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Title: Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman's Attorneys Quit, Said Client 'Disappeared'
Source:
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URL Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/ ... -attorneys-quit_n_1416031.html
Published: Apr 10, 2012
Author: Gene Demby
Post Date: 2012-04-10 18:42:19 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 3662
Comments: 13
George Zimmerman's attorneys said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that they will no longer be representing him. The attorneys claim that Zimmerman repeatedly rebuffed their legal advice, and that they have now lost contact with him. "As of now we are withdrawing as counsel for Mr. Zimmerman," Craig Sonner, one of his attorneys, told reporters outside the Seminole County Courthhouse in Sanford, Fla. "We've lost contact with him. Up to this point, we've had contact with him everyday. He's gone on his own. I'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to, but at this point we're withdrawing as counsel. If he wants us to come back as counsel, he will contact us." Zimmerman said he killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, on Feb. 26 in the gated community where the girlfriend of the teenager's father lived in Sanford. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member, called 911 and told a police dispatcher that Martin, who was returning from a trip to a nearby convenience store, "looked suspicious." After an altercation, Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest. He told the local police that he shot Martin in self defense, and he was not arrested or charged. Protesters around the country have held rallies calling for Zimmerman's arrest, and the Sanford police department has been the focus of withering criticism for its handling of the initial investigation. The case has become a flashpoint in the national debates over racial profiling and gun control laws. Sonner said that he still believed that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense, which Zimmerman and his surrogates have maintained since the shooting. "Nothing that I've said about him or this case has changed in any way," Sonner said. Uhrig said that Zimmerman had stopped responding to their phone calls, and that they did not know exactly where he was, although they thought that he was no longer in Florida. Last week, Zimmerman's lawyers said their client was ready to surrender if charged with a crime. Uhrig said that last Thursday, he and Sonner helped George Zimmerman's father, Robert Zimmerman, set up a website to solicit donations for George's legal defense and living expenses. They said that they had not been able to reach Zimmerman on Sunday, the day before the site was to go live, although the site's address was made available to news outlets. "On Sunday we lost track of George in that he wouldn't return our phone calls, and we couldn't get hold of him," Uhrig said. "We had no reason at that time to believe that it was anything suspect." "But on Monday we began fielding questions...did we know anything about [therealgeorgezimmerman.com] website? And our initial response was, well that's probably bogus, we don't know anything about that. And we started making inquiries and frankly confirmed that he through friends or family had in fact set that site up and it was legitimate. We immediately began telling the media, disregard the earlier website we gave you that we had set up. Go for the one we now know that he set up." "We were happy enough with that, but disturbed that he had not communicated with us," Uhrig said. The attorneys said that Zimmerman had repeatedly ignored their counsel. "We learned that he had called Sean Hannity of Fox News directly — not through us," Uhrig said. "We believe that he spoke directly with Sean off the record and [Hannity's] not even willing to tell us what our client told him." Uhrig said the "final straw" was an attempt to set up a meeting with Zimmerman and the office of the special prosecutor on the case, Angela Corey. But Uhrig said that Zimmerman had contacted the special prosecutor directly, as well. "We were a bit astonished and had some conversation back and forth with the prosecutor's office," Uhrig said."They told us what we expected, '[that they] were not going to talk to a criminal or [defendant] without counsel.'" Uhrig said that Zimmerman told officials at the prosecutors office that Uhrig and Sonner were not his lawyers, but "his legal advisers." As the press conference went on, Uhrig engaged in several testy exchanges with reporters — alternately criticizing the news media's coverage of the case, lambasting the involvement of civil rights groups and activists in the case, and defending the state's Stand Your Ground law. "The gun law is a good law because it gives honest citizens the right to carry a weapon," Uhrig said. On Monday, the special prosecutor said that she would not convene a grand jury in the case, which effectively rules out murder charges in the case, as only grand juries can issue murder charges in the state of Florida. Zimmerman can still be charged with manslaughter and other crimes for his role in the shooting.
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#1. To: A K A Stone (#0)
cracker is going down!
Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'! No. He is just getting better help.
When he is arrested, then acquitted by jury he will never be a 'free' person. Someone will cap his ass and I'm guessing they won't be nice about. Best thing he could do is to get the hell out of this country. Seriously.
Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'! They're afraid to face Eric Holder's New Black Panther DOJ in court, but even more afraid to meet them on the street.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
He's in hiding and I don't blame him. Send in the drones to find him.
Travons parents have disgraced their sons memory.
Keep your racist attitude in Ohio where it belongs.
I'm just pointing out the fact, that by calling on Sharpton to represent them. They have harmed their image and the memory of their son. You don't call in people like Sharpton if you want to be taken seriously.
What would you know about seriously?
His "attorneys" releasing this information seems like a violation of client lawyer confidentiality privelages.
Uhrig said that Zimmerman told officials at the prosecutors office that Uhrig and Sonner were not his lawyers, but "his legal advisers." It is, they should be disbarred. They seem like snake oil salesmen, pushing an agenda. Probably bought off by George Soros. Seems like Zimmerman is giving them the finger by not talking to them. Good move, IMO.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
Got ethics? Why did these two lawyers feel compelled to make their client Zimmy look like a nut? Why not just depart gracefully? — Jeffrey Toobin (@JeffreyToobin) April 10, 2012 http://gothamist.com/2012/04/10/george_zimmerman_goes_rogue_disavow.php
You and Fred must hear those words a lot, huh Briana?
#2. To: Brian S (#1)
#3. To: A K A Stone (#2)
#4. To: A K A Stone, *Extended Clip Progressives* (#0)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#5. To: A K A Stone (#2)
No. He is just getting better help.
#6. To: Fred Mertz (#5)
#7. To: A K A Stone (#6)
#8. To: Fred Mertz (#7)
#9. To: A K A Stone (#8)
#10. To: hondo68, lucysmom, cz82 (#4)
#11. To: A K A Stone (#10)
His "attorneys" releasing this information seems like a violation of client lawyer confidentiality privelages.
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#12. To: hondo68 (#11)
#13. To: Brian S (#1)
cracker is going down!
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