Zimmerman needs to realize that his attorney is his support. To not be open and forthright with his attorney simply jeopardizes Zimmerman's chances at a good defense. It also puts a strain on the attorney-client relationship. An attorney seeks to represent a client accurately in court. Zimmerman could lose a good attorney if O'Mara feels his legal reputation is threatened by Zimmerman's dishonesty with him. (That is, as his spokesman at the bail hearing, O'Mara's reputation was at stake as he stated the "facts" to the court. No attorney wants to be viewed as a "liar" because the attorney has passed on what his client lied to him about as far as assets.)

Appears Zimmerman has a lot of experience lying.

Gee, if you don't want people thinking of you as a murderer, don't kill anyone. Isn't that simple? Boohoo.

Misscreant said:

Curiouser and curiouser.....

I agree. This case has had so many twists and turns that it's starting to feel like we've all fallen down the rabbit hole. Can we wake up now?

(Good literary reference by the way--not many people bother to read the classics in original, unabridged, non-Disney versions anymore...)

Like it or not Zimmerman will walk.

..off a cliff

The judge must like getting lied to.. Is under oath something to be taken seriously anymore? If so Casey Anthony would have burned right where she stood. In the land of Idiocracy, formerly know as Florida.

Mara's behaving like an attorney who's faced with surprises that he needs time to evaluate. A new bond hearing would involve calling GZ's family to the stand to determine their awareness of the money GZ raised and lied to the court about. Looks like that family is not quite prepared for that court interrogation.

It's a shame and outrage when people need to smear a teen's reputation and yell that he deserved to be dead because he smoked some pot.

And I have to wonder why an attorney of Mara's stature would even rush to volunteer to defend GZ...and pro bono! Even before he knows all the facts. Celebrity is a risky venture.

Zimmerman needs to realize that his attorney is his support

Some folks are starting to think that Zimmerman's attorney is just milking the foaming right-wing outrage money, and knows that Zimmerman has no defense. Time will tell . . .

ridiculous...the 8th Amendment does not guarantee bail

Yeah, he'll walk. But on a more important note: How can anyone be OK with murder? Ii feel like the supporters of his "support fund" are OK with it; and I find it Ironic that Karma (God, the Universe) dealt a blow to GZ based on the "support fund". Had it not existed he wouldn't be back in jail today and we wouldn't be questioning his latest record on bad character; yes there is a record BTW. Good job Karma!

Thanks Amanda. "The Jabberwockey" is still one of my favorite poems.

I know , Karma is comming back around to get old Georgie, oh well he look at what he did! Hey George how you feeling now?,, We need to have his paypal acct. closed down, how in the world can people send this person money for killing someone ??

It looked to me like Zimmerman set himself up to run. He had his duplicate passport, over $100,000 in cash, and had absolutely nothing to lose. He actually reminded me of O.J. Simpson who also had his passport and $10,000 in cash when they finally tracked him town and took him in.

American, O. J. got off.

$100k In cash?? Really?

OJ is in jail...the prosecutors wont rest until they have no choice but too..

TO: Dale3242 who wrote:

"American, O. J. got off."

Yeah, too bad for that; and Zimmerman isn't accused of killing his wife, either.

I was just comparing the "fleeing" part of the 2 cases, not the entire case.

They did eventually get O.J. on other grounds, and it's not likely that O.J. will see the light of day anytime soon.

Geesch!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

TO: OpenwidebBI44 who wrote:

"$100k In cash?? Really?"

Yeah, really.

Maybe that's why Zimmerman's attorneys delayed the bail hearing. They're waiting to actually get all the money in-hand, and maybe Zimmerman's wife won't give it up.

Please try to keep up.

I am sure they are trying to raise (once again) enough money for his new bond if granted. I am assuming if granted, the judge will place bond at 1million and O'Mara knows this. He will need 10% of that to post bond. If he does it now, he will be sitting there until enough funds are raised. He had enough to post the first time. He should have told the truth but instead he was being greedy. I would rather be broke and have my freedom. I am sure he will have it in no time.

Mary - My understanding is that bond isn't supposed to be a punishment. What is this a tax now because he has funds for a legal defense?

if i was his wife i wouldn't give it up either. Instead of him being home worrying about the needs in his own house. he was peaking out windows and driving around looking for potential teen criminals. She is on Vacation. She has her feet up and is thinking of all the possibilities in her future.. Getting rid of that insomniac paranoid anxiety psycho was like a gift falling down from the heavens..Too bad it was at Trayvon's expense.Poor Trayvon.

Great Idea

...if he is convicted, the money should go to Trevyon's family.

Any money that Zimmerman has, was donated to him online by a great many people for his legal defense fund. If he is convicted, the money should be used for the appeals process. If you and the people voting for your post are so concerned about Trayvon's family, I'm sure there are websites available where you can put your money where your mouths are and donate to them directly. Liberals...always so quick to spend other people's money.

I don't see anything about liberals in that post. Why does it have to be a political issue?

So you don't think Nicole Simpson's family has a right to any of OJ Simpson's money? He should be allowed to keep all proceeds of anything he gets? We don't want anyone taking away his money, it's all his, right?

All far as liberals spending "other people's money", if it hadn't been stolen in the first place, we wouldn't be wanting it back, now would we?

Byron:

Simpson lost a civil lawsuit that awarded Nicole's family his money. The difference here is that the money donated to Zimmerman was intended to be used for his legal defense.

SI

Why does it have to be a political issue?

The ALEC law under which Zimmerman claims self-defense is a right-wing law, favored by the NRA in order to whip up gun sales by panicky bigots. Liberals are outraged because Zimmerman appears to have simply performed a hate crime and is covering it up with the @!$%#ty SYG laws. It is most definitely a political issue, and the validity of ALEC, SYG, and the anti law-and-order conservative movement are all on trial here.

It's Captain Florida to the rescue...oops wait, never mind he is in jail. Haha my first collapsed comment! Yeah! Bitterhawk deserved to be told to go watch the help. What. He would like it.

TO: Seattle Indie who wrote:

"... the money donated to Zimmerman was intended to be used for his legal defense. SI"

From what I understood, the money was originally donated to pay for Zimmerman's bail, which turned out to be $150,000. but instead of Zimmerman putting up all that money in cash (which Zimmerman would have gotten back, every penny, after the trial), Zimmerman hired a bond's man instead and put up the 10% ($15,000) and kept the rest (which I think Zimmerman intended to use for "run money).

The ONLY reason Zimmerman started claiming it was for "legal fees" was so that the court wouldn't take the money away from Zimmerman.

