Jun 25 2013

My Take On Day 1 Of The Trayvon Martin Case

49 responses so far

49 Responses to “My Take On Day 1 Of The Trayvon Martin Case”

1. Redteam says:

   June 25, 2013 at 3:36 am

   I must have tuned to the wrong channel.

2. Rick C says:

   June 25, 2013 at 8:39 am

   I know you have been claiming that for quite a while, but I think you are quite wrong. The self defense claim will be successful and the prosecution’s case will consist primarily of talking loudly, a lot of arm waving, and unsubstantiated narratives.

3. gwood says:

   June 25, 2013 at 11:23 am

   I’m not going to make a prediction about the verdict, but judging the opening statements, I’d say the defense laid out a more objective, evidence-based case for self defense.

   The prosecution’s presentation seemed to be entirely subjective, based largely on mind reading, in an attempt to prove Zimmerman is a racist. In Zimmerman’s past, there is a great deal of evidence to the contrary. Also, attempting to minimize Zimmerman’s injuries was probably counter-productive, as they had to know the photos would be presented by the defense.

4. Conrad says:

   June 25, 2013 at 1:17 pm

   I didn’t watch it, but I read the summary/analysis at Legal Insurrection. Is the prosecution overtly asserting RACISM as the motive, or is it their theory that GZ was simply hell-bent on killing one of the “assholes” who had been burglarizing the neighborhood? I thought it was the latter.

   Even if it IS the latter, which seems to be a much more provable theory than outright racism, I still think the prosecution has set a fairly high bar for itself. Let’s say GZ really did want to catch a burglar, and he thought TM was one, where is the evidence that he wanted to KILL? Indeed, if GZ had wanted to kill TM, calling 911 seems like a pretty bad idea on his part. How could have known that the police weren’t going to barge on his planned “execution” of TM, thus possibly getting himself killed, either by the police right on the spot or later, by lethal injection?

   I just can’t see how the D.A. can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that GZ set out to have a lethal confrontation with TM. Everything seems to point to fact that he was tailing TM in order just to keep him from getting away so that the POLICE would apprehend and question him. Perhaps that was stupid and perhaps unfair to TM (insofar as he may not have been “up to no good,” but it doesn’t make GZ a cold-blooded killer.

5. Conrad says:

   June 25, 2013 at 1:28 pm

   By the way, a number of accounts I have read state that the 911 operator “ordered” GZ not to follow TM. However, from the transcript, the operator simply says to GZ (I think this is a quote): “You don’t have to do that.” Am I missing something? Has Zimmerman admitted he understood this to be an “order?” Are 911 operators empowered to order citizens to do or not do things?

   If words mean anything, then the operator didn’t “order” GZ not to tail TM. He or she merely informed GZ that he didn’t HAVE to follow TM. I would have interpreted that either as a suggestion that I not follow him or, even more likely, a note to please not put myself in any danger, i.e., to be careful.

   Again, maybe I’m missing something.

6. jwb says:

   June 25, 2013 at 2:32 pm

   The state has a lot of its case resting on its theory that GZ targeted TM because of racism and being a loose canon.

   Further from Legal Insurrection, the defense has made the 911 operator more of a defense witness than one for the prosecution. In direct and redirect, O’Mara showed that the 911 operator did not see any specific hostility or racism from Zimmerman’s conversation. . The testimony weakened a lot of the prosecution’s view of how they are trying to portray GZ.

7. DJStrata says:

   June 25, 2013 at 2:34 pm

   Conrad,

   The 911 operator testified yesterday that they are not allowed to give any orders to callers because then they would be liable for that persons actions. So they are not allowed to order anyone to stop following. They also played the call itself and all he said was “you don’t have to do that.” After Zimmerman lost Martin, the 911 operator asked where Zimmerman wanted to meet the officers and he stated at the location of his truck was fine.

8. DJStrata says:

   June 25, 2013 at 2:36 pm

   jwb,

   You are correct. While listening to testimony yesterday the 911 operator was a much bigger support to the defense than the prosecution.

9. Redteam says:

   June 25, 2013 at 5:46 pm

   It seems as if the attempt by the prosecutor to prove GZ is racist has backfired. In all the calls they discussed, race was never an issue. GZ never got excited, he just calmly reported to the police what was going on and told them as well as he could who he was reporting, where they were and what they were doing. Wonder what else a Neighborhood watch would be doing if not just that. He certainly nevere seemed angry that it was ‘blacks’ that were getting away with it all. I have seen nothing in the prosecution’s favor yet. They seem to be aiding the defense at this point.

10. oneal lane says:

    June 26, 2013 at 11:36 am

    AJ,

    I mean this as an observation and not an attack, so please take it in the spirit for which it is intended.

    You see, I rather think you’re guilty of the same behavior that you cite in GZ. Before any hard evidence was established, while the media was still openly distorting what was known and going on their PC rants, you convicted GZ. If I recall correctly it was on the basis of him being something to the effect of the overzealous gun toting vigilante…..”I know the type” I don’t recall the exact post. So in effect, you prejudged and typed GZ on your suspicions. You immediately proclaimed is guilt based on some personal standard. In your own way you pulled the trigger on GZ, and he did not even beat your head against the pavement.

