george zimmerman defense attorney who walked out

by Cindy Funk 6 min read

Don West

What happened to George Zimmerman's case?

Oct 19, 2021 · Published Oct. 19, 2021. KISSIMMEE — A central Florida defense attorney who briefly represented George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case is accused of witness tampering in a juvenile rape ...

What did George Zimmerman do to Trayvon Martin?

Jul 10, 2013 · After thirteen hours—the longest day so far of the George Zimmerman trial—Judge Debra Nelson finally walked out of the courtroom Tuesday night, even as attorneys for both sides were still arguing.

Who is the lawyer who represented George Zimmerman on CNN?

Aug 10, 2015 · Defense attorney Mark O’Mara, best known as the man who kept George Zimmerman out of prison, once again walked in front of television cameras to talk about a racially charged shooting and to ...

Who is George Zimmerman's lawyer Don West?

Jul 15, 2013 · (CBS News) Defense attorneys for George Zimmerman Monday staunchly denied the allegation that former neighborhood watch volunteer was the first to initiate contact with Trayvon Martin, 17, the ...

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Who was the lawyer for George Zimmerman?

Hal Uhrig, former attorney for George Zimmerman, speaks to reporters during a news conference to announce that he and Craig Sonner had quit as Zimmerman's legal representatives in Sanford, Fla., Tuesday, April 10, 2012. KISSIMMEE, Fla.Oct 19, 2021

Who is Matthew Apperson?

Matthew Apperson, 42, was sentenced to 20 years for attempted second-degree murder in 2016. Apperson said he only shot at George Zimmerman after Zimmerman pointed a gun at him. Zimmerman denied ever pointing a gun that day and said Apperson was going after him.Nov 9, 2021

Did George Zimmerman defend himself?

Zimmerman was injured during the encounter and said he shot Martin in self-defense....Trial of George Zimmerman.Florida v. ZimmermanCourt18th Judicial Circuit in and for Seminole County, FloridaFull case nameState of Florida v. George ZimmermanDecidedJuly 13, 2013VerdictNot guilty on all counts5 more rows

Who is Rachel Jeantel?

Trayvon Martin friend Rachel Jeantel, who was humiliated during George Zimmerman trial, turns life around. She did it for Trayvon. One year after being outed as illiterate in the George Zimmerman murder trial, Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel is a changed woman after graduating from high school.Jul 14, 2014

Where is George Zimmerman net worth?

George Zimmerman WikiFull NameGeorge Michael ZimmermanNet Worth$10 MillionDate Of Birth1983-10-05Place Of BirthManassas, Virginia, U.S.OccupationInsurance underwriter7 more rows

What was George Zimmerman charge with?

Zimmerman is charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic violence battery, and criminal mischief. Three weeks later, Zimmerman's girlfriend asks that charges against him be dropped. Zimmerman allegedly threatens to kill a driver during a road rage incident in Lake Mary, Florida.

What was Zimmerman defense?

Zimmerman told Smith he shot Martin in self-defense. Smith took Zimmerman's gun and handcuffed him, noting that he was bleeding from his nose and the back of the head and that the back of his jacket was wet and covered with grass.

Why did George Zimmerman think Trayvon Martin was suspicious?

In the call, Zimmerman made reference to people he felt had gotten away with break-ins in the neighborhood. Investigators alleged that while Zimmerman was talking to the dispatcher, Martin was on the phone with a friend and she said that Martin was scared because he was being followed by an unknown man.

Did George Zimmerman testify at trial?

Zimmerman defense has rested its case. Defense rests its case after the defendant revealed his decision not to testify. SANFORD, Fla. July 10, 2013— -- After nearly 17 months at the center of the highly charged case, George Zimmerman told a Florida judge that he would not testify at his murder trial.Jul 10, 2013

How many languages does Rachel Jeantel speak?

Jeantel speaks three languages -- English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. "You can understand her if you listen. No one was listening," Joyner said.Jul 18, 2013

How long did Rachel Jeantel testify for?

Jeantel spent nearly seven hours on the stand over two days, relating some of the most riveting bits of information about the night Trayvon died, crucial to the case.Jun 29, 2013

Who was Trayvon Martin girlfriend?

According to Zimmerman's lawsuit, Jeantel posed as Trayvon's girlfriend when it was Eugene who was dating Trayvon and on the phone with him during the encounter with Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch captain.Dec 5, 2019

Who is Zimmerman's attorney?

On August 9, 2012, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, announced that the defense team was planning to present their case to the judge at an immunity hearing before going to trial in order to request that the case be dismissed under the protection from prosecution provided for by the state's Stand Your Ground law.

Who was the judge in the Zimmerman case?

Judge Debra S. Nelson of the 18th Circuit Court of Florida was the fourth judge to preside over the case. Nelson had been a judge for thirteen years, much of it handling criminal matters. Before becoming a judge she had worked in civil litigation. Nelson succeeded Judge Kenneth Lester on August 30, 2012, after a Florida appeals court ruled that remarks he made about Zimmerman could make a reasonable person believe Lester was biased against Zimmerman. Lester had taken over the case in April 2012, after Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest involving her husband's work.