Now that Zimmerman's lawyers have that money, over $100,000 in cash, in their possession and it's designated as "legal fees" those attorneys are going to work exclusively, 12 hours a day at $400 an hour, nonstop, trying to earn and keep every penny that $100,000.

AG:

Ordinarily I wouldn't argue with someone who bears such a striking resemblence to Norma Jean, but...

Uhrig and Sonner said they helped Zimmerman set up a website to raise funds for his defense with money set to go directly to Zimmerman's father. However, when the attorneys began getting questions from reporters about The Real George Zimmerman website, they realized he had gone off on his own and set up a different website himself.

The The Real George Zimmerman website asks for funds to help support his legal defense.

You'll notice that the article that I cut and pasted this from, was posted on April, 10th:

http://www.walb.com/story/17371121/zimmerman-launches-website

Recently, Zimmerman's website "The Real George Zimmerman" was taken down, which makes the fact that online donations for him spiked after he turned himself in again a bit puzzling. Where are all these people donating their money?

As for the attorneys "trying to earn and keep every penny", can they do that? Originally O'mara was supposed to be defending him pro bono. Of course we are talking about lawyers, so I'm sure they'll find a way.

SI

Zimmerman is an interesting fellow. He assaulted a police officer, battered his woman, shoots and kills a teen, (got paid over two hundred thousand dollars for it),and then lies under oath, about it. Still there are so many people foaming at the mouth about his innocence, and how he should walk. Florida being Florida, he might well walk and have his gun returned to him. So, be on the watch! If he is not a racist, all teenage boys might be in his crosshairs.

@American Girl,

Close, but no cigar. Bond is usually based on a defendant's means. The idea is to cause him to put up so much money that it acts as a disincentive for him to flee. In order to determine this, a judge needs all the information about the defendant's financials and anything that would bear on his flight risk.

It appears that Zimmerman deceived the Court on several issues: 1) He had over $135,000 in cash that he failed to disclose to the Court (and now it appears that there was other undisclosed money as well.) 2) Zimmerman and his wife claimed to be completely penniless. 3) Zimmerman was required to turn in his passport to reduce his flight risk. He lied about having a Preuvian passport. This had nothing to do with what the money was intended for --- it makes no difference tothe court --- it only had to do with how much assets Z had to make bond. Most of the money spent so far went not for legal expenses, but for living expenses. So I guess he lied to his donors.

The bail bondsman's 15% and the rest of the bond was covered by Z's parents and in-laws who both took second mortgages on their homes to pay it. Apparently Z lied to them as well.

The police actually detected the lie by monitoring conversations between Z and his wife in which they discussed how much money had been moved from the PayPal account to the credit union account. They were discussing $100 in the account when they clearly meant $100,000. The cops turned them in. They also discovered that he had a second passport. Having two current US passports is a felony in itself, but not so if one is US and one is Peruvian.

When bail was revoked for cause, the bail bondsman forfeited his 15%. He will recover it from Z's parents and in-laws. But this is going to make it extremely difficult for Z to find another bail bondsman. The judge was actually very lenient because she could have caused the entire $150,000 to have been forfeited. Z will also find it extrtemely difficult to get a US passport in the future because of passport fraud.

In all this there are several criminal charges that can be laid against Zimmerman and his wife that will be extremely difficult to defend --- bail fraud, passport fraud, and possible income tax evasion.

You made some great and valid points. I don't think anyone thought about income tax evasion.

Maxxi - OMG really so the money should go to Treyvons family? On what grounds?!?! Yeah thats it from now on whenever someone gets convicted all there possessions should go to the family! It seems to me they are doing just fine for themselves aren't they? Flying all around the globe and meeting with a bunch of celebrities must be awful.... The have a fund setup to pay for "living" expenses to don't they? How about we put that under a microscope....

Convicted murderers do need to be in jail. Defendants are allowed bail unless they are likely to flee, commit additional crimes, or intimidate the jury. Zimmerman has not demonstrated that he is likely to any of these three things.

One is not guaranteed to receive bail at all.

no murderers dont belong to jail, they belong in a high security PRISON...he should be on his way soon.

Well, he DID get a second passport and lie about it. That may be evidence that he's considering fleeing. Although most Defendants have a right to reasonable bail, there are exceptions for violating probation or first degree murder, as well as having your bond revoked (as in this case.)

And to keep the terms clear, people like Zimmerman stay in county JAIL while awaiting trial. If he's convicted and sentenced to over a year, he will go to state PRISON (in Florida, one year or less is served in the county jail.) Sorry to nitpick, but jail and prison are two separate things. Having been a lawyer in Sanford, I can tell you the jail there is new and pretty nice, though severely overcrowded.

GZ has lied repeatedly to the court. Typically, that suggests a pattern of lying. His argument is, of course, that yes, while he lied to the court, he hasn't lied about anything else. Hint: it's not good to perjure yourself in your murder trial--people might think you're lying about other more important things. Best to show the court you have nothing to hide...or to lie about.

@Dale,

1) Likely to flee --- Zimmerman retained a current Peruvian passport and lied about it. This is as clear an indication of intent to flee as you can get.

2) Commit additional crimes --- Z and his wife conspired to hide money from the court in the bond hearing. They did it knowingly. (Why else would they have talked in codes?) It is also probably chargeable fraud to collect money for legal expenses and use it for living expenses. And there are several questions about the tax status of the money that are arising. Those are all additional crimes.

3) Intimidate the jury --- No jury yet so he is still okay there.

I would call this a clear demonstration of two of the three that you so quickly named. In addition, here's one that you forgot ---- Bail fraud is admissable as evidence in his trial. The prosecution can even play the jailhouse recordings between Z and his wife to impeach his character. They can call his parents and in-laws to testify against him and they have no choice. And then there is the bias that it creates with the judge. She is far less likely to "cut him some slack" when making trial decisions that are incredibly important, such as which charges to use in charging the jury or ruling on certain types of motions. Juries are not stupid, they can figure most of it out for themselves and it is perfectly okay for them to do so.

They used to have a phrase in the military that covered things like this: Zimmerman screwed the pooch.

It seems that some of you were misinformed. The GZ website was set up by GZ for legal fees and living expenses citing the fact that neither he or his wife were working. At the time, GZ had not been arrested and the attorney(s) were handling his case pro bono.

