was attacked on the way back to his truck, he is justified, if he followed him and started a fight he is not. Either of those scenarios could result in him taking a beating.

 

[Grunwald]

It doesn't matter that he got beat up, what matters is how/why he was in a position to get into a physical altercation. If he really didn't pursue Martin and was attacked on the way back to his truck, he is justified, if he followed him and started a fight he is not. Either of those scenarios could result in him taking a beating.

What matters is what the prosecution can prove beyond reasonable doubt to the jury.
Everything else is just theater.