Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Today began with the expectation that it would the the day on which the State rested its case. That proved true, and it was. It was also among the most bizarre and disturbing days of a lengthy trial full to the brim with bizarre and disturbing days.

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mother

The first State witness of the day was, as anticipated Sybrina Fulton. She had two missions for her appearance: (1) identify the screamer in the background of the Jenna Lauer 911 recording as her son, Trayvon Martin; and (2) avoid saying anything nice about the reputation or character of her son that would open the door to the defense introducing into evidence Martin's history of violence and drug use. She accomplished both.

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother, Part 2

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother, Part 3

There was never, of course, any question that she would say exactly that, nor that the defense would fail to point out the suggestive conditions in which the identification initially took place--in the Mayor's office, surrounded by family and family lawyers/advisors, and without any law enforcement officer present. Ms. Fulton's credibility was also substantively damaged when she claimed that she had not known before hearing the tape that it was believed to contain the sound of her son's last, desperate screams. That the persons responsible for playing that tape would not have prepared her beforehand for the shock--to not do so could only be described as monstrous.

Jahvaris Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Half-brother

Next up was Martin's half-brother, Jahvaris Fulton, also a son of Sybrina Fulton. He testified on the stand that the screamer was Trayvon Martin. On cross-examination, as so often has happened to State witnesses, the credibility of his testimony quickly vanished. Defense counsel O'Mara pointed out that two weeks after first hearing the recording played Jahvaris was still stating to reporters that he wasn't sure that the recorded screams were those of Trayvon. When pressed, his answers became a series of "don't know," "not sure, " can't remember," almost as if he'd been pushed outside the boundaries of the coaching for his testimony.

Prior TV interview contradicts current claims of certainty...

I trust that everyone had a safe and satisfying celebration of the birthday of the greatest nation on earth yesterday, and that no fireworks were left unexpended (if any were left unexpended, deduct 10% from "man-card"--and for Pete's sake, don't tell anybody). 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. 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. ALERT! Court started at 8:40AM, early than expected. Trayvon Martin's mother, Sabryna Fulton, is currently on the stand. It is anticipated that the State will finish with the last of its witnesses today and rest its case. At that point I expect the defense will submit a motion for a directed verdict, Judge Nelson will deny the motion, and the defense will begin to present its case. Yesterday I posted up a general review of the trial to date, with some prognostication of how things may role out in the coming days. To take a look at that, click here:

Zimmerman Trial Review– How We Got Here, And Where We’re Going

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

(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.)

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WITH COMMENTARY FROM CHANNEL 9 IN SANFORD [For live-stream video without commentary, see NBC live feed at bottom of this post.]

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As the State prepares to rest its case against George Zimmerman as early as tomorrow, I can’t help but juxtapose where we ought to be in terms of the weight of evidence of Zimmerman’s guilt of second degree murder, and contrast it with where we...

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