Why was Ben Kruidbos fired?

On July 11, 2013, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey fired Ben Kruidbos, the information technology director for the State Attorney's office, for alleged misconduct and violations of "numerous state attorney's office policies and procedures.".

What was the case in Florida v. Zimmerman?

George Zimmerman. State of Florida v. George Zimmerman was a criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder stemming from the shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. On April 11, 2012, George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Who killed Trayvon Martin?

On April 11, 2012, George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. In support of the charges, the State filed an affidavit of probable cause, stating that Zimmerman profiled and confronted Martin and shot him to death while Martin was committing no crimes.

Why did Zimmerman say a teenager is dead through no fault of his own?

State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda opened his closing argument on Friday, July 12 by telling the jurors that "a teenager is dead through no fault of his own" because Zimmerman had made assumptions about Martin and acted on them. Rionda stated to the jury that Zimmerman profiled Martin as a criminal and assumed certain things, that Martin was up to no good, and that's what led to Martin's death. De la Rionda argued that Zimmerman took the law into his own hands, accusing Zimmerman of following Trayvon Martin because Zimmerman wanted to be a policeman and take down someone whom he "profiled" as a criminal. The prosecutor also focused in on inconsistencies in Zimmerman's statements, calling the defendant a "liar".

What was the affidavit of Zimmerman?

At a pretrial hearing on April 12, Judge Mark Herr ruled that the affidavit was legally sufficient to establish probable cause. Court documents, including witness statements and other information, were sealed at the request of the defense team, and Zimmerman's arraignment was scheduled for May 29. Zimmerman took the witness stand at a bail hearing on April 20 and told the parents of Martin he was "sorry for the loss of your son". Zimmerman was released on a $150,000 bond and was fitted with an electronic monitoring device for monitoring his whereabouts in real-time. Zimmerman's attorney waived Zimmerman's right to appear at the arraignment and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

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Overview

Prosecution's case

Chad Joseph, the 15-year-old son of Tracy Martin's girlfriend, was called by the state as the first witness and testified that he asked Martin to buy him Skittles. He did not go with Martin, because he was playing a PS3 game.
Next, testimony came from Andrew Gaugh, who was the 7-Eleven clerk that sold Martin snacks. He said that Martin paid with cash, and he did not see anything suspicious about Martin's behavior.

Prosecution attorneys

On March 22, 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced his appointment of Angela Corey as the Special Prosecutor in the Martin investigation. She is the State Attorney for Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. When Corey took the case, she chose Bernie de la Rionda as lead prosecutor. De la Rionda was an Assistant State Attorney in Corey's office and had been a prosecutor for 29 years. Prosecutors John Guy and Richard Mantei assisted, with Guy making the opening statement.

Defense attorneys

On April 11, 2012, Mark M. O'Mara announced that he was the attorney representing Zimmerman. O'Mara is president of the Seminole County Bar Association, is a legal commentator for WKMG news, and had previously tried cases that involved the Stand-your-ground law. When he took the case, O'Mara said that Zimmerman had no money and that the state may help pay the costs. When reporters asked why he took the case, O'Mara said, "That's what I do."

Judges

Judge Debra S. Nelson of the 18th Circuit Court of Floridawas the fourth judge to preside over the case. Nelson had been a judge for thirteen years, much of it handling criminal matters. Before becoming a judge she had worked in civil litigation. Nelson succeeded Judge Kenneth Lester on August 30, 2012, after a Florida appeals court ruled that remarks he made about Zimmerman could make a reasonable person believe Lester was biased against Zimmerman. Lester had tak…

Pre-trial

At a pretrial hearing on April 12, Judge Mark Herr ruled that the affidavit was legally sufficient to establish probable cause. Court documents, including witness statements and other information, were sealed at the request of the defense team, and Zimmerman's arraignmentwas scheduled for May 29. Zimmerman took the witness stand at a bail hearing on April 20 and told the parents of Martin he was "sorry for the loss of your son". Zimmerman was released on a $150,000 bond an…

Discovery evidence

In May 2012, the defense received the first round of discovery evidence: 67 compact discs, a list of witnesses that included 50 possible law enforcement officers, 28 officers from the Sanford Police Department, 28 civilian witnesses, members of Martin's family, two of Zimmerman's friends and his father, Robert Zimmerman. Also listed as potential prosecution witnesses were technicians in biological and DNA evidence, trace evidence, gunshot residue, fingerprints and fir…

Jury selection

On May 28, 2013, Judge Nelson denied a defense motion to delay the trial for six weeks. She also declined the prosecution's request to implement a gag order to keep the lawyers from discussing the details of the case in the media.
On June 10, 2013, jury selection began with 100 prospective jurors filling out questionnaires. 500 people received summonses, and the process for picking a jury was expected to take two weeks…