11. momdear1 says:

    June 26, 2013 at 3:12 pm

    Jane, what AJ and the rest of the media have done is to organize a lynch mob to legally lynch George Zimmerman. With back mobs attacking vulnerable whites all over the country, without provocation, these latter day abolitionists have to have a cause to detract from reality of facing up to, and admitting, who is really behind all the racial tensions in this country today. God forbid, the civil rights activists, who once had a legitimate cause, but, now, having won the fight, have to keep on creating crisis situations to justify continuing their activist activities, be required to stand down and/or find another occupation. The problem with people who organize to redress legitimate grievances is that once they realize they have the power to force change, once they have won their fight, instead of stopping making demands, start pushing for special privileges. These activists now want George Zimmerman’s head because they want to penalize anyone who dares used force to protect himself from any member of this protected class who demand special privileges and rights because they were once a part of the once abused minority.

12. oneal lane says:

    June 26, 2013 at 3:53 pm

    In aviation, even direct orders by Air Traffic Control are not the final. The “pilot in command” is ultimately legally responsible for the flight. His is the ultimate judge of the situation and course of action.

    911 is just a mode of contact with authority.

13. jan says:

    June 26, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    I’ve only watched small portions of the Zimmerman trial — mainly news excerpts. However, the little I’ve seen, if I were Zimmerman, I would fire the lawyer who opened with the ‘Knock Knock’ joke. This totally put the defense on the defense, IMO.

    And, today, the same guy was totally misfiring when questioning Martin’s key witness — the girl who was talking to him on the phone the night he was killed. She apparently was caught in some contradictions, and the attorney for Zimmerman did not capitalize on this, but instead doddered on in another direction.

    Furthermore, seeing the cameras always zeroing in on the crying parents is somewhat prejudicial, in emotionally swaying the public, if not the jury. Shouldn’t a prosecution and defense be based on the facts not on how much sympathy can be aroused for either side?

14. Layman says:

    June 26, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    Day 3 … ouch AJ.

    The long awaited testimony from TM’s “girlfriend” has taken place. She tells us that: 1) TM told her he was being followed by a “creepy ass cracker”; 2) she suggested he run away but he said “no”, and and 3) TM told her “the ni**er is now following him.”

    Soon the defense will tell us that the proper interpretation of those three items is that TM had a chip on his shoulder, that TM doubled back and began following GZ, then TM confronted him. After that it is…

    Case closed.

15. Layman says:

    June 26, 2013 at 4:48 pm

    Looks like the judge is going to allow some of GZ’s previous 911 calls to be played so the Prosecution can paint him as a racist.

    To be “fair” we should allow all TM’s “gangsta” posts on twitter and Facebook to be ahred with the jury as well.

    If previous behavior away from this incident is relevant then shouldn’t that proposition hold for both sides?

16. jwb says:

    June 26, 2013 at 8:45 pm

    Andrew Branca, a real attorney with experience in self defense, has been blogging and analysing the Zimmerman trial at Legal Insurrection on a daily basis. It appears that Zimmerman’s defense has been able to turn much of the state’s case against itself. Each witness has seem to make the prosecution’s case against GZ weaker. They had better have some real evidence or they may not be able to convince even one member of the jury about GZ’s guilt.

    When a witness tells the jury that she based her view of “size” and GM being on top because of the 12 yr old photos, it reinforces the case that this is just a media organized lynching attempt.

17. Redteam says:

    June 27, 2013 at 12:30 am

    The theory “of some” is that GZ was racist. Let’s see…. “creepy-ass- cracker”……..”That Nigga following me”, hmmmm, who was the racist here? I swear that Jentel seemed as if English was a 2nd or 3rd language for her. She has really backfired on the prosecution, seems as if they would be better off to move to strike her testimony, it helps the defense more than the prosecution. Unless the prosecution comes up with something, seems as if the proper motion is to dismiss the charges due to lack of evidence.

18. momdear1 says:

    June 27, 2013 at 7:09 pm

    It seems the ongoing lynching attempt of George Zimmerman has emboldened our domestic black MauMau . Just reviewed the videos of blacks attempting to kill whites by viciously beating them and kicking them in the head. One incident caught on a nannie camera showed a burly black man beating up a white woman. I don’t mean just knocking her around but viciously beating her and kicking her in the face. The second shows a group of vicious black teens attempting to kill a white boy so they could steal his shoes. the ring lead in this attack is shown kicking and stomping on the white child’s head. If caught, the perpetrators in both these incidents will probably be charged with assault and given probation, when in fact they should be charges with attempted murder, and locked up until they are too old to do any damage to anyone. . when you stomp, kick or beat someone in the head you intend to do serious damage to that person. these attacks were deliberate and in both cases white people were singled out for attack by blacks. It appears the race war has already begun and the brow beaten, guilt ridden whites have not realized it yet.

19. jwb says:

    June 27, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    From Legal Insurrection’s review of the day 4 testimony, another day when the state’s witnesses support GM’s account and offer little evidence to support the case against him.

    Wondering if when it comes the defense’s turn, GZ’s lawyers will ask for dismissal of all charges. ;o)

20. WWS says:

    June 28, 2013 at 11:40 am

    the prosecution’s eyewitness just totally corroborated Zimmerman’s story while on the stand this morning.

    Knock, knock….

    Is AJStrata going to come out of this looking like a brain dead sack of shit?

    Royally.