Andrew F. Branca is in his third decade of practicing law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He wrote the first edition of the "Law of Self Defense" in 1997, and is currently in the process of completing the fully revised and updated second edition, which you can preorder now at lawofselfdefense.com. He began his competitive shooting activities as a youth in smallbore rifle, and today is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a Life Member and Master-class competitor in multiple classifications in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). Andrew has for many years been an NRA-certified firearms instructor in pistol, rifle, and personal protection, and has previously served as an Adjunct Instructor on the Law of Self Defense at the SigSauer Academy in Epping, NH. He holds or has held concealed carry permits for Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida, Utah, Virginia, and other states.
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 01, 2013172 Comments
So far today the State has called two rather interesting witnesses.
Dr. Hirotaka Nakasone, FBI Expert, Speech Identification and Speaker Identification
The first you will recall from the pre-trial Frye hearings--Dr. Hirotaka Nakasone. You may refresh your recollection of the details of Dr. Nakasone's world-class qualifications and...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 01, 2013446 Comments
Today we will again be covering the Zimmerman Trial live, all day, with streaming video. Continuing commentary will be posted in the Twitter feed of selected contributors below the first video feed, and breaking news will be added at the bottom of this post.
During the lunch recess, or immediately thereafter, we will post a mid-day update (not just a list of tweets this time!). We'll then follow up with the usual detailed end-of-day wrap up, including video and embedded Tweets, at the usual time in the evening.
This morning Court is expected to start at 9:00AM.
To see our weekend wrap-upp & reader poll, covering last week's State's witness testimony and our exclusive analysis of it, click here:
(NOTE: If you do wander over to the LOSD blog, be sure to come back to Legal Insurrection to comment, as nearly all my time is spent here for the duration of the trial.)
Live Stream Video
WITH COMMENTARY FROM CHANNEL 9 IN SANFORD
[For live-stream video without commentary, see NBC live feed at bottom of this post.]
Twitter Feed:
(My tweets can be identified as coming from @lawselfdefense.)
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 30, 2013183 Comments
Well, it's Sunday evening, and that means it's time to set the mood for . . . you guessed it, another week of Florida v. Zimmerman.
I thought I'd do that by sharing some thoughts on an aspect of the State's (apparent) theory of the case...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 29, 2013375 Comments
Hey folks,
Our Friday end-of-day analysis post had accumulated in excess of 200 comments, and, perhaps coincidentally, we also began hearing increasing complaints of slow loading. Whether the cause is the large number of comments or some other aspect of the page, Professor Jacobson and I...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 28, 2013305 Comments
Today saw the State move through another seven of their witnesses, although as has seemed the pattern this first week of trial, the defense more so than the State appeared to benefit from their testimony.
[caption id="attachment_57018" align="alignnone" width="500"] Lindzee Folgate, questioned by Mark O'Mara on...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 28, 2013138 Comments
Under direct testimony John Good testified that the black man wearing the black hoodie was straddling the man in the white or red sweatshirt "MMA-style" and rained down blows in a "Ground-and-Pound" style of attack.
[caption id="attachment_57004" align="alignnone" width="473"] Taryvon Martin at 7-11, February 26, 2012[/caption]
It...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 28, 2013241 Comments
The State seems to have suffered the most destructive of its own witnesses to date in calling Jonathan Good to the stand.Good was composed, coherent, and direct through his extensive testimony, the entirety of which was entirely consistent with the defense's theory of lawful self-defense.
[caption...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 28, 2013189 Comments
Today we will again be covering the Zimmerman Trial live, all day, with streaming video. Continuing commentary will be posted in the Twitter feed of selected contributors below the first video feed, and breaking news will be added at the bottom of this post.
During the lunch recess, or immediately thereafter, we will post a mid-day update (not just a list of tweets this time!). We'll then follow up with the usual detailed end-of-day wrap up, including video and embedded Tweets, at the usual time in the evening.
This morning Court is expected to start at 9:00AM.
To see yesterday's video of witness testimony and our exclusive analysis, click here:
Zimmerman Trial Day 4 – End-of-Day Analysis & Video of State’s Witnesses
For all of our prior coverage on day-to-day events in court, as covered here at Legal Insurrection, click here: ARCHIVE: Zimmerman Trial LIVE coverage all day, every day
For all of our prior coverage on issues specific to the Law of Self Defense as covered at my own blog, click here: Law of Self Defense Blog: Zimmerman Trial
Live Stream Video
WITH COMMENTARY FROM CHANNEL 9 IN SANFORD
[For live-stream video without commentary, see NBC live feed at bottom of this post.]
