George Zimmerman trial: Opening statements underway

[uppityperson]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Jurors are hearing opening statements at the George Zimmerman murder trial today, as attorneys for both sides begin telling their version of what happened the night Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a homicide that set off weeks of civil rights rallies.
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West told jurors this morning that Zimmerman is not guilty: "He shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked."
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West went into a detailed chronological breakdown of Zimmerman's call to Sanford police to report Trayvon as suspicious, which the jurors also heard. He said Zimmerman did initially follow Trayvon, but stopped when he was told not to.
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When Zimmerman saw Trayvon, the prosecutor said, he "didn't see a young man walking home." Instead, he profiled, pursued and killed Trayvon, Guy said.....(more @ link)

Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-trial-openings-20130624,0,920748.story

[In_The_Wind]

1. Kicked & Recommended

[politicaljunkie41910]

2. I've been on a few juries before, and I've never seen so much 'testifying' during Opening Arguments

Last edited Mon Jun 24, 2013, 08:27 PM - Edit history (1)

in all my life. What the defense lawyer did was testify without ever calling a witness. He made the Defense case for every question one might raisie about Zimmerman's actions that night without putting the defendant on the stand.

His testimony was also confusing most of the time, as he would start and stop in the middle of a thought or presenting his case and then say, "well I'll come back to that later".

Even the Prosecutor objected a few times, it appeared to me that his entire "Opening Argument" was one big testimony which we certainly aren't going to hear corroborated by Zimmerman. I hope this jury does not turn out ot be as stupid as he tried to make them out to be.

Also, HLM provided the worse coverage. They talked or showed commercials the entire with their pause and play, promising we would miss a thing. When they playing commercials throughout the entire arguments, they cutting off the sound to half of the testimony. Worst trial coverage I've ever seen thus far. I don't recall in any of the recent high profile court cases this many interruptions for commercials during opening arguments, making it almost impossible to hear and keep up with the defense's winded and incoherent arguments.

[pacalo]

4. From what I heard listening to the potential jurors' answers, I hope the prosecution will

excel in laying out the facts in a way that they'll grasp the severity in what Zimmerman did. Only six jurors to decide this case & none of them struck me particularly as being articulate & thoughtful.

During the second phase when the potential jurors were seated as a group in the courtroom, I lost more confidence when I saw how engaged the jurors were with O'Mara's classroom-style of questioning. He seemed to be the teacher & they seemed very willing to play the students, eager to speak or to ask questions. Some of their questions lacked everyday common sense or they simply wanted to be noticed; either way, I was thinking this can't be good. My overall impression of the jury is of disappointment; it seems to be a dumbed-down group. I hope they prove me wrong.

I wasn't able to see the first day of trial. Thanks for the update.

Btw, I usually watch one of the Florida tv stations' live streams & I haven't had any technical problems or commercials.

[csziggy]

5. I suspect the defense strategy is to confuse the jurors

Since the jurors were selected for people who did not know much if anything about the case, the defense can claim anything they want during the opening statements without having to provide factual evidence. There will be no way to force the defense to back up any claims during opening made because that is not required by law.

It worked for the Casey Anthony defense in the neighboring county - the defense claimed that Casey had been molested by her father, that her father was the one who was in charge of the child when she died and that her father was the one who hid the body. The defense never brought forward any evidence to support those claims, but apparently they stuck in the jurors' minds strong enough for them to acquit Casey on grounds of reasonable doubt.

As I said in another thread, the defense seems to count on baffling them with bullshit since they don't have any facts.

[uppityperson]

3. First witnesses......

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-trial-openings-20130624,0,920748.story

The first day of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial concluded this afternoon, after jurors heard from a police dispatcher, a 7-Eleven clerk and a teenager who was with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin the day he was killed.

The last witness called today was Ramona Rumph, of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office's communications division. She didn't testify for long: After prosecutors played a recording of a non-emergency call Zimmerman made months before the shooting, the defense objected.

They debated the issue briefly, then decided revisit it in the morning, after further research.

Before Rumph, jurors heard from Sean Noffke, the police dispatcher who took Zimmerman's non-emergency call to report Trayvon as suspicious on the night of the shooting...(more about the other witnesses)

http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/trayvon-martin-extended-coverage/-/14266478/20696706/-/5rqy9mz/-/index.html

Images: Witneses take stand at George Zimmerman trial

Chad Joseph is the son of Tracy Martin's girlfriend and a friend of Trayvon Martin. He testified that he asked Martin to bring him back Skittles from the 7-Eleven store.


Andrew Gaugh worked as a clerk at the 7-Eleven store on the night Trayvon Martin bought Skittles and an iced tea drink.

(2 more @ link)

[obama2terms]

6. I don't understand

How is there even a question about who's guilty when Zimmerman had a gun and Trayvon Martin did not? If Trayvon had a gun it would be a compelling case for Zimmerman, but he didn't so what now? Even if he did fight Zimmerman, if someone was pointing a gun at you, wouldn't you fight back? Or would you just stand there and let them pull the trigger? If Zimmerman gets off, I will have lost all faith in the American Justice System.

[uppityperson]

7. The trial is about intent. Did Zimmy stalk and murder Trayvon or did they get in a fight and oops.

Since Zimmy says he feared for his life, getting his head beat into the pavement (yet no blood on Trayvon's hands) while at the same time Trayvon had his hands over his mouth suffocating him (during those loud yells for help), according to Florida law he had the right to defend himself.

Of course Trayvon had the right to defend himself also.

Zimmy is guilty of killing Trayvon, the trial is for if he islegally guilty of murdering Trayvon. It is head spinning.

[noiretextatique]

8. bottom line: if zimmerman was a dark-skinned Latino, and the victim was a white kid

there would be none of this bullshit. he would probably have been charged with first degree murder, and all the very same people who are defending the light-skinned zimmerman would be condeming the dark-skinned one. typical ameriKKKan hypocrisy