George Zimmerman and his attorneys return to court with a new defense strategy in mind. The 29 year old neighborhood patrol volunteer allegedly shot and killed Trayvon Martin on February 26 in Sanford, Florida after calling the police and reporting a suspicious teenager on foot.
This morning, the bold neighborhood crime-fighting superhero enters the courtroom for a hearing on what his attorney’s may possibly be able to do with Trayvon Martin’s school records.
The parents of this slain teenager did everything in their power to keep their son’s records private.
Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson will make the decision on whether Trayvon’s history of suspensions, grades, and even attendance should be turned over to Zimmerman’s attorney.
Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda says that the documents are not relevant and has accused Zimmerman’s attorneys of a fishing expedition. Trayvon Martin’s parents stand against the effort. They state that this will only further victimize their son.
They also are planning to hold a news conference right outside of the Seminole County courthouse before the hearing. Their objection is to raise funds for a political committee they’ve created that has a design to donate monies to political candidates who support changes in Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
Zimmerman still stands by the excuse of “self defense,” while prosecutors aim to convict him of second degree murder. On Thursday prosecutors finally asked the judge to issue a gag order. This would bar attorneys from talking about the case. This was clearly put in place to aim at defense attorney Mark O’Mara.
Rionda, prosecutor of the case, wrote in her note to the judge that O’Mara had been using a website, Facebook, Twitter, and national television to issue statements about the case. Rionda brought it to the judge’s attention that his actions could taint the jury pool.
There was a gag order asked for with previous judge, Kenneth Lester Jr., and the request was denied. Whether Judge Nelson will deal with that issue today isn’t clear. Police report that on the day of the teenager’s death, he was serving a one of his ten days of suspension from school. School officials found an empty marijuana baggie on Trayvon.
While O’Mara and his attorney’s request Trayvon Martin’s private school records, they stand behind the statement that “giving the prosecutors the public notes made by the physician assistant who treated Zimmerman the day after the shoot, violates his client’s privacy.”
Today in court, the judge will also hear arguments from an attorney of more than twelve news organizations such as: The New York Times, CBS News, CNN and the Orlando Sentinel. This attorney is fighting the prosecutor’s attempt to seal defense subpoenas and the evidence they produce.
Rionda requests that the judge sees all of the evidence first of the organizations and decide, piece by piece, whether the evidence should be made public. This request may involve secret meetings.
Scott Ponce, a media attorney argues this request and states that is doesn’t comply with Florida’s history of open court or with previous rulings on requests to seal information being denied.
The hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m.
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