OMG the 2nd passport thing is a non-issue. He gave it to his attorney when he FOUND IT. God that was almost EIGHT years ago all. The JUDGE HAS ALREADY SAID THAT IS A NON-ISSUE so please do catch up. He could have left the second he got out of jail if that was his intention according to what you want to condemn him off so please stop making your own plot lines and stick to what has been stated.,

Dan, true. The issue is a defendant misleading everyone (lying) about his assets. His credibility is damaged and his lawyer says Zimmerman needs to rebuild it. (Especially because it erodes the credibility of his statements concerning the events of that tragic night.)

yathc - Yes I agree but until we can get an explanation of the "why" we just don't know all the details. Perhaps he didn't count it as assets because it was donations? Perhaps in the furor of everything they answered what was ASKED of them and nothing more? I can understand the fear and confusion part. How would you react if you just had to uproot and take off because people are threatening to kill you? We just don't know the full details. This is unfortunate but all of his ACTIONS speak way louder than words to me. He turned in the passport, he turned in the money, he talked to the cops without a lawyer, re-enacted the events for them, passed a lie detector test, etc, etc, etc. People act like that all means nothing.

The judge did say he wanted Zimmerman to explain, and the judge set up a hearing. We are fortunate in America to have such a good justice system.

Motaba, Al Sharpton has not ever said that Zimmerman searched out "to murder in cold blood" anyone - you said that. What is your agenda?

I think is is risky to predict what a jury will do. I do think that Angela Corey has overcharged Zimmerman. Prosecutors frequently overcharge when they have a weak case. The slight threat of a long jail term will sometimes get a defendant to plea bargain to a lesser charge for something they were not even guilty of.

So what you are saying is that Al Sharpton is only any where around this case to help the Martin Family with no Agenda of his own? And Al Sharpton did say that Zimmerman Murdered Martin in Cold Blood on his show, then in the next statement inferred that the killing was possibly racially motivated.

What about the lack of Zimmerman's DNA on Trayvon's hands..... How do you repeatedly punch some and then put your hand over their mouth and nose without getting any blood on your hands...... very strange...........

Do you think maybe this is what the prosecuters are taking about when they say Zimmerman's story and the forensics don't match.

oh matoba you are so wrong on every account here. zimmerman has lied or misled everyone involved in this case. most important is that he and his lawyer's lied/misled the judge and that is what is going down here. please get your facts straight.

es165

I think that the lack of DNA on Martin will be the most damning piece of evidence. I've had my nose broken and I've broken someone else's nose, and there is a lot of blood. Also, Martin supposedly kept punching Zimmerman after the nose-breaking, in which case there would be spatters of Z's blood all over Martin, and embedded in his scuffed knuckles.

Al Sharpton constantly reminds viewers that nobody is threatening violence, and nobody should be judging Zimmerman without a trial. He keeps saying that all the Martin family wants is a full investigation and that justice is eventually served. Whether or not Zimmerman is eventually found guilty, it's clear that this case was going to be ignored until people started demanding justice.

I'm no Sharpton fan, but to be fair, everything he talks about is justice through peaceful protests and non-violence.

Matoba - You are so funny and delusionary. 1st thing this case isn't about Sharpton, Obama, Jackson or whatever Black boogeyman that you hate. It's about a deranged wannabe cop killing an innocent kid. Zimmerman is out of control. His first set of lawyers quit because they knew that. His lying to the court reflects that. His history of violences shows that. He attacked a cop, he has charges of abuse from his ex girlfriend, he was fired from a job as a security guard because they felt he was too agressive. Now if he didn't killed a young Black kid and killed a young white kid, I'm pretty sure that you and all of his supporters would be screaming for the electric chair however since he killed a black kid, you re claiming that he is innocent. Actually, this case highlights the racisms of Zimmerman's supporters maybe even more than Zimmerman. I can accept the fact that Zimmerman is a nutty lunatic who went off and killed a kid from uncontrollable rage. I cannot accept the millions of people who supports him even though they know that he killed that innocent kid.

give it rest already about al sharpton and jesses grandstanding thats dead now thank god they made noise or georgei boy would still be out killing somebody else claiming hes protected himself.see how god works george and his wife put himself back in jail talk about hanging yourself lol you gotta love it. also wait to the justice department get their hands on this mainiac want a be law enforcer hes done.thank you al sharpton and followers

He keeps saying that all the Martin family wants is a full investigation and that justice is eventually served.

On the news conference immediately following the announcement of charges, he stated that had they not pressed charges and arrested Zimmerman, then they wouldn't have dropped it. They don't want a full investigation UNLESS that investigation leads to hanging Zimmerman (hanging being figurative.) Anything else, even if Zimmerman gets cleared of wrongdoing, doesn't fit with what they want to happen- based on their own statements.

Kevin from NYC...

First of all I am Black so your assertion that any one who is against Al Sharpton or Jessie or thinks Zimmerman is innocent is a racist White Person is not a good point.

Also The media, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson has made this into a racist thing, not Zimmerman. Whether it was a White 17 yr old or Black 17 yr old is irrelevant... The fact is a 17 yr old HUMAN BEING is dead at the hands of a 28 yr old HUMAN BEING. Both Zimmerman and Trayvon made mistakes that led to this tragedy but Zimmerman acted in what he thought was self defense at the time. Should he have stayed in his vehicle ? absoulutely... Should Trayvon have circled back and confronted him...no he shouldnt have. Should Zimmerman have been carrying a gun...No...Should Trayvon have attacked Zimmerman and got on top of him and threw all those punches...No. Both parties were at fault here....Taryvon was not a 9 yr old boy who was chased and gunned down, he was a 17yr old who fought a 28yr old and had him pinned down and was shot. Race needs to come out of this whole thing...The prosecution bowed to public pressure and charged him with 2nd degree Murder....This will not stand and he will be found not guilty. Not because of Race, but because he was defending himself and feared for his life....Tragedy is this young man is dead but not of Murder, of a confluence of circumstances that went out of control....

Men like Sharpton and Jackson focus national attention on the unequal
application of the law and civil rights. Their activism is necessary
only because of the misfeasance in the countries' legal system.

Since its conception, the general tone of internet chatter has been expressions
of White Supremacy and hatred toward the 92% of the worlds population
that are not considered White. The charge that civil rights activist
are , “ agitators that are up to no good” is as old as the
mentality of the mobs that blocked their fellow Americans from equal
educational facilities, and equal access to public spaces.

Those that hate Sharpton and Jackson are the same kinds of people that
hated Dr. King, and anyone that points to even the slightest
evidence of racial inequality in America is charged with race-baiting
by these folks. Sharpton and Jackson are hated because they pull back
the curtain and expose the Puppeteers.

You are about as African America as George W. Bush. Sorry, stopped reading after your first sentence was a lie.

Tell em grandma!

So because I am believing that Zimmerman is innocent of second degree Murder and think the Al Sharpton is a attention seeker with his own agenda, then I must be lying about being Black...Wow.

Thats all I have to say ...tellingthewholetruth...you are funny

Dude I myself am questioning you intentions. The only ppl talking about riling ppl up and rioting are minority groups who have there own agenda mostly coming from the conservative treehouse or cocc.

