Posted by William A. Jacobson
on July 14, 2013143 Comments
I'll be brief.
I can't add much to what I've written the past 17 months about the facts, evidence, law, witnesses, lawyers, judges, politics, and media.
So here you go:
Despite the heated demands of powerful societal forces and the State, six women just said No, and thereby did justice.
Amen....
Posted by William A. Jacobson
on July 14, 2013240 Comments
Really, Kirsten Powers?
Really?
https://twitter.com/kirstenpowers10/status/356480844384317440
After three weeks of hearing and watching the actual evidence in the case and reading the jury instructions, all I can do is shake my head in disbelief....
Posted by William A. Jacobson
on July 14, 2013467 Comments
I watched the verdict come while on a 5-hour flight delay at O'Hare last night. Had there not been a delay, I would have missed it. Funny how things work.
What amazed me is that prior to the verdict, I heard numerous people talking openly about...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 13, 2013722 Comments
A verdict has been returned in Florida v. Zimmerman:
NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS
The State prosecutors, including the until recently rarely-seen Angela Corey, are currently providing interviews to the press, essentially re-arguing their catastrophically failed courtroom arguments. From this commentator's perspective, they are simply in complete denial and/or in full-blown CYA mode, no matter how often they say they respect the decision of the jury.
It is also remarkable how frequently both Angela Corey and Bernie de la Rionda are explicitly re-affirming their support of the Second Amendment and self-defense--perhaps they sense the "seething rage, ill-will, spite, and hatred" they may well have engendered among the community of law-abiding gun-owners and CWL owners in Florida.
Reactions from around the web can be found at this post: includes press conference videos of key people connected to the trial, photos of demonstrators outside the Florida courthouse, tweets/photos/videos related to current and scheduled "Justice for Trayvon" marches, verdict reactions from Twitter and embedded feeds for key Twitter hashtags. It will continue to be updated.
The Prof. will have his post in the morning as he's stuck at O'Hare Airport now, but quickly adds:
The just verdict was reached. As I have said repeatedly, this was a case that never should have been brought. It's not too early to demand an inquiry into the prosecution of this case. Angela Corey should resign.
Watch live with Legal Insurrection on one of the two video streams below, as well as in the scrolling Twitter feed from selected contributors below. (My own tweets can be identified as coming from @LawSelfDefense.)
https://twitter.com/JeffWeinerOS/status/356244577121873921
https://twitter.com/SonniAbatta/status/356242394406076416
https://twitter.com/TennisLaw/status/356236312082264065
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 13, 2013433 Comments
The Zimmerman trial jury paused their deliberations at around 6:00PM EST to present Judge Nelson with a question:
"May we please have clarification on instructions regarding manslaughter?"
Nelson announced the question to the parties in open court, and has now recessed court 30 minutes to address the...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 13, 20131,040 Comments
Well, here we are: Verdict Watch.
The jury has been charged in Florida v. Zimmerman, and have begun their deliberations. The verdict form is here. Final Jury Instructions here.
Last night they asked for an inventory list of the evidence--which makes sense given the dozens of witnesses and hundreds of exhibits. Now, we here at Legal Insurrection (and Law of Self Defense) are on stand-by ready to jump into action as soon as news emerges, whether that is the verdict itself or some lesser item. The video feeds located below the fold will be active when the broadcasters that control them feel there is something worth streaming.)
In a breaking development, the Special Prosecutor's Office of Angela Corey has fired the IT specialist who blew the whistle on the prosecution's concealment of evidence:
State Attorney Angela Corey fired her office’s information technology director Friday after he testified last month about being concerned prosecutors did not turn over information to George Zimmerman’s defense team in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
On the same day attorneys finished their closing arguments in that nationally watched trial, a state attorney investigator went to Ben Kruidbos’ home about 7:30 a.m. to hand-deliver a letter stating Kruidbos “can never again be trusted to step foot in this office.”
The letter is here.
(WAJ adds) This has been a dirty prosecution in so many ways, so no one should be surprised that as soon as the jury went into deliberations the retaliation began.
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 12, 2013277 Comments
(Note: the first couple of paragraphs reflect today's earlier, short post. To start at the newest updates, skip to the first heading, "Mark O’Mara Delivers Compelling Narrative of Innocence Based on Evidence & Law." The remainder of the post also contains embedded and linked video...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 12, 2013435 Comments
All the closing arguments are now completed, and in a few moments the jury will be instructed, and then sent into deliberations. We will be covering the jury charge live here on streaming video, along with our usual twitter feed. Once the jury goes into deliberations, we will be prepared to cover any breaking news, and of course both the Professor and I will be active covering the trial conclusion on Twitter.
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 July 12, 2013149 Comments
This morning saw the defense give its closing statement in Florida v. Zimmerman, the last opportunity for them to deliver their compelling narrative of innocence to the jury. And boy, did Mark O'Mara deliver. In a closing rich with evidence, facts, and the law, O'Mara focused...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 12, 2013980 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, below.
[caption id="attachment_58489" align="alignnone" width="305"] Mark O'Mara defense counsel, Florida v. Zimmerman[/caption]
This morning Mark O'Mara is to present the defense's closing arguments, striving to raise at least as much reasonable doubt of guilt as the prosecution achieved yesterday in its own closing statement, an analysis (and video) of which can be found here:
Posted by William A. Jacobson
on July 12, 201358 Comments
The Court has released the final Jury Instructions that will be read to the jury this afternoon.
For background on the argument leading up to the instructions, see Zimmerman Trial: The Jury Instructions.
If Zimmerman wins, these sections of the Instructions likely will be decisive (full Instructions...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 11, 2013375 Comments
NOTE: Streaming video of the entirety of the State's closing argument is provided at the bottom of this post.
Today, the State presented their closing argument to the jury in the matter of Florida v. Zimmerman. After 14 months of investigation and discovery, weeks of pre-trial...
Posted by Andrew Branca
on July 11, 2013704 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, below.
The State is scheduled to begin its closing argument at 1:30PM today, and the defense tomorrow morning. By tomorrow afternoon the jury should have been charged and begun their deliberations.
[caption id="attachment_58364" align="alignnone" width="500"] Judge Nelson, Florida v. Zimmerman[/caption]
We covered this morning's charging hearing here:
We also have brief summaries of the previous day's events Zimmerman Defense Rests, Closing Statements Start Tomorrow along with links to more detailed posts below the second video feed at the bottom of this post.
In addition, last night Professor Jacobson posted an analysis of the racial politics driving the Zimmerman prosecution, here:
Also, a quick note, in thanks to the Professor and all of you I've put in place a 10% discount/free shipping coupon for Legal Insurrection followers interested in "The Law of Self Defense, 2nd Edition"--use code LOSD2-LI at checkout.
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 July 11, 201364 Comments
Breaking: Charge on Murder 3/Child Abuse is denied by Judge Nelson
This morning the Court in Florida v. Zimmerman conducted a hearing to finalize the instructions that will guide the jury on arriving at a verdict. While some of the instructions were long-expected and raised little...
Posted by William A. Jacobson
on July 11, 2013211 Comments
As expected, the Judge in the George Zimmerman case ruled that in addition to Second Degree Murder, she will instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of Manslaughter, as required by Florida case law.
In a surprise move this morning, the prosecution asked the Judge...