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 27, 2013209 Comments
Once again, it was simply not a very good day at all for the prosecution. The primary State witnesses today were Rachel Jeantel, Jenna Lauer, and Selma Mora. The first had her credibility substantively destroyed, the second was powerfully--almost humiliatingly--co-opted by the defense, and the third provided testimony entirely consistent with the defense's theory of lawful self-defense. There was also some (I expect temporary) hubbub that O'Mara may have inadvertently opened the door to allow the State to introduce evidence of specific prior bad acts by George Zimmerman, and I address that in detail, as well, below.
[caption id="attachment_56868" align="alignnone" width="560"] Rachel Jeantel, State witness[/caption]
With that said, let's get to it:
Rachel Jeantel, Star "Ear"-Witness of the State
Much of the day was consumed in West's continuing cross-examination of Rachel Jeantel, the State's star "ear-witness." She was purportedly on the phone with Martin up to the final moments of his confrontation with Zimmerman, and has over time come to claim an increasing amount of knowledge of the details of that confrontation.
It has become common knowledge that Jeantel has perpetrated a number of lies on this case, both under oath and otherwise, and West made certain to touch on each of these, albeit with a relatively light hand. She lied about her age--she was 18-years-old not 16-years-old at the time, she lied about why she did not attend Martin's funeral or wake, she lied about her name to Martin's mother and others, and so on.
For many of these lies she offered a relatively innocuous excuse--she didn't go the funeral because she doesn't like to see dead bodies, for example. But the sheer number and variety of them cast Jeantel as someone who was perfectly comfortable creating a fabrication if it served her convenience or purposes.
What most damaged her credibility, however, was not West's exposure of these numerous falsehoods. Instead, West took a far more clever approach to his cross-examination of Jeantel. Many legal (and non-legal) pundits had wondered how West would walk the fine line of impeaching Jeantel's testimony without overreaching and causing the jury to become empathetic to the poor young woman in a difficult situation not of her making.
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 27, 2013202 Comments
Hey folks,
We're trying something different for today's mid-day update. Rather than write a bunch of text, I've imbedded below some of the more key tweets I've made over the course of the morning. (This has the benefit of giving me a few minutes to each some lunch.)
Hopefully, the tweets below will give you a sense for how West's cross-examination of Rachel Jeantel has gone so far this morning. We'll have a detailed analysis, of course, in this evening's end-of-day wrap-up post.
Enjoy, and be sure to check back in to our live coverage page at 1:14PM (EST), here:
Zimmerman Trial LIVE VIDEO – Day 4 – State’s Witnesses
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/350240679101861888
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/350241151351144448
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/350241932192129025
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/350244762567196672
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/350255988445687809
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 27, 2013212 Comments
Today we will again be covering the Zimmerman Trial live, all day, with streaming video. Continuing commentary will be posted in the Twitter feed of selected contributors below the first video feed, and breaking news will be added at the bottom of this post.
During...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 26, 2013264 Comments
At the start of day two things of note occurred. First, the Court ruled that Zimmerman's prior calls to police would be admissible as evidence. (Accordingly, later in the day Ramona Rumph returned to Court to testify as to their authenticity.)
https://twitter.com/LawSelfDefense/status/349875159211061248
Second,...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 26, 2013114 Comments
The State has moved through one witness completely this morning, with a second now undergoing cross examination by O'Mara, when the Court recessed for lunch. We expect O'Mara will continue with this second witness after the lunch break. Both of the witnesses, Jane Sudyka and...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 26, 201376 Comments
Today we will again be covering the Zimmerman Trial live, all day, with streaming video. Continuing commentary will be posted in the Twitter feed of selected contributors below the first video feed, and breaking news will be added at the bottom of this post.
We're...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 25, 2013165 Comments
Today can only be characterized as an utter debacle for the prosecution in Florida v. Zimmerman. Besides the testimony of a couple of highly professional law enforcement witnesses, the testimony of the the other State witnesses ranged from signing George Zimmerman's praises, to acknowledging the...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 25, 2013106 Comments
Today we will again be covering the Zimmerman Trial live, all day, with streaming video. Continuing commentary will be posted in the Twitter feed of selected contributors below the first video feed, and breaking news will be added at the bottom of this post. Also,...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 24, 201369 Comments
Today saw the completion of opening statements and the launch of the State's case, with four of the State's witnesses being brought to the stand. In a nutshell, I thought the defense did a far superior job in cross-examination than the State did on...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on June 24, 201349 Comments
Today marked the first day of the trial proper of Florida v. Zimmerman, and accordingly was the first opportunity for each side to present their “theory of the case” to the jury. This day covered both the party's opening statements, as well as the first...