First, get your mind right. Then, get your facts right.

motaba

So because I am believing that Zimmerman is innocent of second degree Murder and think the Al Sharpton is a attention seeker with his own agenda, then I must be lying about being Black...Wow.

Thats all I have to say ...tellingthewholetruth...you are funny

i also doubt that you are black. but your analysis is wrong

there is nothing that backs your assertion that martin attacked zimmerman

the fact that where the altercation took place is directly in opposition to the statement that zimmerman was walking to his vehicle

zimmerman knew he had a gun in his possession when he got out of the car. he could have altered the confrontation at any time

zimmerman had a gun, he did not have to approach within arms distance of trayvon martin, he could have controlled the situation from a safe distance for himself.

reverend al sharpton and reverend jessie jackson were both invited by the martin family because for a month they could not get either the police, district attorney, or the media to help them.

Motaba...

"So because I am believing that Zimmerman is innocent of second degree Murder and think the Al Sharpton is a attention seeker with his own agenda, then I must be lying about being Black."

No, because you simply used race as an identifier...period...if we were discussing the killing of a White person by another White person, would you still have identified your race as Black or White...I dont think so. You would have garnished more credibility had you simple identified yourself as a troll...which you are.

How funny that Motaba lays equal 'blame' at Trayvon's feet by taking the testimony of George Zimmerman at face value as IF that is an accurate account of events. Ha!!

"Should Trayvon have circled back and attacked George Zimmerman? No." LOL Oh right Motaba, I forgot Mr. Trustworthy Zimmerman told us that's what happened. I believe it! Not.

I think we all know how valid the words of George Zimmerman are now (not that we should ever take the words of someone who's found to have just killed an unarmed teenager who was legally where he should be and even the gunman admits was minding his own business - other than just appearing "suspicious" - and apparently a lot of people looked suspicious to Zimmerman).

Conblaster and Kappa_man_stew:

"there is nothing that backs your assertion that martin attacked zimmerman

the fact that where the altercation took place is directly in opposition to the statement that zimmerman was walking to his vehicle

zimmerman knew he had a gun in his possession when he got out of the car. he could have altered the confrontation at any time"

Just because you have a gun doesn't mean you don't think the other guy does and you ain't going to man up and try to shoot first. This isn't he old west.

Kappa the altercation occurred EXACTLY where it would have if Zimmerman was walking back to his vehicle so guess that means Martin attacked Zimmerman based on your statement then right? Plus Do you know where it occurred? It occurs at the OTHER END OF THE COMPLEX. What is Treyvon doing there 2 minutes after GZ loses him? Can't answer that can ya? I can because its simple for me to come up with this scenario that explains it:

1. GZ walks out to the street to get an address.

2. Starts walking back to his car looking around.

3. Treyvon notices this and then comes up behind him as he is walking back to his car and gets in his face. Where? Right at the T where he would be walking back to his vehicle.

4. Did this occur down at Brandy's? No so then HOW did it not? If it did I could see how Treyvon was the victim but since it isn't that is the BIGGEST issue to this whole thing. Open up and you can see this is the entire case in my mind.

One is not guaranteed to receive bail at all.

Dale: Would you be saying the same thing, had Zimmerass killed one of your loved one's. I highly doubt it, buddy.

If Judge Lester decides that Zimmerman is a flight risk, then he can deny bail. However, a judge must be able to support his/her decision. The denial of basic constitutional rights can allow a guilty defendant a free "get out of jail" card. I don't think that any of the people who already have decided Zimmerman is guilty should want that.

Sir Mason, you are wrong. Based on your post, you have already made up your mind as to Zimmerman's guilt.

I think the judge has plenty of support to deny bail with proof that Zimmerman lied about how much money he had, and that he had a second passport.

Not to mention that he had already lied in court once before when he told Martin's parents "I didn't know he was a teenager, I thought he was just a little younger than me". When there were already recordings of him describing Martin to the 911 operator by saying "He's in his late teens".

Believe me all these lies are being taken note of.

Dale: Actually, I am right. As far your assertion, that somehow Zimmerass is being punished, is absurd. Wake up Dale.

Suzie, you do not belong on a thread where intelligent people are commenting. Here is what he said:

I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am and I did not know if he was armed or not.

He NEVER said he didn't know he was a teenager. Also, "early teens" = 13-14, "mid-teens" = 15-17, "late-teens" = 18-19. 18 and 19 year-olds are ADULTS in every state in the U.S. So George told the 911 operator he thought Trayvon was an ADULT.

He didn't lie, you're just making up garbage.

Zimmerman is 28. A "little bit younger" than him would be 25, maybe 22. Not late teens. That is where Suzie is claiming Zimmerman lied.

Sorry, Misscreant, obviously you can't read either. Suzie stated:

Not to mention that he had already lied in court once before when he told Martin's parents "I didn't know he was a teenager, I thought he was just a little younger than me".

He never said that. Period.

Also, it's good to know you are an expert on what "a little bit younger" means. I suspect you'll be brought in as an expert witness. Congrats!

I disagree, VisibleTruth.

Wow, you were the one who spewed out what "late teens" means to support Zimmerman, but when someone does it back to you, you want to be a jerk.

Zimmerman knew that Martin was not anywhere close to his age, as shown by the 911 tapes, yet he sat in court and tried to make it sound like he thought Martin was older to help justify his actions. It may not be directly lying, but sure is stretching the truth.

Oh, I'm sorry Misscreant - what is your interpretation of "late teens?" 15? 13? Are you aware that nineTEEN is still a "teen?" Not sure what you're trying to prove, other than making yourself look like an idiot.

And how exactly do you think "Zimmerman knew that Martin was not anywhere close to his age, as shown by the 911 tapes?" Where do you get that from? Please share your reasoning. I'm sure it will be enthralling.

Maybe you should read the CORONER'S REPORT that estimates Trayvon is a 20 YEAR OLD MALE.

Or perhaps you should look at the 711 video from that night and tell me what a "small child" you'd think Trayvon was if you encountered him on a dark street:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqLOeuBwJOI

On the 911 tape, when asked how old Zimmerman thought the "suspicious person" was, Zimmerman answers "late teens." You know that! How do you equate 28 as being "close in age" to 19, the latest of the late teens.

The coroner's report states Martin's correct age. One early police report estimates Martin's age at 20.

The only person looking like an idiot here is you.

Again, you are the global expert on what "close in age" means. You must make an amazing living off that! It's a totally subjective term and you know it. Would I think someone 9 years younger than me was "a little bit younger" in the context of all people I might run into? Sure. Just like I'd think someone 9 years older was "a little bit older." But I forget, you're the expert. Anyone else's opinion means nothing.

