Zimmerman bond hearing set for June 29

[Amerigo Vespucci]

SANFORD, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) -



An attorney for the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin has confirmed with FOX 35 that there will be a new bond hearing for his client later this month.

George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said a new bond hearing date is set for June 29.

Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County jail on Sunday, two days after his $150,000 bond was revoked. Prosecutors say Zimmerman and his wife misled a judge about how much money they had to put up for the bond.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/18721410/zimmermans-attorney-delays-filing-for-new-bond-hearing

[Turbineguy]

1. That will give Fox News

plenty of time to drum up donations from bigots.

[Quixote1818]

2. What is ironic is all those donations caused him and his wife to get greedy

and to lie to the judge and ultimately caused him to end up in jail. They were trying to help him and his greed caused it to backfire. Had he not got any donations he would still be out on bail. The irony is beautiful!

[romantico]

3. Maybe

Maybe the Koch brothers can help Zimmy like they did Scotty Walker.

[juniorbonner]

4. MSM parrots O'Mara party line

This hearing is NOT one that the Zimmerman family has requested, and is likely NOT about getting him out on bond again. It will be about how his family lied to the court and what that means to the judge.

Mark O’Mara posted to his defense website a message indicating he was NOT going to seek a bond hearing just yet – the judge was going on vacation for two weeks – and then after he posted that, he was informed that his client needs to show up for a hearing on the 29th. He quickly leaked to the local Faux News that he has an upcoming “bond hearing” in order to put a positive spin on the fact that his client is being called onto the carpet before an angry judge. The MSM parrots his line and pretends that this is somehow about how George Zimmerman is going to be granted bail again. No such motion has been filed, and the judge has no duty to grant bond, either. It’s his court and GZ tied to fool him about a hidden valid passport and a slush fund in addition to $135,000 dollars. The total amount he hid from the court was more like $204,000.

All the spin in the world doesn’t change the facts. IANAL but the situation seems plain enough to me. Judge Lester has concerns that need to be addressed before the case can move forward, and these concerns have to do with the defense lawyer, his client (the defendant) and the defendant’s family’s credibility and culpability in possible crimes such as perjury and conspiracy to deceive the court.

[MADem]

5. Welcome to DU. Does IANAL mean "I am not a lawyer?"

I hope so, otherwise I'd be left wondering if that is TMI!

[juniorbonner]

7. I am so very much not a lawyer, yes

And thanks. I'm repulsed and fascinated by this case, as are many. The polarization of the populace on this issue is a sad function of the times. I'm just glad there will be a trial, and that the judge seems to have a good reputation and yes, that GZ has a good lawyer because I think he deserves a vigorous defense as we all do. I just don't think that George is very credible, and that he's his own worst enemy.

To me the location of the body is the key to the whole case - it's clearly on the innocent path of TM towards his home, whereas GZ's path on the cut thru, the lead towards his vehicle was abandoned by him at some point.

The more I hear from witnesses who heard the altercation migrate, and the more we see that the "debris field" of dropped objects like flashlights and bags and the cell phone is spread in a line south from the T to "John's" backyard, the clearer the case seems to me. GZ tried to detain TM and likely lied to investigators about this aspect. All the evidence

Proving M2 will be hard for the prosecution but GZ may have already said too much to ever appear credible to a jury, in his statements and walk-thru alone.

Unlike many I think TM did dominate GZ towards the end of the altercation, and that it is possible that it is GZ or both of them yelling at the end.

[MADem]

8. I find it an interesting, if tragic, case myself. I feel so sad for Trayvon Martin's parents.

Having to bury their child, so young, after such a stupid and unnecessary incident--it's sad.

I think your analysis of the situation is probably pretty accurate. I will say, though, that I read somewhere (I could probably find the link if I had the get up and go) that GZ's father admitted that the voice on the tape was not his son--after he'd said it was him in a previous interview. I suppose all of that will come out at trial, as well.

I don't know how much time GZ will end up doing--if he hangs about in pretrial confinement, that piece will get knocked off his sentence. He'd probably be better off sitting in a relatively safe county lockup in isolation, as opposed to having to do a stint in the general population of a real prison where hard feelings or machismo might be an issue.

I hope Trayvon's parents sue him blue in a subsequent civil action and prevail--even if GZ has nothing of value, a large judgment and some dogged determination to give him the Fred Goldman treatment might mitigate a short time in jail. He should never be allowed to forget what he did.

[PatSeg]

6. Welcome to DU

$204,000? And a valid passport. No wonder the judge is angry.

[Quixote1818]

9. Great info! Thanks

I know the judge also hoped the state would go after Mrs. Zimmerman for lying under oath. She is is big trouble too.

[juniorbonner]

10. Did the father of George Zimmerman know about hidden money and passport?

To me this is a damned if he did, damned if he didn't question. If Robert Zimmerman knew his son was concealing $204k from the court, then he may have dodged a bullet by not discussing it in a recorded call - if that is indeed the case - the prosecution could be using an old gambit of luring the family into making more statements under oath about the matter, then springing more information that shows they still haven't told the whole truth. The family better come clean about anything they have done that would displease the court at this hearing if they want to have any chance of keeping their case alive.

RZ put up some sort of security from his house towards the bond. It's forfeited now to the bondsman, although the exact circumstances are unclear. I think it was $10k that he had yet to raise, and the bondsman had let him owe it.

How far out on a limb did this man go for his less-than-ideal son? Did he help push a false narrative for his son? It seems likely that he did. RZ claims the fight happened on the path GZ was taking to(wards) his vehicle. The body was found elsewhere, in between the townhouses, and the evidence is scattered from the intersection of sidewalks some 40-50 feet south. Witnesses seem to have heard a struggle that migrated as well. One witness, W-2 even claimed to have seen a foot chase, briefly but later seems less sure. It seems likely that the fight started with a punch or a lunge that led to a "quarterback scramble" that went 12-13 yards behind a line of scrimmage and that's a no-no for George - trying to detain TM is a crime that negates his self defense claim. I think the evidence suggests he omitted this part of the struggle in order to appear innocent of wrongdoing. But did the father know this was a lie when he repeated it to the press?

We don't know what GZ's actual description of the altercation was - it's not in the public realm and the prosecution has fought to keep it that way. It's seems they lost this point and in around 30 days we'll know.

But Robert Zimmerman may know already if his son lied to him about the money, and the passport. And he may actually be realizing his son lied to him about how the fight started, too. We just don't know yet.