You're right about it not being the coroner report, but I believe it was the EMT report (both docs are in the Probable Cause Affidavit) that listed him as John Doe. Of course the coroner would have known Trayvon's identity by the time he got to the autopsy. I'll admit when I'm wrong on a technicality, but the principle still applies - trained medical personell identified him as a 20 year-old. End of story.

Late teens (19 being the oldest you can be in your late teens) is nowhere close to 28. 28 is considered "late twenties" by most peoples' standards so saying you think someone is close to your own age when you're in your late twenties means you believe they're no younger than 26, in my opinion. VisibleTruth, nobody has claimed to be the "global expert" on age here but when you're talking a difference of 9 years, it's all relative. Is there a big difference between people who are 90 and 99? Of course not. Is there a big difference between a newborn and a 9-year-old child? You betcha. A 10-year-old and 19-year-old? Again, yes. Huge difference. 28 and 19? Not as much, but still yes. The older people get, the less an age difference matters. The difference between a 17-year-old like Trayvon Martin and a 28-year-old like Zimmerman is still pretty substantial. 11 years is huge. And you don't have to be a global expert to realize that. You just have to be a reasonably thinking, rational person.

And one more thing, VisibleTruth:

Suzie, you do not belong on a thread where intelligent people are commenting.

Suzie's comments are intelligent. You have no idea what you're talking about and to insult Suzie is totally uncalled for. I really hope you get suspended for this. People who have to resort to insults when they're debating an issue clearly aren't intelligent. It also looks like they're losing the argument and have no idea what else to say. Best thing to do in that situation is to admit you may not know everything.

Kat: Very well said... Excellent... :-)

Finally. VisableTruth, here I thought I was the only person with intelligence in this thread.

Kat, let me spell this out for you:

Suzie LIED about what Zimmerman said, then accused him of lying.

Did you read any of this, or are you just spouting off for the sake of spouting off? Here's what she wrote:

Not to mention that he had already lied in court once before when he told Martin's parents "I didn't know he was a teenager, I thought he was just a little younger than me".

That is NOT what he said, so no, her comments are NOT intelligent. Sorry, it's true.

As the the "a little bit younger" - are you seriously trying to tell me that it's impossible to refer to a huge "late teens" guy in this way when you're 28? You people are reading too much into this. It's ridiculous. This whole thing has only been brought into focus because people like your buddy Suzie keep spreading lies about what was actually said. Nobody in their right mind would debate a subjective term to the extent they would call it a lie.

As for not having anything else to say, I'm sorry but the only thing you don't like is that I have everything to say, and I can back it all up with evidence. The sad thing is, I'm wasting my time. I'm 100% certain that if a video came out today of Martin attacking Zimmerman, most people here still would not believe it, or they'd simply change their argument again to justify Martin's actions. It's really pathetic.

VisibleTruth - That is the truth. You could uncover someone's home security tape of Martin sneaking up and punching Zimmerman and get it all on tape and it won't matter cuz GZ should have just stayed in his car. To say "Wow he lied about TM age" is simply not true. At 28 to me 22 was just a little younger so if I said that I'm a liar because after he got in my face and spoke I thought he was older? You don't KNOW what I feel is a little younger than me so please don't try and assume you do. We do have all these EXPERTS here on msnbc who know what he meant and what he said and what was on his mind and ALL these facts that they state which aren't really facts but emotional responses. They won't address the CORE issue of how Treyvon was killed at the OTHER END of the complex when he supposedly lost GZ and was going to continue walking home fast. He doesn't go someplace he could have made in 35 seconds walking NORMAL pace not fast but even worse he goes NOWHERE in 2 minutes? Why doesn't this matter to anyone? Course this is all they have and it will get milked until the bitter end because the facts just add up to something else. Sorry people who are lawyers for a living have said that so far nothing adds up to Murder 2 here and GZ probably should have never been charged so what makes people her experts? In the end this is just my opinion and speculations since I wasn't THERE (and neither were anyone else here) but I don't claim to BE an expert either I just take the time to try and read the information that is out there and make an informed hypothesis.

VT... are you really that obtuse or do you have reading comprehension problems? Suzie never lied. You just don't get it and I'm not going to waste my time spelling it out for you. You wouldn't understand it anyway.

@Dan - yeah, the only reason I keep coming back to this sick place is that I cannot believe it exists. Facts mean nothing to most people here, and my brain simply can't process that. Nobody knows exactly what happened, so we should rely on evidence, not conjecture. But no, not here. Conjecture, screaming and baseless allegations rule the day every day.

@Kat - wow, just when I was rooting for a glimmer of intellect to appear, you go ahead and stomp on my dreams. You posted that the classic thing to do when losing is to throw insults - I would say the popular thing to do here is to say things like "I won't waste my time" or "you wouldn't understand," yet fail to produce any type of logical argument.

Let me make this as simple as humanly possible.

SUZIE:

...he had already lied in court once before when he told Martin's parents "I didn't know he was a teenager, I thought he was just a little younger than me". When there were already recordings of him describing Martin to the 911 operator by saying "He's in his late teens".

ZIMMERMAN'S ACTUAL STATEMENT:

I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am and I did not know if he was armed or not.

She lied. PERIOD. Keep defending a lying dolt. It just proves to anyone watching that you are a biased idiot and a liar yourself.

The whole age estimate by Zimmerman is greatly overblown. Estimating a person's age is far from exact. Some 17 year olds could pass for 12, others could pass for 25.

Zimmerman initially estimated Martin's age as late teens from a distance, in the dark with Martin wearing a hood. Once he got closer and Martin spoke to him, he could have easily revised his age estimate upward.

The public has not heard Martin's voice. It may have been deeper than Zimmerman's. It does seem odd that no recording of Martin's voice has surfaced given all the time he spoke on the phone.

Tell you what Chatty. Find ANY 17 year old, white/black/etc and ask them if they are a child. Child my A$$. I'm so very tired of hearing this garbage that Trayvon was an innocent CHILD. Innocent, possibly, Child, no way. If you would have called Trayvon a child, he probably would have beat your A$$.

This is so true, if Trayvon called himself a no limit n*gga, he may have been an off the chain "child." I would still feel bad if one of my off the chain nephews was killed by that nut. Right or wrong, the content of everyone's character in this situation will inevitably be called into question.

Why don't you try reading? He found it when he was moving out of state and immediately turned it over to his attorney, who notified the court. The judge knew all this stuff long ago, but he just now made his decision.

O'Mara has said the judge told him the passport was a "non-issue." If you think he would lie about that on television, you seriously have a screw loose. But of course, you probably just didn't read that or any of the actual evidence.

VisibleTruth----His wife told him it was in the safe deposit box when she was talking to him on the jail phone after the bail hearing.

In the transcript of the jailhouse recording, Zimmerman's wife says she has the passport in a safety deposit box and Zimmerman tells her to hold on to it.

If those transcripts are available, please post a link. Google doesn't seem to know about them. I've found articles stating that the motion mentions something about this, but the context is unclear.

It was presented by the prosecutor at the hearing where Zimmerman's bond was revoked.

So where is it then? If you know it so well, you must have read it, right? Please post a LINK.

(VisibleTruth) -Chicago Tribune - "Florida Judge Revokes Bond for Trayvon Martin Killer" (June 1, 2012). ----- "He told his wife he thought the passport was in a bag and she replied, 'I have one for you in a safe deposit box," the prosecutor said. "OK, You hold onto that,' Zimmerman allegedly told her."

Zimmerman allegedly told her

That word in bold means that this is a guess- as in an unproven statement. Now, whether his response, or the whole conversation is being alleged...

I kinda consider this part (the supposed phone conversation) hearsay to further bash Zimmerman. Evidence submitted in this court case is public with very few exceptions, and something such as a phone transcript would have been released the second they used it in court.

Zanilth, the word "alleged" was the reporter's as he ended his sentence containing quotations. I had the double quotation mark and the single quotation mark available to me on my computer but no more. You need to go to the article. (I had to deal with marking the article as a quotation + quoting prosecutor as he +quoted the jail phone tape of Mr. & Mrs. Zimmerman talking.) The prosecutor handed the transcript to the judge and Zimmerman's attorney I am sure.

the conversation about the passports took place on 4/17 - isn't that before the bail hearing?

The bail hearing took place on April 20th.

The Zimmerman's conversation about the passports took place when Zimmerman was temporarily in jail after the bail hearing. It was recorded while Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman were talking on the jail phone.

VisibleTruth

Why don't you try reading? He found it when he was moving out of state and immediately turned it over to his attorney, who notified the court. The judge knew all this stuff long ago, but he just now made his decision.

O'Mara has said the judge told him the passport was a "non-issue." If you think he would lie about that on television, you seriously have a screw loose. But of course, you probably just didn't read that or any of the actual evidence.

Why don't YOU post a link refuting the passport issue? I'd like to see all this "non-issue" business and the "actual evidence" you keep talking about.

The information you are asking about is on cfnews13,com You might have to click on Seminole county and then go to the story that says George Zimmerman back in Sanford then in the middle of the page part way down click on the prosecutors motion. All the info is there and the part of them (GZ and SZ) talking about the passport is near the end of page 2. The story of them finding it during the move was presented by Mr. O"mara to the court.

I read a forum that stated that GZ lost that passport in 2004. We have never been informed about dates or when the passport was lost. GZ lost the original passport in 2004. It expires in 2014. He reported it stolen in 2004. He applied for a new one in a later year between 2005-2007. It expires in 2015-2017. GZ was told to turn in his passport. He turned in the one that was due to expire in 2014. He kept the other which was hidden in a safety deposit box to avoid detection. No one ever thought he had two passports because it is illegal to have two passports. The passport that he turned in is invalid because it was reported stolen. He kept the valid passport. The jailhouse conversation is what brought it to the prosecutor's attention. This is the "Real George Zimmerman".

@Kat,

Would the recording of the judge saying it's a non-issue work for you? Or would that not be sufficient? Anyway, here you go:

Jump to 46:11

http://soundcloud.com/producermatthew/june-1-george-zimmerman

You're welcome.

OK, "relatively believable" sort of lets him off the hook for now but it's not exactly a "non-issue" as you chose to call it. Zimmerman's credibly is certainly tarnished by this. There's no denying that. You may be able to turn a blind eye to it all being one of his loyal supporters but I'm willing to bet this could sway the opinion of anyone who's unbiased.

If you read my initial post, you'll see I said O'Mara said the judge called it a non-issue. I was quoting O'Mara, who was paraphrasing the judge. Same result. Non-issue.

If you comb my posts, you'll see I've been begging anyone and everyone to post some "evidence" that Zimmerman committed a crime. So far ALL of those requests have gone unanswered. If you were to post something viable, I would debate it if necessary, and concede if I were wrong and/or it was valid. However, since you're not a magician, you will not produce any evidence that the prosecution doesn't have - and they have none. They've admitted this under oath.

And yes, I agree it was wrong of him to fail to disclose the money; however, everyone knew he had raised a defense fund online. EVERYONE. While misguided, it's comprehensible that he considered that money was NOT his - it would only go to the purpose for which it was donated. His actions certainly support this: he didn't use it and he voluntarily handed it over to his attorney. There was no nefarious intent, no matter how you try to twist it.

Charlie, I agree with you completely. Well written!

mort desperate much? zimmerman was a saint tho right?

Very well written!

There is a huge difference between being a "killer" and being a "murderer".

Regardless of what Trayvon was or wasn't....he definitely didn't deserve to die. Even IF he was a gang banger, had a criminal record....is irregardless. What's come out about GZ, who he was, the medication he was taken, past criminal history...doesn't make him look good at all. GZ had no right to take the law into his own hands. He put himself in this situation and by his own actions, voided the stand your law ground.

Agreed. And to be clear, Trayvon had no criminal record and there is zero evidence he was a "gang banger" or anything like that. He seemed to be a pretty average teenager: not a perfect angel, and not a thug.

Mort said:

I think you mean a pot smoking, purple lean drankin', jewelry stealin', young thug got killed. Other than that, you're probably correct.

THC, the active ingredient in Marijuana, was found by the ME in Martin's system 'below the level of impairment'. Also note that THC is the key ingredient in an FDA-approved, legal-in-all-fifty-states drug called Marinol, which is used to treat nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite in cancer patients.

How do we know one of Martin's friends didn't bake it into a brownie as a joke and Martin never noticed? I'm not saying that is what DID happen, I'm saying there are other possible ways the chemical could have gotten into his system so unless we actually SAW him smoking a doobie,we can't say that is what he DID.

What is 'purple lean drankin'? I have never heard that before.

Martin was found with a large screwdriver in his backpack and some items of feminine jewelry. The jewelry was not identified as having been stolen from anyone, nor did anyone claim it, so 'stolen jewelry' is a conjecture unsupported by facts. The screwdriver CAN be used as a burglary tool but having one does NOT mean you HAVE committed a crime, nor that you WILL commit a crime. I carry such a screwdriver in my backpack--I commute via bicycle or public transit and I travel with a large screwdriver (a foot in length) as a bike tire lever to take a tire off rim on order to change a tube. I also travel with a penknife, flashlight, socket wrench and Allen wench/hex key set. Security at Social Services hates me. Will I ever commit crime with any of these items? Heck no.

It's amazing how some on this thread will mention ANYTHING to try to justify the killing of this young man. To some in America, it's still perfectly OK to kill, or murder a Black man just for being Black, and walking down a street.

Charlie, you bring up several solid points but I noticed that you excluded race as a factor in the killing and more importantly, as an element in our criminal justice system, which is being naive at best. The country is not color-blind, so why in the world should anyone expect the CJ system be any different.

Amanda - Ok THC only stays in the blood for hours if what I read is correct. So Treyvon had some brownies as a joke that day, was a cancer patient or is it more likely he smoked something? Since it looks like he got blunts from the 7-11 is it so hard to think maybe he smoked on the way home and that is why it took 40 minutes to go 10 and why they were not found? (Also what exactly was the level and how impaired was he?!?! That statement is not valid and im willing to be someone can be called to dispute it)

It has been found that Treyvon did indeed want "lean" or "Purple lean drank" because he liked the high it gave and he wouldn't have to worry about getting busted with dope like he had already. Read up and surprise Watermelon Ice Tea and skittles are a common cocktail for this.

No having a screwdriver is not illogical when your commuting on a bike around town but at school it absolutely is. Considering the jewelry was a "friends" who did not come forward AFAIK the fact its not reported stolen doesn't mean anything. People who it was stole from may not even realize it. My wife's jewelry box is a mess and she wouldn't miss a ring or two until she actually tries to WEAR it.

To say "Zero evidence he was a gangbanger" doesn't fit to me. He was busted for vandalism and drugs. Has items that make him look like he could be stealing. Yells at the authority at his school, trespasses, "Swings at a bus driver", etc, etc, etc. Sorry that is NOT just a normal kid who does these things. Please wake up if that is what every "normal" teenager does this world is in deep crap.

He has also been linked to gang members via myspace if what I read is correct and it looks like he was rather friendly to the three gangbang looking guys who came in the 7-11 right after he did. I mean would you think otherwise they ALL are trying to hide there faces one even has his hoodie doing a kenny from southpark. Just good clean boys?

lol

I wonder if you can "Stand your ground" at the same time you're bending over?

Yeah, go for it Georgie. You're no stranger to getting knocked out.

Aaaahhh bull ! the little bitch got what he ask for ! punk!

If it wasn't for Rev. Sharpton this case would've never been brought to light. Zimmerman would be free and the Martin's would just be out of a son.

Chris, No matter the outcome of this case, the Martins are out a son. Convicting Zimmerman will not bring their son back. The only question is whether the Florida prisons will have another Latino resident.

Ahem...Dale, that's white hispanic resident.

To be really accurate, a white Hispanic with a touch of color. I believe his maternal grandmother had a black Peruvian as her father.

You know what is really sad. I am white and my family emigrated here from South Africa to escape apartheid. I, however was born in the states. I'm more of an African American than Trayvon is!!

so he can find a 3rd team to represent him....

Mark O'Mara is one of the most respected attorneys in Orlando. He has an impeccable record as a no-BS straight arrow. He's not Jose Baez and his Casey Anthony trickery. If O'Mara says it, you can take it to the bank.

"I've never tried a case with Mark O'Mara or against him. But I will tell you, he does have a reputation of being a very good lawyer in central Florida . I'm here in Orlando and I do know him. And I do appreciate his professionalism thus far." - that is from Natalie Jackson, one of the Martin family's lawyers.

Mark, well written. I might add that the prosecutor has a somewhat different reputation. Check out what Wiki has to say about her.

Well he's not gonna be very well respected after defending this lying murderer. Zimmerman has already gotten him mixed up in all his lies by making him the one responsible for not turning in the 2nd passport. He's suspect now. Maybe he is taking this time to excuse himself from the case. His first set of lawyers ran from him like he had the plague, and they didn't look nearly as polished as O'Mara. But looks CAN be deceiving!

This really gets me:

"We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust, and confusion."

So what? Are we supposed to feel sorry for the guy? Reading that made my blood boil. I'm willing to bet he knew exactly what he was doing. Fear, mistrust, and confusion my a ss.

cool story bro, I love how you throw out that you are african-american as if we care. nice try tho.

I know right! Sooo not believing that this is an AA person, LOL!

The fact that you began your statement saying that you are AA lets everyone know that you're lying.

You have a good point - everyone knew he had that donation site going. How did his own attorney, the prosecutors AND the judge miss that?? It's pretty ridiculous. That should have either grilled him on the spot or they should have let it slide - now they all look pretty stupid.

So it's the prosecutor's fault that Mrs. Zimmerman perjured herself? Umm...okay. I don't remember every word at the hearing, but I do remember Mrs. Z saying, in effect, that they were broke. They were not. So what if everyone knew about the website. It's up to the defendant and their witnesses to answer the questions truthfully. She did not. They lied. Now he is back in jail where he belongs...hopefully until trial.

Hey geniuses, did you ever consider he would point out he's African-American because if he didn't you would immediate assume he was white and jump all over him as a racist, murder-loving sociopath? I love that all you idiots have decided blacks have no decision making ability - they have to side with you or they are sell-outs or Uncle Toms.

This is all pathetic. According to you, intelligent black people have no right to think for themselves. Agree with the mob, or be ostracized. How sad.

The real race revolution in this country will be when the true black leaders stand up to the (however well-intentioned) white whiner crowd and demand TRUE equality. True equality is the absence of "race" in our society, not the focus on it.

You are about as much African American as David Duke...nice try troll.

David Sims-813063

"I'm African-American,'

Are you? When's the next time you're going back to visit your African family members?.... What's that?

Oh well, until next time. "Dave"

Who cares... At the first bond hearing the judge had no clue George was going to pull in that kind of money from so many suckers!

VisibleTruth

The real race revolution in this country will be when the true black leaders stand up to the (however well-intentioned) white whiner crowd and demand TRUE equality. True equality is the absence of "race" in our society, not the focus on it.

and just who would those "true black leaders" be? i would bet that the people whom you feel fit that title have little if any standing in the "black" community.

David,

As for as this bail thing (Just the bail part) this is not Zimmermans or his lawyers fualt, its the Prosecutors and the court! I read about the web site and that paypal account right here LONG before he got bail, therefore, they knew he had the money (and how do you think he got the $15K to get out? They may not have known exactly how much and should have asked at that time!

First, I don't care what race you are so let's leave that out of it. What I take issue with is that you apparently believe the courts should have known how much money the Zimmerman's had since, after all, even you knew about the PayPal website. Is that correct? That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. The court may have very well known he had the money but they still have to ask what his financial situation is. It is incumbent, however, upon the defendant to not lie to the court when asked a simple question. I can't believe you're actually blaming the court for Zimmerman lying to them.

@kappa,

I believe they are already out there as leaders in business and politics, but no, probably not in the "black community" as it is portrayed by the media. The "community" would not let them think for themselves. True leaders are stronger than that, and would not tolerate it.

I'm talking about leaders who happen to be black, not people who are leaders because they are black. Genetically, color means almost nothing. It's how our ancestors skin adapted to climate. We are the idiots that are making a big deal about it. It has to change. I was happy to have Obama as my president, but I no longer feel I can trust him after taking sides on what he saw as a racial issue. If it were a white president, I'd feel the same way. But can you imagine a white president in a perceived hate crime saying "if I had a son, he would look like...?" He would be driven out of office in a matter of days. Anyone who denies this is totally delusional.

I want an end to racial division PERIOD. I don't give two flying f-ks what color your skin is - show up, be a good person, be a good neighbor. Race is only an issue when people choose to spotlight it - and it's usually done for personal gain or out of ignorance. Seeing "racism" brought up here against any white person who opens their mouth makes me just as disgusted as when I see racist white people chime in - it has no place in a civilized society. It's fabricated crap people inject to create division and hate.

You know what is really sad. I am white and my family emigrated here from South Africa to escape apartheid. I, however was born in the states. I'm more of an African American than Trayvon was, or most of the people on this thread! Stop looking at color people! Geez.

Florida lawyer here. This guy's legit. Although it would be the state attorneys who add the charge, not the judge. I doubt the state will pursue an additional charge, but if they can prove the "intentional" element, who knows?

Clotho is correct. It is the state (prosecutor) that would add the charge. The state would then have to prove it was intentional to get a conviction. Mr. Zimmerman lied by omission. He did not testify as to his family's assets. His wife, Mrs. Zimmerman did testify. I would expect that she would claim (perhaps honestly) that she didn't know how much money was in the paypal account. It is also possible that since the website was public knowledge, the Zimmermans could argue that they assumed the website and the paypal account were common knowledge.

Dale...the simple fact Mr. Zimmermans attorney has delayed his bond motion spells more trouble. Perhaps he uncovered additional misrepresentations of the facts a/k/a "lies" regarding Zimmerman and his wife. The recorded calls are damning evidence.

No less than than Trayvon should have been home going to school instead of being at his Dad's girlfriends place because he was screwing up at school..again...same difference. Reguardless, it comes down to who the jury believes took the first swing.

@Old Dad, with a OLD BRAIN....So Trayvon being with his dad justifies being killed for going to a store to buy POP, and CANDY??? You need a NEW BRAIN OLD dude!!

Old Dad

No less than than Trayvon should have been home going to school instead of being at his Dad's girlfriends place because he was screwing up at school..again...same difference. Reguardless, it comes down to who the jury believes took the first swing.

trayvon martin was killed on a sunday evening. he would not have been in school that day. he was at his father's house watching the nba all star game with his father, his father's girlfriend, and his step brother. trayvon martin was an a and b student who got into some normal juvenile mischief. he wa on a college trajectory and would have gotten an athletic and/or academic scholarship to college

there are more than one way that he could have gotten the minuscule amount of thc in his system. he could have gone to a party, gathering, or just an area which someone had smoked and and he could have inhaled ambient air that had trace thc in it. after smoke has cleared thc particles are still in the air.

OldDad said:

Trayvon should have been home going to school instead of being at his Dad's girlfriends place because he was screwing up at school..again...same difference.

The father's girlfriend had a son named Chad, younger than Martin, who Martin may have considered his 'little brother' and who was obviously trusted enough by both father and girlfriend to leave home to babysit while the father and girlfriend went out to dinner. Halftime of the NBA Allstars game, Martin decides he wants tea, Chad requests Skittles, Martin goes to buy, never comes home.

While nothing concrete has been said, had I been Martin's father and Martin been my son who is hanging out with questionable friends, letting his grades slide to a B+ and being suspended for possible drug use, I would have taken my son out of the neighborhood during his suspension, lodged him with my girlfriend in a neighborhood away from any possible bad influences he may have picked up, and tried to talk some sense into him, instilling in him a sense of responsibility; there is this younger child who looks up to him as a surrogate 'older brother' and he has a responsibility to set a good example. To reinfiorce that sense of responsibility, leave him alone to babysit one evening. Since Chad is not much younger than Trayvon (think the article said he's thirteen) it is okay to leave him for short periods of time but not for longer periods so Martin didn't go far to get the tea and candy.

You know what gets to me? Chad probably thinks if he hadn't asked his 'older brother' for candy, Martin might not have left the house that night and would still be alive. It's called survivors' guilt. Chad, if you're reading this...keep telling yourself this isn't your fault. None of it was. A lot of people made some bad decisions that night, and your brother is dead because of those decisions, but it is not your fault.

Thank you for that post, Amanda.

I this case, his credibility (or lack there of) means EVERYTHING!

Mitt Romney springs to mind.

I used to defend husbands against domestic violence charges. You wouldn't believe how many times the wives would go to the trial and suddenly deny that he had done anything to her. The state attorneys got so upset at having to dismiss these cases that they started charging the wives with perjury.

Plea bargaining occurring now?

O'Mara is delaying the motion to excuse himself from this case, which as an attorney, is the smart thing to do. No attorney wants to represent an admitted liar to the court. O'Mara's statements seem to indicate he believes Zimmerman lied and the case is in severe jeopardy. He's a smart guy and is preparing to "bail" on Zimmerman.

I don't think so. For one thing, an attorney has to get leave from the court to withdraw from a case. I doubt the judge would let him, based on his client lying to him. Plus, it's Zimmerman's second lawyer, and a third one would just drag this out even longer.

I would guess that O'Mara wants to make sure this time that he knows all the facts. He has a reputation as a good defense attorney. George Zimmerman is a young guy and obviously under a lot of stress. It also doesn't hurt the defense for Mr. Zimmerman to sit in jail for a couple of weeks. It will have the locals bitching about the cost and give Judge Lester some time to cool.

Smart move…he is ensuring this is the last time Mr. Zimmerman ever lies to him and
more importantly, he embarrasses him before the court. His reputation is
worth much more than his clients at this point in the process. Thus, he is
"fact-finding" for any additional "lies" and listening to those recorded calls again...they are damning evidence of his client’s credibility and mindset: when placed under any pressure (shooting/police interrogation/bond hearing) Mr. Zimmerman fabricates the truth.

I think he counted the amounts that were transfered to personal accounts as his.